Doctors from Scotland and America Complete World-First Brain Operation Using Automated Technology
Doctors from the Scottish region and America have accomplished what is thought of as a world-first brain operation employing a robot.
Prof Iris Grunwald, from a Scottish university, performed the distant clot removal - the removal of blood clots after a cerebral event - on a donated body that had been provided for research.
The surgeon was positioned in a medical facility in the Scottish city, while the body she was operating on via the device was across the city at the research facility.
Subsequently, a neurosurgeon from Florida used the technology to perform the first transatlantic surgery from his Florida location on a human body in Dundee over significant distance away.
The medical group has called it a potential "revolutionary development" if it gains clearance for clinical application.
The doctors consider this innovation could revolutionize stroke treatment, as a slow access to specialist treatment can have a significant effect on the chances of recovery.
"It seemed like we were seeing the initial vision of the future," commented the lead researcher.
"Where previously this was thought to be theoretical concept, we showed that all stages of the procedure can now be performed."
The Scottish institution is the global training center of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the exclusive site in the Britain where doctors can treat donated bodies with actual blood circulated in the vessels to simulate procedures on a live human.
"This represented the pioneering moment that we could perform the entire surgical process in a genuine medical subject to prove that all steps of the operation are feasible," stated the lead expert.
A healthcare leader, the director of a medical organization, labeled the intercontinental surgery as "an extraordinary advancement".
"During many years, people living in remote and rural areas have been denied availability to surgical intervention," she continued.
"This type of automation could rebalance the inequity which persists in brain care nationwide."
How does the technology work?
An ischaemic stroke happens when an blood vessel is obstructed by a obstruction.
This cuts off vascular flow to the neural matter, and neural cells cease working and expire.
The best treatment is a thrombectomy, where a specialist uses catheters and wires to extract the blockage.
But what happens when a person can't get to a specialist who can perform the surgery?
The medical expert explained the trial showed a mechanical device could be attached to the identical medical instruments a surgeon would conventionally utilize, and a healthcare professional who is attending the case could simply attach the instruments.
The expert, in another location, could then hold and move their personal instruments, and the automated system then executes exactly the same movements in immediate sequence on the individual to conduct the thrombectomy.
The individual would be in a medical facility, while the specialist could conduct the operation with the advanced machine from any place - even their own home.
The lead researcher and Ricardo Hanel could view immediate scans of the specimen in the studies, and observe results in live conditions, with the Scottish specialist explaining it took only 20 minutes of training.
Tech giants Nvidia and Ericsson were contributed to the project to ensure the network connection of the mechanical device.
"To conduct procedures from the United States to Scotland with a minimal delay - an instant - is absolutely amazing," stated the neurosurgeon.
Advancements in brain care
The medical expert, who has won an award for her work and is also the vice president of the international medical organization, said there were key issues with a traditional procedure - a global shortage of specialists who can perform it, and care is determined by your geographical position.
In the region, there are only three places people can obtain the treatment - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you reside elsewhere, you must travel.
"The intervention is highly dependent on timing," stated the lead researcher.
"Every six minutes delay, you have a one percent reduced probability of having a successful recovery.
"This technology would now provide a new way where you're not depending on where you dwell - conserving the valuable minutes where your cerebral matter is otherwise dying."
Medical statistics showed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|