AP-S turnstile

As many AP-S inventors can readily testify, the transition from a laboratory prototype to a commercially viable product can be an agonizingly slow process. Leonard Taylor (University of Maryland) patented the microwave scalpel in 1979. The device integrates a 2.45 GHz loop antenna with a standard scalpel blade. During surgery on highly vascular organs, such as -the liver or the spleen, the localized microwave field produced by Taylor´s scalpel thermally cauterizes blood vessels. In 1985, an option to manufacture and market the device wasold by the University of Maryland to Advanced Medical Imaging Corp. (Great Neck, NY). Now, a decade after the patent was issued to Taylor, the scalpel is undergoing human clinical trials under FDA supervision. Apparently between 75 and 100 documented surgical cases will be needed before the FDA will consider clearing the device for general use. (Microwaves & R F , March 1989)