Plasma Air Sterilisation and Treatment Apparatus (PASTA)

The World Health Organization has reported that 7.6% of patients in high-income countries acquire a healthcare-associated infection (HCAI).

Recent studies show that more than 650,000 patients a year in England acquire HCAIs, which cost the NHS over £1 billion annually. It is reported that airborne transport is responsible for up to 10% of all HCAIs. As ESA/NHS Future Hospital Initiative Programme, the project PASTA aims to improve indoor air quality and to minimise the risk of airborne pathogen infection in future hospital environments using low-temperature plasma technology that is oriented from in-situ resource unitisation in long-duration space missions and space propulsion (Pulsed plasma thruster).

This new technology will prevent HCAIs in the future NHS hospital environment by providing better infection control for airborne pathogens. In addition, the PASTA technology will reduce the carbon footprint of future NHS hospitals by improving the energy efficiency of an HVAC system.

This project has received funding from the NHS Future Hospital Initiative Programme of the European Space Agency under the ESA contract No 4000140067/22/NL/AL/mma.