THE INTELLIGENT KNIFE
Definition
According to the inventor of the Intelligent Knife, Dr. Zoltan Takats, the Intelligent Knife is a is an emerging technology that allows near–real-time characterization of human tissue in vivo by analysis of the aerosol (“smoke”) released during electrosurgical dissection (Takats). The coupling of Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) technology with electro surgery for tissue diagnostics is known as the Intelligent Knife or iKnife (Takats).
History and Development
In the past, when breast cancer patients underwent surgery, the doctor cuts open the suspected affected area and obtained a small portion of the tissue. After performing that action, the doctor then sent the issue sample off to the laboratory for analysis. That process took approximately 30 minutes or more.
In some cases the patient had to be sewn up and then later operated on. However, this method of cutting and analyzing the tissue in a laboratory is fading away. The reason being is because of Dr. Takats Intelligent Knife.
Dr. Takats invented the Intelligent Knife because he wanted to find a way to streamline the analysis process for breast cancer surgeries. The development of the Intelligent Knife is still underway and is now in the testing phase of development.
How It works
The Intelligent Knife is anticipated to be the go to surgical instrument with most breast cancer surgeries. This is in part because of its technological capabilities and risk mitigation it offers. The Intelligent Knife operates by having electric pulses run through the knife with a suction valve strategically placed near the knife (see figure 1).
Essentially what happens is the knife with electric current begins to burn the applie...
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...http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/10/05/breast-cancers-financial-toll-the-high-cost-of-fighting-for-yo/>.
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In the article, Gawande shares a story from when he worked in a hospital as a resident. His first real procedure, placing a central line through a stout man’s heart to receive nutrition, would result in few problems if it were performed by experienced hands. However, knowing this is his first operation to be done alone, Gawande’s nervousness grew with every thought of what could go dramatically wrong. Before beginning, the author recollects studying all of the precise moves and cuts his superior named S. carried out on the same type of procedure on a person beforehand. After feeling informed and confident, Gawande begins by gathering all the necessary tools needed for the job. But as he thought he finished, S. chimes in reminding him of the multiple things he failed to remember to grab or setup. He uneasily shook off the mistakes, and began by locating the point on the man’...
Over the years, surgery has made tremendous progress while changing human perspective; viewed as “no more science than butchery” a couple of centuries ago to now considered to be a solution for many health care problems threatening humans, like cancer, heart disease and kidney failure. Nevertheless, surgery has not been perfected to a level that provides successful results every time it is performed on patients. For example, surgery done to remove tumors in cancer patients result in only 45% of individuals to be cured. However, in order to be successful, the surgical procedure has to be carried out incredibly precisely and incomplete removal of tumors can decrease survival rate. Therefore, surgeons have to be able to recognize diseased tissue and distinguish it between healthy tissues. But even with the use of radioactive tracers and visuals, surgeons are not able to identify the exact site of the unhealthy tissue and its boundaries. Thus, almost 40% of the time cancerous cells are left behind because even the best qualified surgeons are not successful at the nanotechnological scale of tissue.
ED. Mayo Clinic Staff -. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 05 Jan 2012. Web. The Web.
Moreover, I will let the patient become familiar with any instruments such as a speculum, and demonstrate the tools that will be used to obtain tissue samples that would be used during the examination. Explaining the procedure is also a significant step; this will allow the patient have a sense of control during the examination as we ask and answer questions about their current state, that would help disseminate any concern they may have. Meanwhile, they can learn about what may happen, related to any body sensations or feelings they can experience during the procedure, all while the provider continues to develop rapport and patient’s trust
The Da Vinci Surgical System is a large purpose-built robot controlled by a surgeon that performs minimally invasive surgical procedures on patients. The system incorporates an ergonomically designed surgeon's console, a patient-side module with four interactive robotic arms, each with interchangeable surgical instruments and a 3-dimensional endoscopic vision system. Powered by high-tech supercomputers, the surgeon's hand movements are scaled, filtered and then converted into precise movements of the surgical attachments. The designers of the system are a team of doctors, engineers and biomedical engineers at a company called Intuitive Surgical.
