A high-tech comb to deal with lice menace

Head lice, a blood sucking parasite infestation you don’t want to see in your lifetime, can be very difficult to treat. Sometimes they can take almost a decade to evade. Lice can be contagious and they can spread through the entire family, or even a crowded place like schools and alike, within a month.  

Toxic shampoo and lotions are presently the only way to deal with the menace, post which they are pulled out by using a special close-toothed comb. What’s worse is that the eggs of the louse are even difficult to remove and they can emerge with the infestations all over again. Louse eggs are unharmed with shampoo or lotions. Constant treatment of these toxic chemicals can be equally uncomfortable for anyone.

To help solve this issue, researchers at a Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films have come up with a unique comb that can zap the lice with simple cold plasma. The technology is already being used in a few pediatric clinics in Germany.

The comb is a special high-tech gadget and comprises of additional conductive teeth. Each tooth is an electrode and all of them send electric pulses between each other. These electric pulses are ionizing the air between them and generate plasma, which in turn kills the lice and eggs in its path.

The pulses are kept in very short intervals and are not constantly switched on. This forms plasma arcs which are a tad warmer than room temperature. There is no risk of burns or stings to the patient. A single treatment can kill almost half the amount of lice and eggs infestation within a day. No other chemicals and lotions required. The comb can also be used on pets.

At present, the comb is not available for consumers, but the company plans to bring it to the market in small batches.