Robotic Stroke Surgery Goes Global: Surgeons Operate Across Continents!

Doctors in Scotland and the United States have made history by performing a world-first stroke surgery using a robot. Professor Iris Grunwald from the University of Dundee led the remote procedure, called a thrombectomy, which removes blood clots from the brain after a stroke. She operated from Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, while the body she worked on was located across the city at the university. Later, Dr. Ricardo Hanel, a neurosurgeon in Florida, used the same technology to perform the first transatlantic surgery, operating on a human body in Dundee from his office in Jacksonville, more than 4,000 miles away.

The team believes this breakthrough could be a 'game changer' for stroke care. Stroke treatment is very time-sensitive, and delays in getting specialist help can affect recovery. Professor Grunwald said it felt like seeing the future, as the procedure was once thought to be science fiction. The University of Dundee is the global training center for the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment and is the only place in the UK where doctors can practice on cadavers with liquid that mimics human blood. This experiment was the first time the entire mechanical thrombectomy procedure was performed on a real human body using a robot.

Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, called the transatlantic procedure 'a remarkable innovation. ' She pointed out that people in remote areas often cannot access thrombectomy, but robotics could help fix this problem. Professor Grunwald explained that the technology could make expert stroke treatment available to everyone, no matter where they live. In the experiment, fluid that acts like blood was used in four different cadavers, donated to science by people who died within the last three years. Both the Dundee and Florida procedures used robots from the Lithuanian company Sentante.

The robot works by connecting to the same wires and catheters a surgeon would use. A medic with the patient attaches the wires, and the remote surgeon controls their own wires, which the robot copies in real time. The patient would be in a hospital operating room, while the doctor could be anywhere, even at home. Professor Grunwald and Dr. Hanel watched live X-rays and monitored progress, and Professor Grunwald said it only took 20 minutes to learn how to use the robot. Tech companies Nvidia and Ericsson helped make sure the robot could connect over long distances. Dr. Hanel said operating from the US to Scotland with only a tiny delay was 'truly remarkable. '

Professor Grunwald, who has won awards for her work, said there are two main problems with standard thrombectomy: not enough doctors can do it, and treatment depends on where you live. In Scotland, only Dundee, Glasgow, and Edinburgh offer the procedure, so patients must travel if they live elsewhere. Every six minutes of delay means a 1% lower chance of a good outcome. The new technology could save valuable time and help more people recover.

Last year, Scotland had 9,625 ischaemic strokes, but only 212 patients received a thrombectomy. Across the UK, the numbers are also low. The CEO of Sentante, Edvardas Satkauskas, said the future is closer than we think. The team hopes to start clinical trials next year, and if approved, this technology could change stroke treatment for people everywhere.