| abstract |
A plastic tube extruded from an extruder is conveyed through a plasma treatment apparatus. The plasma treatment apparatus is equipped with a tubular electrode body having a high-voltage side electrode and a grounded-side electrode disposed on a tubular insulator and a high frequency electric power source connected to the electrodes. When the plastic tube is conveyed through the electrode body with one end of the tube open to the atmosphere, a mixture of a glow discharge-stabilizing gas and a treating gas is fed into the other end of the tube and an alternating-current high-voltage is applied to generate a plasma region at a pressure near to atmospheric pressure in which the tube is treated with a glow discharge plasma. This method allows an interior and/or exterior surface of a plastic tube designed to convey a medical fluid to be continuously treated by a glow discharge plasma at atmospheric pressure to form an anti-thrombotic and blood-compatible film on the surface treated. The resulting surface-treated medical material can be produced at a comparatively low cost and maintains its original bulk material properties. |