Medics from Scotland and the US have made medical history by successfully mastering a radical new stroke procedure. This achievement stands as a tremendous breakthrough in the field of medical technology. This world-first operation involved a neurosurgeon in Florida performing a thrombectomy on a human body located over 4,000 miles away in Dundee, Scotland. The ground-breaking surgery was performed using a robot created by Lithuanian company Sentante, serving as proof of concept that remote surgery – even across continents – is possible.
The groundbreaking operation was conducted by Professor Iris Grunwald from the University of Dundee. She outlined how this new technology can revolutionise how strokes are treated for all patients in the UK. This proof-of-principle experiment to show circulating human blood has been done in four different human cadavers. These cadavers had been donated to science and were embalmed after death within the past three years.
As the procedure unfolded, the robot was hooked up to the exact same catheters and wires that a human surgeon might one day use. A medic onsite would be able to quickly hook up these wires to the robot, enabling quick and easy use. Professor Grunwald and Dr. Ricardo Hanel, the neurosurgeon working remotely from Florida, were able to see X-rays of the body live in real-time. They live-tracked their progress the entire time.
Professor Grunwald stated, “It took me only 20 minutes to train on the robot. Finally, he reiterated how accessible it is for us to start incorporating this new powerful technology into clinical practice. Doctors can even perform procedures remotely, which means they can perform from almost any location—like the comfort of their homes. At the same time, the patient is remaining securely within the hospital OR.
The consequences of this technology are much larger than just convenience. University of Maryland Professor Grunwald spoke about the critical need for rapid response to stroke emergencies. He explained how every six minute delay reduces a patient’s chance of a good outcome by 1%. “As a result, for too long, patients living in remote and rural communities have been denied access to thrombectomy,” she said.
Technology as advanced as this might finally help to rebalance the inequity that presently blights stroke treatment throughout the UK. Professor Grunwald ended on a hopeful note. He said, “Robotics of this type has the potential to address the current inequity in access to high-quality stroke treatment across the UK.” A Lithuanian man named Edvardas Satkauskas is seconding this call. He famously said, “Often, the future is much closer than we expect,” and that’s exactly what makes this technological advance so extraordinary.
Dr. Hanel couldn’t believe how well the surgery had worked. As he put it, “To be able to run from the US to Scotland with a 120 millisecond delay—that’s a nanosecond—it’s amazing!” This short delay time proves the efficiency and dependability of performing surgery from afar using robotic technologies.
The team responsible for this bold endeavor is looking forward to clinical trials in 2024. Ultimately, they want to bring their techniques to the next level and further prove this cutting-edge approach to stroke treatment. By harnessing robotics and telemedicine together, they aspire to make expert medical care more accessible to those who need it most.