Here's a look at some advances and proposals in the field of health care technology.

Cold Plasma Could Speed Bone Healing

Cold plasma—a beam of energy made of electrons that change polarity in microseconds and nanoseconds—could help bones heal faster, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.

Most people interact with plasma daily. It's in televisions, fluorescent lights, lightning, and the Aurora Borealis. However, these are examples of hot or "thermal" plasma. Since its discovery 20 years ago, cold plasma has been used in agriculture to sterilize the surface of fruit without damaging the edible inside. More recently, scientists have been performing experiments treating living animal cells and tissues with cold plasma to learn more about its potential applications in medicine.