Utilizing a plasma to achieve sterilization is a possible alternative to conventional sterilization means as far as sterilization of heat-sensitive materials and innocuity of sterilizing agents are concerned. A major issue of plasma sterilization is the respective roles of ultraviolet (UV) photons and reactive species such as atomic and molecular radicals. At reduced gas pressure (£10 torr) and in mixtures containing oxygen, the UV photons dominate the inactivation process, with a significant contribution of oxygen atoms as an erosion agent. Actually, as erosion of the spore progresses, the number of UV photons successfully interacting with the genetic material increases. The different physicochemical processes at play during plasma sterilization are identified and analyzed, based on the specific characteristics of the spore survival curves.

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In pursuing the development of bionic devices, Victhom identified a need for technologies that could replace current motorized systems and be better integrated into the human body motion. The actuators used to obtain large displacements are noisy, heavy, and do not adequately reproduce human muscle behavior. Subsequently, a project at Victhom was devoted to the development of active materials to obtain an artificial exomuscle actuator. An exhaustive literature review was done at Victhom to identify promising active materials for the development of artificial muscles. According to this review, metal hydrides were identified as a promising technology for artificial muscle development. Victhom's investigations focused on determining metal hydride actuator potential in the context of bionics technology. Based on metal hydride properties and artificial muscle requirements such as force, displacement and rise time, an exomuscle was built. In addition, a finite element model, including heat and mass transfer in the metal hydride, was developed and implemented in FEMLAB software.