Ideas and experience exchange across plasma technology

PT-16: 16. Fachtagung für Plasmatechnologie

Monday 18 February – Wednesday 20 February 2010

Institut für Biochemie, Greifswald, Germany

Leibniz-Institut für Plasmaforschung und Technologie e.V. (INP Greifswald)

Institut für Physik der Universität Greifswald

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Plasmatechnologie e.V. (DGPT)

A university and Hanseatic city in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district with approximately 60,000 inhabitants. Every fourth resident is between 18 and 30 years old; around 12,000 students study at the university.

Breath gas analysis has emerged as a quietly powerful way to read what the body is doing in real time. Instead of drawing blood or relying on imaging, researchers sample the volatile compounds carried out on each exhale. The resulting profiles can shift with diet, stress, infection, or environmental exposure, turning ordinary breathing into a rich stream of physiological information that scientists are still learning how to interpret.

At a scientific conference dedicated to breath research, the conversation usually moves between chemistry and clinical medicine. Presentations compare sampling bags, electronic noses, and mass spectrometry-based techniques, while clinicians ask how a simple breath test might one day screen for disease, monitor therapy, or guide treatment in chronic conditions. The exchange keeps laboratory innovation grounded in real patient questions.

Choosing a host city for such a gathering matters more than it might seem. A compact university town with research institutes nearby allows participants to walk between the lecture hall and the lab, encouraging conversations that continue over coffee or dinner. The venue itself becomes part of the program, shaping who attends and how openly ideas are shared across disciplines.

Workshops held alongside a main congress offer space for methods that do not fit neatly into a plenary lecture. Smaller groups can debate calibration, discuss standardization of breath collection, or work through example datasets together. These hands-on sessions often become the most memorable part of the meeting, especially for early-career researchers looking to sharpen their analytical toolkit.

Industrial exhibitions accompanying breath-focused conferences highlight how quickly the field is moving from academic curiosity to commercial product. Manufacturers display compact sensors, portable analyzers, and software platforms designed to turn complex spectra into readable results. The dialogue between device makers, clinicians, and basic scientists helps align technical capability with the practical needs of patient care.

Invited speakers bring perspectives from outside the immediate breath community, including pulmonology, microbiology, and environmental health. Their talks remind attendees that exhaled air sits at the intersection of many disciplines. Each contribution broadens the discussion, suggesting new analytes to chase, new study designs to consider, and new collaborations waiting to be formed around shared questions.

Scientific programs at these events are usually organized to balance established methods with emerging questions. Oral sessions group talks by theme, while poster sessions give younger researchers a chance to discuss their data in detail. The rhythm of formal presentation followed by informal discussion helps both seasoned investigators and students find their place in the conversation.

Social events play a surprisingly important role in the life of a focused scientific meeting. A shared dinner, a guided walk through the historic center, or an evening reception creates the relaxed atmosphere where future collaborations are sketched out on napkins. For international visitors, these moments also offer a gentle introduction to local culture and history.

Sponsorship and cooperation underpin much of what makes a specialist conference possible. Universities, research institutes, and professional societies contribute venues, staff, and travel grants, while industry partners help fund travel awards and exhibition space. Their combined support ensures that the meeting remains accessible to participants coming from many countries and career stages.

Downloads, abstracts, and archive materials extend the life of a congress well beyond its closing session. Slides, poster PDFs, and recorded talks allow colleagues who could not attend to follow key developments, and they create a reference point for the next generation of breath research. In this way, each meeting becomes both an event and a lasting resource for the field.

Some 70 institutes, centres and research institutions are located in the city, 55 of them within the university, with a strong focus on innovation, technology-oriented companies and biotechnology.

INP Greifswald is Europe’s largest non-university research institution dedicated to low-temperature plasmas, covering both their fundamentals and their technical applications.

Monday 7 June – Wednesday 9 June 2010

Alfried-Krupp-Wissenschaftskolleg, Greifswald, Germany

INP Greifswald in cooperation with the Institute of Community Medicine (ICM), University of Greifswald

SFB-TR-24

English