In vivo skin treatment using two portable plasma devices: Comparison of a direct and an indirect cold atmospheric plasma treatment

Two cold atmospheric plasma devices were used (either in an indirect or a direct way) for the treatment of physiologically contaminated forearms in 12 healthy volunteers. After 30 s of plasma treatment, the log reduction of the bacterial load in the plasma treated area was evaluated. It was found that both the indirect and direct plasma application resulted in a highly significant reduction of the bacterial load in the target area. Given the same plasma treatment time, the direct application showed higher mean log reduction in comparison to the indirect one and proved to be significantly more effective.