"Knoxville Biotech Makes Medical Breakthrough"
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -(PRNewswire)- May 10, 2006 - A Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley company has announced a breakthrough using its proprietary atmospheric plasma technology to sterilize medical devices. Atmospheric Glow Technologies (AGT) is developing a sterilizer for use by medical personnel in battlefield environments. "Current field sterilization equipment is costly, heavy and power hungry," said AGT President Kimberly Kelly-Wintenberg. "We have received Department of Defense support to provide the military a portable medical sterilizer that one day will become standard equipment for mobile medical teams."
"The medics on the front lines are always in danger of running out of sterile supplies. AGT's portable sterilizer will enable medics to reuse their surgical instruments instead of being faced with the alternative -- stopping treatment of life-threatening wounds until new surgical supplies are brought in," Kelly-Wintenberg explained.
AGT's atmospheric plasma technology is based on electrifying the air and producing a unique blend of reactive chemicals that kill microorganisms. The device will be the size of large microwave oven and capable of sterilizing medical instruments within minutes after being unloaded.
As a small portable device, AGT's sterilizer can aid humanitarian efforts during natural disasters, homeland security responses and medical crises in remote regions of the world. With further development, the plasma sterilizer could play a role in reducing the nearly 90,000 fatal infections acquired in U.S. hospitals every year, according to Suzanne South, AGT's Director of Biodevelopment.
AGT is part of a burgeoning biotech industry cluster in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley that, in many cases, builds upon discoveries at nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee. Several of the region's biotechs are involved in pharmacological discovery. Protein Discovery has developed cutting edge technology to prepare human serum for analysis by mass spectrometry. Atom Sciences is identifying probable pathogens in the case of a biological attack or outbreak involving cholera. Provectus Pharmaceuticals is experiencing positive results in clinical trials for Provecta, a treatment for metastatic melanoma and breast cancer. In a joint venture, DuPont and UK-based Tate & Lyle are building a $100 million bio- production facility. The plant will convert corn into bio-PDO, a benign liquid used in a wide array of clothing and other products.
Source: East Tennessee Economic Development Agency - www.knoxvilleoakridge.org