Science/Tech

Brain Tumor Cure Found? 'Smart' Scalpel to Help Surgeons Solve Life and Death Operations

By George Houston | Update Date: Apr 11, 2016 04:50 AM EDT

A breakthrough medical device has been designed at a research facility in Belgium which can undertake precise surgical incision during brain tumor operations.

The device, conceived by David Oliva Uribe president of Mexican Talent Network Abroad chapter in Belgium, will pave the way for surgery in the operating room especially in the human brain to be more laid-back; as the "smart scalpel" with its spherical end design can detect a tissue status whether it is healthy or not by providing visual and auditory warning signs to a physician during the examination of a tissue surface, according to Science Alert

"Although imaging scanning techniques - such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound - locate a tumor accurately preoperatively during the cranial opening and throughout the surgical procedure, there are many factors that can lead to the loss of this position. Therefore, the resection (removing a tumor) depends on the experience, sight and touch senses of the surgeon," Oliva Uribe made it clear as he has been at work in perfecting the device for the past six years.

Despite the device not being already in its final stages, the recent testing involved man-made tumors deposited in various brains coming from pigs.

Nevertheless, Oliva Uribe and his colleagues were all ecstatic of the outcome from the mock-up operation and are eager to move to the next phase which is the clinical trials in human patients especially with the device able to deliver results in less than half a second which are of the essence in life-and-death situations. The device caters specifically to tumors which are still in its early onset.

As of the present, the field of neurosurgery has been operating on a time-tested yet limited close observation and tools on tissue manipulation when faced with a brain tumor. 

In related news, medical researchers from Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences had made an earlier discovery of a bioelectrical signal that can isolate cells which are future candidates to progress as a malignant or benign tissue growth, as reported by Idea Connection in 2013.  

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