1. IKnife
Vi Tran
BME 281
November 20, 2013

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Works Cited
Gallangher, James. "Cancer Surgery: Tumour 'sniffing' Surgical Knife Designed." BBC, Web. 17 Nov <
 Moore, Elizabeth A. CNET, 18 July Web. 17 Nov <Intelligent 'iKnife' diagnoses cancer midsurgery>.
Scientists Develop IKnife That Helps Surgeons Identify Cancerous Tissues. News Medical, 18 July Web. 17 Nov <
Thomas, Dennis. Knife' Tells Surgeon Whether Tissue Is Cancerous. WebMD LLC, Web. 17 Nov <
Wong, Samuel. ""Intelligent Knife" Tells Surgeon If Tissue Is Cancerous." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov <