Surgeons Could Soon Operate with Sonic Scalpels

Surgeons use very thin, and very sharp, blades called scalpels in order to perform surgery. The small width of the blade ensures that they can precisely target whatever tumor or group of cells they are looking to eradicate, but it has over the years become obvious that increased accuracy is needed. For example, in brain surgery, or when operating on cancer patients, removing only a desired group of cells without affecting others is an absolute necessity, so as to avoid long-term damage. Now, surgeons might see their dreams come true, with the development of sonic scalpels, LiveScience reports.

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are currently working on an innovation that, if successful, could see operating rooms around the world change altogether. They are basically attempting to create what can best be described as a lens for manipulating sound. The group plans to use the instrument to concentrate sound waves into a focused pulse that could be employed to target tumors and other groups of cells targeted for extirpation with maximum accuracy.

This is not by far the first attempt to use sound for therapies. Ultrasound imaging is already an established method of investigating fetuses, and discovering if they are sick even before they are born. Other types of sound-based tools are also used in cancer treatment, alongside radiotherapy and chemotherapy. But the Caltech work is the first to try and develop a medical instrument that is highly precise, and that could be regularly employed by surgeons to get their job done. Its introduction could see a lot less healthy tissue being removed during surgery.

“This is a problem because you can actually damage healthy tissue,” explains Caltech researcher and team member Alessandro Spadoni. He adds that the device woks with “sound bullets.” This is the name the group gave the compact acoustic pulses that result from passing sound waves through the “lens.” The device consists of a box made of aluminum, which contains metal balls about the size of a small M&M. By tuning the distance between these spheres, researchers can control the destination of the ensuing sound bullets.