Physicians from Scotland and the United States to reach a historic milestone. There, they had become the first in the world to do a stroke procedure with robotics. Professor Iris Grunwald of the University of Dundee carried out the world-first remote thrombectomy on a human cadaver. This pioneering operation exemplifies the new and innovative surgical techniques that are positioned to transform the surgical management of stroke.
The majority of the procedure was performed on a donated cadaver. The individuals had died within the preceding three years and were later embalmed for instructional use. This innovative approach used synthetic blood-equivalent fluids that enabled the medical team to test real time experiments on up to four unique cadavers. The combination of human like conditions and high tech robotics made for a perfect opportunity to assess the procedure’s efficacy. All of this testing occurred in a highly controlled environment.
The pioneering surgery involved a significant collaboration between Professor Grunwald and Dr. Ricardo Hanel, a neurosurgeon based in Jacksonville, Florida. It was during this procedure, the first-ever successful transatlantic surgery. He controlled the Sentante robotic system from more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) away and guided the procedure using real-time X-ray images. The potential to view the live advancement of the operation is a major step ahead for far-off surgical interventions.
Specifically, NHS Scotland is limited to just three medical centers—Dundee, Glasgow, and Edinburgh—that have the ability to conduct thrombectomy procedures on patients. We consider this experiment a huge success! Most importantly, it stokes hope for greater availability of life-saving treatments, particularly in low- and middle-resource settings.
The thrombectomy robot – dubbed the MIND – was facilitated by robotic technology created by Lithuanian company Sentante. With this transformational technology, physicians from thousands of miles away can guide the most complicated surgical procedures with precision. They can do as many operations from their own homes or other convenient locations. After 20 minutes, Professor Grunwald was already an expert on the Sentante machine. His extraordinary education—from just months of training in a battlefield operating room—left him astonishingly skilled for the daunting procedure.
The implications of this breakthrough reach well beyond the fertile field of scientific experiment. The team is preparing to take the innovation into clinical trials next year. This might pave the way for broader use of remote surgery in emergency cases. This recent advance has gotten many medical professionals and advocates very excited.
Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association charity, hailed the transatlantic procedure as “a fantastic example of medical innovation.” As powerful advocates for the tech community, her endorsement foreshadows how these advancements can significantly enhance patient care and outcomes. This is doubly important for stroke patients, where timely intervention can avert major disability or death.
As research on remote surgery continues, everyone involved in the process has hope for the future of scalable remote surgeries. Performing complex procedures from long distances greatly increases access to specialists. In urgent patrol-related situations in which every second counts, this capability can literally save lives.
