Innovation

Smart Surgical Knife Detects Cancerous Tissue

A new smart knife developed in London can help surgeons find cancerous tissue real-time during surgery, at a faster rate than traditional lab tests.

This intelligent knife — known as the "iKnife" — accurately detects whether tissue a surgeon is cutting is cancerous, within three seconds. It does this through analysis discovered by inventor Zoltan Takats at Imperial College London. To treat cancer with solid tumors, the college noted in a news release, surgeons normally try to remove the tumors via surgery, but it's hard to see exactly which tissue is cancerous.