science

Iknife

Iknife is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Iknife rather than just read about it. In short: An onkoknife, iKnife, or intelligent scalpel is a surgical knife that 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 identification and removal of cancer cells.

Key takeaways

Iknife belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Iknife to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Iknife from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An onkoknife, iKnife, or intelligent scalpel is a surgical knife that 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 identification and removal of cancer cells. Electroknives have been in use since the 1920s and smart knife surgery is not limited only to cancer detection. In clinical studies the iKnife has shown impressive diagnostic accuracy - distinguishing benign ovarian tissue from cancerous tissue (97.4% sensitivity, 100% specificity), breast tumour from normal breast tissue (90.9% sensitivity, 98.8% specificity) and recognises histological features of poor prognostic outcome in colorectal carcinoma. Furthermore, the technology behind iKnife - rapid evaporative ionisation mass spectrometry (REIMS) - can identify Candida yeasts down to species level.

Research and development Zoltán Takáts, Ph.D., a Hungarian research chemist associated with Semmelweis University, in Budapest, invented the intelligent surgical knife. He currently is Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Imperial College London (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 Takáts, 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.

Principle of operation

History of direct examination of biological tissue by mass spectrometry (MS) 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. In the case of the detected protein and peptide components, tissue-specific expression of the proteins is known commonly. Precise immunohistochemical methods are based on this phenomenon. The mass spectrometer detection, mainly from cell membranes and similar tissue, specifically, of complex lipids from similar tissue, however, yields surprising results. Since the distribution of proteins are in good agreement with the distribution patterns obtained by immunohistochemical methods, the distribution of the lipid components of the direct ionization mass spectrometric, previously were relative methods leading to the appearance of a new era in the study of biological specimens. The desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) was the first-MS technique, which allowed non-invasive testing of any objects (or organisms) without sample preparation, regardless of their shape or mechanical properties.

Rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Iknife

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Iknife claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Iknife before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Iknife ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Iknife

In research: Iknife appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Iknife in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Iknife is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Mass spectrometry, Surgical instruments, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Iknife outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Iknife in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Iknife means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Iknife out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Iknife in simple terms?

Why does Iknife matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Iknife?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Iknife.