In a groundbreaking medical achievement, a team of surgeons from Dundee and Florida successfully performed the world’s first stroke treatment using robotic technology. Professor Iris Grunwald from Dundee joined forces with neurosurgeon Ricardo Hanel from Florida for this paradigm-shifting operation. They basically pulled it off using state-of-the-art robotics designed by the Lithuanian company Sentante.
On the day of surgery, Hanel ran a robot himself. He ruled it from the state of Florida, over 4,000 miles away in Dundee. This creative and totally out-of-the-box approach made visible the potential of remote surgical procedures. Specialists could instantly intervene even if not in hospital or even in country.
The intervention was conducted on a cadaver, and porcine blood was used in four separate cadaver specimens to best mimic real-life conditions. The first awaited advances were such things as making expert treatment for strokes available to every patient. Instead, most of these people can’t get the specialized care they need.
We agree that time is of the essence to treat a stroke. In fact, each six-minute delay in receiving care decreases likelihood of a positive outcome by 1%. In fact, just 2.2% of stroke patients in the UK receive thrombectomy procedures. Meanwhile, area physicians have prescribed newly approved clot-buster medication to 1,045 patients. In Scotland, patients in dire need of this lifesaving treatment have only a handful of options. Only three large centres exist, in Dundee, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
This innovative operation is on the cutting edge of technology. It allows the robot to interface awkwardly with very common catheters and wires that cardiothoracic surgeons default to in these procedures. Having a medic with the patient can quickly connect these wires to the robot, making it more efficient in operation. While performing the procedure, Grunwald and Hanel were able to see live X-ray images and follow their work in real time, making sure the procedure was done accurately and effectively.
Perhaps most astonishingly, it only required 20 minutes of training for the surgical team to master the robotic system. This increased efficiency creates exciting new opportunities for integrating advanced technology into everyday medical practice, revolutionizing the conduct of surgical procedures across the globe.
Grunwald has written exuberantly about the potential this technology holds. “This could make expert stroke treatment available to everyone,” she stated, highlighting the significance of remote access to specialized care.
Grunwald and Hanel are both aiming to get into clinical trials next year. The nascent specialty is excited to see just what these robotic surgical wizards can do and how well they will do them. Their work has represented a critical turning point in the way strokes are treated. This accomplishment lays the groundwork not only for more remote surgical interventions in general surgery, but across other medical specialties.