iKnife (intelligent knife with REIMS)
A standard monopolar electrosurgical handpiece connected to a mass spectrometer via rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS), analyzing the lipid profile of surgical smoke in real time as it cuts.
How it is used
Identifies tissue type (e.g., distinguishing tumor from healthy tissue, or characterizing bacterial flora) in under 3 seconds as the surgeon cuts, guiding resection-margin decisions without waiting for conventional intraoperative frozen-section pathology.
Clinical tip
Developed by Zoltan Takats (Imperial College London); despite validation studies with good sensitivity and specificity (breast, ovarian, colorectal tissue), it remains largely a clinical research tool rather than routine standard of care at most centers.
Sources
This entry is part of the Instriq catalog, researched and written per specialty from real web research -- never generated or invented without verification -- and reviewed skeptically and independently before publication. How this catalog is written.