The Harmonic Scalpel

The Harmonic scalpel is a scalpel designed to use ultrasonic technology to create incisions and coagulate the blood as the scalpel does so. The scalpel can vibrate at a rate of 55000 cycles per second [1]. The scalpel is FDA approved for areas with blood vessels within 5 mm in diameter and has been tested in different surgical treatments. Two such studies included testing the scalpel is surgeries involving cancerous tumors in the gastrointestinal tract and dissections in the neck of patients.