🔗 Share this article

Doctors from the Scottish region and America have successfully completed what is believed to be a historic stroke procedure using a robot.

The lead surgeon, from a research center, executed the remote thrombectomy - the elimination of vascular blockages post a brain attack - on a donated body that had been provided for research.

The professor was working from a treatment center in Dundee, while the subject undergoing procedure while using the system was at another location at the research facility.

Hours later, a neurosurgeon from Florida employed the equipment to perform the initial intercontinental procedure from his Jacksonville base on a donated cadaver in Scotland over significant distance away.

The team has labeled it a potential "revolutionary development" if it receives authorization for use on patients.

The doctors believe this system could revolutionize stroke care, as a slow access to expert care can have a significant effect on the chances of recovery.

"It felt as if we were witnessing the first glimpse of the next generation," said the lead researcher.

"Whereas before this was considered futuristic fantasy, we demonstrated that each phase of the procedure can now be performed."

The medical research center is the international education hub of the global medical association, and is the sole location in the UK where surgeons can treat donated bodies with actual blood pumped through the vessels to simulate procedures on a live human.

"This represented the pioneering moment that we could perform the complete clot removal operation in a actual human specimen to show that all steps of the surgery are achievable," explained Prof Grunwald.

Juliet Bouverie, the head of a stroke charity, described the transatlantic procedure as "a significant breakthrough".

"For too long, individuals from remote and rural areas have been limited in obtaining to thrombectomy," she added.

"This type of automation could correct the imbalance which persists in medical intervention throughout Britain."

How does the technology work?

An brain attack occurs when an blood vessel is obstructed by a clot.

This cuts off blood and oxygen supply to the brain, and neural cells cease working and die.

The superior intervention is a thrombectomy, where a expert uses catheters and wires to extract the blockage.

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

Prof Grunwald said the experiment demonstrated a automated system could be attached to the equivalent surgical tools a specialist would typically employ, and a healthcare professional who is attending the case could readily join the tools.

The expert, in a different place, could then operate and direct their personal instruments, and the automated system then performs exactly the same movements in immediate sequence on the individual to carry out the surgical procedure.

The patient would be in a medical facility, while the specialist could perform the operation via the technological system from any location - even their personal residence.

The medical expert and Ricardo Hanel could observe real-time imaging of the body in the studies, and observe results in live conditions, with the Dundee expert explaining it took just a brief period of preparation.

Technology companies leading tech firms were participated in the research to ensure the connectivity of the automated system.

"To perform surgery from the America to Scotland with a brief latency - an instant - is absolutely amazing," stated the neurosurgeon.

The future of stroke treatment

The lead researcher, who has received recognition for her contributions and is also the senior official of the international medical organization, stated there were key issues with a standard thrombectomy - a worldwide deficiency of surgeons who can conduct it, and care is determined by your location.

In Scotland, there are merely three sites individuals can obtain the treatment - urban centers. If you don't live there, you must commute.

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

"Each six-minute postponement, you have a slightly decreased likelihood of having a good outcome.

"This innovation would now provide a new way where you're not reliant upon where you live - preserving the precious time where your cerebral matter is degenerating."

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