🔗 Share this article

Medical professionals from Scotland and the United States have successfully completed what is believed to be a pioneering brain operation utilizing robotic technology.

The lead surgeon, from a research center, performed the distant clot removal - the elimination of vascular blockages post a cerebral event - on a human cadaver that had been donated to medical science.

The surgeon was positioned in a treatment center in Dundee, while the body she was operating on with the machine was at another location at the research facility.

Later that day, Ricardo Hanel from Florida used the technology to carry out the initial intercontinental procedure from his Florida location on a medical specimen in Scotland over 6,400km away.

The team has called it a potential "game changer" if it gains clearance for use on patients.

The medics think this technology could change stroke care, as a delay in accessing expert care can have a direct impact on the healing potential.

"It seemed like we were observing the early preview of the next generation," said the medical expert.

"Whereas before this was considered futuristic fantasy, we showed that every step of the operation can currently be accomplished."

The medical research center is the international education hub of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the sole location in the United Kingdom where medical professionals can operate on medical specimens with biological fluid pumped through the arteries to simulate procedures on a live human.

"This was the first time that we could perform the complete clot removal operation in a genuine medical subject to prove that each stage of the operation are achievable," explained Prof Grunwald.

A charity executive, the head of a stroke charity, called the long-distance operation as "an extraordinary advancement".

"Over extended periods, residents of countryside locations have been deprived of access to clot removal," she continued.

"Robotics like this could address the disparity which occurs in medical intervention across the UK."

How does the technology work?

An brain attack happens when an vascular pathway is clogged by a blockage.

This cuts off blood and oxygen supply to the neural matter, and neurons lose function and expire.

The best treatment is a clot removal, where a expert uses catheters and wires to clear the obstruction.

But what happens when a person is unable to reach a specialist who can perform the surgery?

The medical expert said the experiment demonstrated a automated system could be connected to the identical medical instruments a surgeon would normally use, and a healthcare professional who is with the patient could simply attach the instruments.

The specialist, in a different place, could then manipulate and control their individual tools, and the robot then carries out exactly the same movements in real time on the individual to carry out the clot removal.

The patient would be in a treatment center, while the doctor could carry out the surgery with the advanced machine from any place - even their personal residence.

The lead researcher and the American specialist could view immediate scans of the body in the experiments, and observe results in immediate feedback, with the Scottish specialist stating it took merely twenty minutes of preparation.

Technology companies prominent manufacturers were participated in the project to ensure the connectivity of the automated system.

"To operate from the America to the Scottish nation with a brief latency - an instant - is truly remarkable," commented the medical expert.

The future of stroke treatment

The lead researcher, who has received recognition for her contributions and is also the executive member of the global healthcare association, stated there were key issues with a traditional procedure - a worldwide deficiency of surgeons who can do it, and intervention relies upon your location.

In the region, there are only three places individuals can obtain the treatment - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you don't live there, you must journey.

"The treatment is extremely time-critical," said the lead researcher.

"For every six minutes of waiting, you have a one percent reduced probability of having a good outcome.

"This technology would now offer a innovative method where you're independent of where you reside - saving the precious time where your brain is deteriorating."

Public health data revealed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|