🔗 Share this article

Surgeons from Scotland and America have performed what is thought of as a world-first brain operation employing robotic technology.

Prof Iris Grunwald, working at a research center, performed the long-distance surgery - the removal of vascular blockages post a cerebral event - on a medical specimen that had been provided for research.

The professor was positioned in a medical facility in Dundee, while the body she was operating on while using the system was across the city at the university.

Later that day, Ricardo Hanel from the American state used the technology to conduct the initial intercontinental procedure from his American facility on a human body in Dundee over significant distance away.

The research collective has described it as a potential "transformative advancement" if it receives authorization for clinical application.

The medics believe this technology could revolutionize stroke treatment, as a delay in accessing professional intervention can have a direct impact on the chances of recovery.

"The experience was we were observing the first glimpse of the future," stated Prof Grunwald.

"Whereas before this was regarded as futuristic fantasy, we showed that all stages of the operation can already be done."

The medical research center is the global training center of the global medical association, and is the sole location in the Britain where doctors can work with donated bodies with actual blood flowing through the arteries to replicate operations on a living person.

"This represented the pioneering moment that we could conduct the complete clot removal operation in a genuine medical subject to demonstrate that all steps of the procedure are possible," stated Prof Grunwald.

A healthcare leader, the head of a medical organization, called the transatlantic procedure as "a remarkable innovation".

"During many years, individuals from isolated regions have been deprived of access to clot removal," she stated.

"This type of automation could correct the imbalance which exists in stroke treatment across the UK."

How does the system function?

An blockage stroke takes place when an artery is blocked by a clot.

This cuts off vascular flow to the neural matter, and neurons cease working and deteriorate.

The superior intervention is a clot removal, where a specialist uses medical instruments to remove the clot.

But what happens when a patient is unable to reach a professional who can do the procedure?

The medical expert explained the study proved a robot could be linked with the identical medical instruments a specialist would normally use, and a medic who is present with the individual could easily connect the tools.

The expert, in another location, could then hold and move their own wires, and the robot then executes exactly the same movements in real time on the subject to perform the thrombectomy.

The patient would be in a medical facility, while the doctor could conduct the operation with the advanced machine from any place - even their own home.

The medical expert and the neurosurgeon could observe real-time imaging of the body in the experiments, and monitor progress in immediate feedback, with the lead researcher stating it took merely twenty minutes of preparation.

Technology companies Nvidia and Ericsson were participated in the project to ensure the connectivity of the mechanical device.

"To perform surgery from the US to Scotland with a brief latency - a blink of an eye - is truly remarkable," commented the medical expert.

Advancements in brain care

The medical expert, who has received recognition for her contributions and is also the vice president of the global healthcare association, explained there were primary challenges with a standard thrombectomy - a worldwide deficiency of doctors who can do it, and care is determined by your location.

In the Scottish nation, there are merely three sites individuals can receive the procedure - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you don't live there, you must journey.

"The intervention is extremely time-critical," said Prof Grunwald.

"Each six-minute postponement, you have a one percent reduced probability of having a good outcome.

"This innovation would now provide a new way where you're not depending on where you reside - preserving the valuable minutes where your neural tissue is deteriorating."

Medical statistics revealed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|