I came into a room where an IV was dangling over the headboard of the bed and was stuck by the needle. The patient refused to be tested for HIV. I was scared, really scared. My husband and I were planning on having our third child, we wanted our last child to be a year younger than our middle child. I was too afraid to think about getting pregnant. And so, the sleepless nights followed, and the testing every few months. After a year of testing, and a confirmed negative for HIV infection- I was still too scared to get pregnant. And unfortunately, was afraid to be intimate with my spouse. Anyway- my third and last child is 3 1/2 years younger than his sister. Even though it has been several years- I still wonder if there is a chance I may have contracted something that may surface even later. It took a long time to overcome my fear of needles and I am so thankful to the companies who manufacture the needleless systems and locking syringes.

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PlasmaBlade™
The control of a scalpel. The bleeding control of traditional electrosurgery.

The PlasmaBlade is a family of disposable cutting and coagulation devices that offer the exacting control of a scalpel and the bleeding control of traditional electrosurgery without extensive collateral damage.

The PlasmaBlade is based on proprietary pulsed plasma technology. This technology represents an evolutionary leap in the advancement of radiofrequency surgical technologies, which originated with traditional electrosurgery and progressed to plasma-mediated energy devices.

The following PlasmaBlade tissue dissection surgical devices are FDA-cleared and commercially available:

The PlasmaBlade 4.0, which is designed to be used to cut through all types of soft tissue, including skin, fat and muscle;

The PlasmaBlade Needle, which has a fine needlepoint tip and is specifically designed for ultra-precise surgical procedures;

The PlasmaBlade EXT, which is designed for use in surgical procedures requiring an extended-reach tip.

All of the PlasmaBlade tissue dissection surgical devices are used in conjunction with PEAK Surgical’s PULSAR Generator, which supplies pulsed waveforms that produce short plasma-mediated electrical discharges through the PlasmaBlade.

Because the radiofrequency is provided in short on-and-off pulses with low duty cycle, and the blade is insulated, heat diffusion and associated heat damage to surrounding tissues is limited, resulting in less collateral damage and more precise tissue dissection. In contrast, most radiofrequency-based surgical devices use continuous voltage waveforms and un-insulated electrodes to cut tissue.

The PlasmaBlade provides surgeons with a single device that offers:

• the precision of a traditional scalpel;
  the bleeding control of traditional electrosurgery technology;

• minimized thermal damage;

• the ability to quickly and easily cut through all types of soft tissue, including skin, fat and muscle;

• the ability to operate in a wet or dry surgical field.

Results of a preclinical surgical incision healing study of the PlasmaBlade demonstrated that it efficiently cut tissue with effective hemostasis and minimal thermal damage compared with standard surgical techniques. Based on these and other results from preclinical studies, PEAK Surgical believes that the PlasmaBlade may offer an effective alternative to the traditional scalpel or electrosurgical devices, potentially providing surgeons with better outcomes for their patients, including increased procedure efficiency, reduced surgical incision scarring, faster and stronger wound healing, and faster recovery.

Click here to see a video on PEAK Surgical's Plasmablade™.