IKnife Vi Tran BME 281 November 20, 2013

Challenges of Tumor Removal -Difficulty in establishing exact boundaries of cancerous tissue -Any uncertain tissue is sent to laboratory to analyze -30 minute process, time consuming

IKnife “Intelligent” Knife Surgical knife that instantly identifies cancerous tissue as it cuts through tissue Takes about 1 to 3 seconds Designed by Zoltan Takatas, a Hungarian chemist at Imperial College in London in 2013

How It Works -Consists of a electrosurgical knife that is connected to mass spectrometer -Heat is generated through knife as it cuts through tissue -Smoke is produced and is analyzed by mass spectrometer -Since cancerous tissue has more phospholipids and different ion composition than healthy tissue the machine analyzes the chemical composition of the smoke to differentiate between the two tissues

Results -Results highly successfully -Tested products in two ways -Researchers took tissue samples from 302 patients and performed an analysis using Iknife -Was able to correctly differienate tissue -Used in operating room on 91 random patients -Results highly accurate

Benefits and Future -Able to instantly identify cancerous tissue in operating room -Eliminates need to send tissue to laboratory for analysis -Minimizes surgery time -Costs 200,000 pounds(approximately $380,000 US currency) to make this device -Price will drop once it becomes commercially produced -Researchers are currently working to improve this device -Clinical trials will probably occur in 2 to 3 years -As newer developments are being made, this will help lives of many people

Works Cited Gallangher, James. "Cancer Surgery: Tumour 'sniffing' Surgical Knife Designed." BBC, 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23348661>.  Moore, Elizabeth A. CNET, 18 July 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <Intelligent 'iKnife' diagnoses cancer midsurgery>. Scientists Develop IKnife That Helps Surgeons Identify Cancerous Tissues. News Medical, 18 July 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130718/Scientists-develop-iKnife-that-helps-surgeons-identify-cancerous-tissues.aspx>. Thomas, Dennis. Knife' Tells Surgeon Whether Tissue Is Cancerous. WebMD LLC, 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20130717/experimental-iknife-tells-surgeon-whether-tissue-is-cancerous?page=1>. Wong, Samuel. ""Intelligent Knife" Tells Surgeon If Tissue Is Cancerous." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_17-7-2013-17-17-32>