Medical Experts from Scotland and America Achieve Historic Brain Operation With Robotic System
Medical professionals from Scotland and the United States have successfully completed what is thought of as a historic brain operation using robotic technology.
Prof Iris Grunwald, from a research center, executed the remote thrombectomy - the removal of blood clots after a brain attack - on a human cadaver that had been donated to medical science.
The surgeon was working from a major hospital in the location, while the subject undergoing procedure with the machine was separately situated at the research facility.
Later that day, Ricardo Hanel from the US location used the equipment to conduct the pioneering long-distance operation from his Jacksonville base on a human body in the Scottish city over 6,400km away.
The medical group has labeled it a potential "transformative advancement" if it receives authorization for use on patients.
The doctors think this technology could revolutionize stroke treatment, as a limited availability of expert care can have a direct impact on the healing potential.
"The experience was we were witnessing the initial vision of the next generation," stated Prof Grunwald.
"Whereas before this was thought to be science fiction, we proved that all stages of the operation can currently be accomplished."
The medical research center is the international education hub of the international stroke organization, and is the only place in the UK where medical professionals can operate on cadavers with human blood circulated in the arteries to simulate procedures on a live human.
"This was the first time that we could execute the whole mechanical thrombectomy procedure in a genuine medical subject to prove that all steps of the operation are achievable," explained Prof Grunwald.
A healthcare leader, the head of a stroke charity, called the intercontinental surgery as "a significant breakthrough".
"Over extended periods, people living in isolated regions have been denied availability to thrombectomy," she continued.
"Robotics like this could address the disparity which occurs in stroke treatment throughout Britain."
How does the system function?
An ischaemic stroke happens when an artery is blocked by a clot.
This interrupts circulation and oxygenation to the brain, and neural cells cease working and die.
The best treatment is a surgical extraction, where a surgeon uses surgical tools to extract the blockage.
But what occurs when a patient can't get to a expert who can perform the surgery?
The lead researcher said the study proved a automated system could be connected to the identical medical instruments a doctor would normally use, and a medic who is present with the individual could readily join the tools.
The surgeon, in a different place, could then hold and move their personal instruments, and the automated system then carries out precisely identical actions in immediate sequence on the subject to carry out the thrombectomy.
The patient would be in a treatment center, while the doctor could conduct the operation with the technological system from anywhere - even their own home.
Prof Grunwald and Ricardo Hanel could see real-time imaging of the specimen in the studies, and observe results in live conditions, with the Dundee expert explaining it took only 20 minutes of instruction.
Technology companies prominent manufacturers were involved in the project to guarantee the communication link of the mechanical device.
"To conduct procedures from the United States to Britain with a 120 millisecond lag - an instant - is truly remarkable," commented Dr Hanel.
Advancements in brain care
Prof Grunwald, who has been honored for her work and is also the executive member of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, stated there were two main problems with a standard thrombectomy - a international lack of doctors who can do it, and intervention relies upon your geographical position.
In the region, there are merely three sites patients can obtain the treatment - urban centers. If you aren't located nearby, you must journey.
"The procedure is extremely time-critical," said the lead researcher.
"For every six minutes of waiting, you have a one percent reduced probability of having a positive result.
"This system would now offer a novel approach where you're not depending on where you dwell - conserving the crucial moments where your neural tissue is degenerating."
Medical statistics showed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|