Iknife

Onkoknife, iKnife, or intelligent scalpel (English: Jedi knife, onkoknife; Hungarian: onkokés, intelligens sebészi kés) is a surgical knife, which tests tissue as it contacts it during an operation, and immediately gives information as to whether that tissue contains cancer cells. During a surgery this information is given continuously to the surgeon, significantly accelerating biological tissue analysis and enabling removal of virtually all cancer cells. Electroknives have been in use since the 1920s and smart knife surgery is not limited only to cancer diseases, but the iKnife is limited to cancer cell detection in the vapor given off, however, since it can not properly detect and identify the type of bacteria found in tissues so well.

Zoltan Takats, Ph.D., a Hungarian research chemist associated with Semmelweis University, in Budapest, invented the intelligent surgical knife. He currently is a researcher on the Imperial College staff in the United Kingdom (UK). His iKnife has been tested in three hospitals from 2010 through 2012. Following laboratory analysis of tissue samples in 302 patients that were included in a data base, they included 1624 of cancer and 1309 of non-cancer samples.

The current pilot version for the iKnife cost the creating Hungarian scientist, MediMass Ltd. (Old Buda based company) participating in the research, colleagues at Imperial College, and the Hungarian government approximately £200 thousand (68 million HUF). According to Takats, the investments will have been worth it, however, as the device is on a likely path to marketing.

The instrument has been acquired by the Massachusetts Waters Corporation for development by MediMass Ltd., which identifies it as substantive innovative technology labelled, "Intelligent late" and "REIMS", according to their press release on 23 July 2014. The business transaction included all MediMass innovation, including patents, software, databases, and human resources related to the technology.

Direct examination of biological tissue by mass spectrometry (MS) began in the 1970s, but at that time the next advance in technical conditions did not exist. The method did not provide any useful information on the chemical composition of the samples tested. The first breakthrough came with desorption ionisation methods (secondary ionization mass spectrometry - SIMS, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization - MALDI) a release said. Using these methods, after appropriate sample preparation, chemical biological tissue imaging analysis may be achieved. From the end of the 1990s, it became apparent that mass spectrometry data in imaging studies showed a high degree of tissue specificity, that tissue histology could determine mass spectral information, and vice versa.

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