THE SMART KNIFEDefinition According to the inventor of the smart knife, Dr. Zoltan Takats, the smart knife is an emerging technology that enables 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 electrosurgery for tissue diagnostics is known as Intelligent Knife or iKnife (Takats). History and Development In the past, when breast cancer patients underwent surgery, the doctor cut the suspected breast cancer area and obtained a small portion of the tissue. After performing this action, the doctor sent the problematic sample to the laboratory for analysis. This process took about 30 minutes or more. In some cases the patient had to be stitched up and subsequently operated on. However, this method of cutting and analyzing tissue in the laboratory is disappearing. The reason is that Dr. Takats Intelligent Knife.Dr. Takats invented the smart knife because he wanted to find a way to simplify the testing process for breast cancer surgeries. The development of the Intelligent Knife is still ongoing and is now in the testing phase. How it works The Intelligent Knife is expected to be the go-to surgical tool for most breast cancer surgeries. This is partly due to its technological capabilities and the risk mitigation it offers. The smart knife works by passing electrical pulses through the knife with a vacuum valve strategically placed near the knife (see figure 1). Basically what happens is that the knife with the electric current starts to burn the application... in the middle of the paper ......http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/10/05/breast- cancers-financial-toll-the-high-cost-of-fighting-for-yo/>."Surgical risks. " Breastcancer.org. NP, 22 February 2013. Web. 01 April 2014. .United States. Health. Department of Health and Human Services. National Cancer Institute. Np, nd Web. March 17, 2014. .10United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Stages of breast cancer. National Cancer Institute, n.d. Web. March 17, 2014. “What is Breast Cancer?” What is breast cancer? American Cancer Society, ndWeb. March 25. 2014. .