"Model-based Feedback Control of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jets for Plasma Medicine"

Atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs) have widespread use in materials processing and biomedical applications. Safe and effective operation of hand-held APPJs is however highly sensitive to the intrinsic variability of plasma characteristics as well as to exogenous disturbances such as variations in the separation distance between the device tip and target surface. Key challenges in feedback control of APPJs arise from the need to: (i) handle the nonlinear, multivariable nature of plasma dynamics, (ii) retain the system operation in a constrained region for safe and reliable operation, and (iii) realize multiple (possibly conflicting) plasma dose delivery objectives. In this talk, we will demonstrate the importance of using model-based control strategies for safe, reproducible, and therapeutically effective application of APPJs for dose delivery in plasma medicine.