Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		182 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 0	$ 0	$ 30,000	$ 0	$ 452,000
Cost of Goods Sold	0	0	17,000	0	332,000
Gross Profit	0	0	13,000	0	120,000
Research and development:
R&D costs, excluding stock-based compensation expense	198,000	133,000	616,000	301,000	15,293,000
Stock-based compensation expense related to options and warrants	0	0	0	0	1,647,000
Total research and development	198,000	133,000	616,000	301,000	16,940,000
General and administrative:
G&A costs, excluding stock-based compensation expense	327,000	654,000	916,000	1,956,000	27,647,000
Stock-based compensation expense related to options and warrants	381,000	262,000	1,064,000	307,000	18,657,000
Total general and administrative	708,000	916,000	1,980,000	2,263,000	46,304,000
Asset impairments	0	0	0	0	1,071,000
Total costs and expenses	906,000	1,049,000	2,596,000	2,564,000	64,315,000
Loss from operations	(906,000)	(1,049,000)	(2,583,000)	(2,564,000)	(64,195,000)
Reversal of liability on cancellation of debt	0	0	0	0	1,541,000
Gain on litigation settlement	0	0	0	1,900,000	1,900,000
Other income / (expense)	0	(31,000)	2,000	(2,000)	251,000
Loss Before Income Tax Benefits	(906,000)	(1,080,000)	(2,581,000)	(666,000)	(60,503,000)
Income tax benefits	0	0	0	0	384,000
Net Loss	(906,000)	(1,080,000)	(2,581,000)	(666,000)	(60,119,000)
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest in subsidiary	0	0	0	0	1,272,000
Net Loss attributable to Torvec, Inc.	(906,000)	(1,080,000)	(2,581,000)	(666,000)	(58,847,000)
Preferred stock beneficial conversion feature	5,589,000	0	5,589,000	0	6,352,000
Issuance of warrants to preferred shareholders	812,000	0	812,000	0	812,000
Preferred stock dividends	67,000	72,000	203,000	156,000	1,881,000
Net Loss attributable to Torvec, Inc. common stockholders	$ (7,374,000)	$ (1,152,000)	$ (9,185,000)	$ (822,000)	$ (67,892,000)
Net Loss per common share attributable to stockholders of Torvec, Inc.:
Basic and Diluted	$ (0.16)	$ (0.03)	$ (0.20)	$ (0.02)
Weighted average number of shares of common stock:
Basic and Diluted	45,700,000	37,576,000	45,696,000	36,878,000