According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer health disparities are defined as the adverse differences between specific populations and the achievement of an optimal state of health. These population groups are categorized by geographic location, income, disability, age, education, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or race. These factors correlate with cancer mortality rates that impact specific population groups in the United States, cancer prevalence is the number of people diagnosed or living with cancer, and cancer incidence which is the number of new cancer cases in a population. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2013, there were an estimated 1,660,290 new cases of cancer and 580,350 of the new cases resulted in mortality. Individuals who have limited access to healthcare, health illiterate, and poverty stricken are more likely to develop cancer. This means a person’s socioeconomic status can determine the likelihood of their probability of developing cancer
Page-Reeves, J., Niforatos, J., Mishra, S., Regino, L., Gingrich, A., & Bulten, J. (2011). Health
Stage IIB can also be detected in three ways. If there is a tumor between two and five centimeters present with small groups of breast cancer cells sizes varying between .2 millimeters and 2 millimeters found in the lymph nodes. The second way that IIB can be found is if there is a tumor of those same dimensions found, but this time present with cancer cells that have spread to two to three axillary lymph nodes or to lymph nodes near the breastbone. The last way can be described as a tumor larger than five centimeters but has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
These studies, in my opinion, hold to be necessary on my intended path to research breast cancer, and hopefully extend my investigations and findings to other types of cancerous diseases as well. Besides that, these degrees could not only be useful for research on cancer, but also in other types of disease research or development of modern technologies with the focus on sharpened imaging and detection, regenerative technologies, and biomechanics. That is why I also desire to apply my outstanding analytic and problem solving skills to extend my horizons. Therefore, I aim to earn a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineer before completing graduate school or medical school, which would succor my future in research activities. Thus, I know that in order for to develop the latest technology additional fields of study remain necessary to create a cutting-edge and satisfactory solution to resolve a
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I chose the Da Vinci Surgical system as my topic because I am interested into going to physical therapy or into the orthopedics field after undergrad. Surgical equipment is highly important due to the hundreds of accidents that happen and also the high percentage of diseases. As these incidents occur it is important to consider the safety of the patient when it comes to cutting into their bodies. With the invention of the Da Vinci Surgical system it helped with vision and different viewpoints of the patient’s body and also improves precision. It is important to have a machine or tool for more than one type of surgery, one to use on patients with different injuries or diseases. Overall, this surgical system helps improve and help further research how precise and how in control a surgeon can be.
The medical field has revolutionized the health and well being of society. Throughout the decades, the medical field has been through sweeping changes that leave society astonished. It seems like each year that passes by, there is a new technological advancement that modernizes the medical field. Not only do these advancements modernize medicine, but they in return aid doctors, nurses, and specialists by improving their effectiveness within the field. About ten years ago, the da Vinci Surgical System was introduced to hospitals and the medical field, in general because the FDA had finally approved the system within the United States (Dunkin). The da Vinci Surgical System, also known basically as robotic surgery, introduced the use of a surgical robot, which is operated by the doctor himself using a controlled manipulator (Declan et al.). Prior to the invention of robot-assisted surgeries, most surgeons simply did a typical laparoscopic surgery on a patient. Laparoscopic surgery is “a type of surgery performed through several small incisions, rather than one (or more) large ones as in standard "open" surgery” (Schmitz). Through the development of superior technology, such as the surgical robot; it brought about changes that effected doctors, patients, and the medical world.
Since the beginning of time, human beings have been in search of ways to advance life as we know it. Every single day, somewhere in the world, technology is being transformed and an exciting new piece is birthed into society. Perhaps, one of the most influential advances is in our ever evolving medical profession. Thus, as technology continues to change the world as we know it, it is sweeping the medical field right along with it. Surgical procedures are being drastically improved with the use of robotic technology called da Vinci.
American Journal Of Public Health103.1 (2013): 27-31. Business Source Premier.