Air plasma sterilization device with plasma-in-lumen technology

The Food and Drug Administration awarded Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc. $999,890 under the Food and Drug Administration Research program (CFDA 93.103) on September 30, 2025, to develop a dry air plasma sterilization system for automated endoscope sterilization.

The recipient is developing a novel sterilization technology that addresses limitations in current endoscope processing methods. The system features a sheet plasma reactor embedded in a flexible pouch, plasma-in-lumen technology that delivers sterilant directly into endoscope lumens without length constraints, and a chamber-free compact design that allows a centralized control unit to operate multiple pouches with flexible sterilization scheduling. The technology is compatible with dry air, oxygen-rich air, and vaporized hydrogen peroxide gas sources. Phase I prototype development successfully demonstrated sterilization efficacy using self-contained biological indicators inoculated with G. stearothermophilus spores and process-challenging devices, marking the first confirmed air plasma sterilization validation via these industrial field-standard methods. The system addresses regulatory pressures on ethylene oxide sterilization due to its toxicity and carcinogenicity, and overcomes moisture-induced sterilization failures in competing vaporized hydrogen peroxide technologies.

Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc., a for-profit small business based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, specializes in thermal management solutions and operates as a prime recipient on federal research grants across civilian and defense agencies.

Period of performance runs through August 31, 2027. Place of performance is Pennsylvania, USA.

Abstract

Flexible endoscopy is widely used in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for digestive diseases. However, current endoscope sterilization technologies can be labor intensive, have high health and environmental impacts, or have constraints in endoscope dimensions. Specifically, the mainstream approach ethylene oxide (ETO) is facing significantly tightened regulations due to its high toxicity and carcinogenicity, and alternatives such as vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) technologies are unable to sterilize lumens with >1 m length while suffering from moisture-induced sterilization failure. To tackle the challenge, advanced cooling technologies, INC. Develops a novel dry air plasma sterilization system that can perform automated endoscope sterilization without lumen length constraints or toxic gas emission. Major innovations include 1) sheet plasma reactor design that is embedded in a flexible pouch for enhanced sterilization and combined storage; 2) plasma-in-lumen technology that directly delivers sterilant into the lumens with arbitrary length; and 3) chamber-free compact system design that allows a centralized control unit to operate multiple pouches with a flexible sterilization scheduling. Further, the system is compatible with various gas sources, including dry air, oxygen-rich air, and VHP for future commercialization. In phase i, we conducted a series of prototype development on both the component (pouch reactor and plasma- in-lumen technology) and system levels to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. The sterilization/disinfection of the medical devices was successfully confirmed by the industrial field-standard self- contained biological indicators (scbis) inoculated with g. Stearothermophilus spores combined with process- challenging devices (pcds). Our work is the first in the world to successfully confirm air plasma sterilization via scbi and PCD. We also evaluated alternative gas sources to achieve a sterilization cycle time shorter than that with the VHP system. In potential phase II, our goal is to develop a full-feature system that can achieve reliable sterilization of endoscopes and other medical devices. Four aims are strategically designed to achieve this goal: aim 1) build a complete sterilization system with all the peripherals including a high-quality, reusable pouch with sheet plasma reactors, plasma-in-lumen reactors, and all safety and automation components. Aim 2) perform and validate consistent sterilization performance and long-term material compatibility. Aim 3) develop high-throughput operations. Aim 4) explore alternative gas sources. The recently tightened ETO emission regulation provided a unique commercialization potential for alternative approaches such as plasma. Our technology can also be used in other applications such as planetary protection for space missions, etc., further expanding commercialization opportunities with simplified regulatory pathways.