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Surgeons from the Scottish region and the United States have successfully completed what is considered a pioneering stroke procedure employing automated systems.

The lead surgeon, from a Scottish university, executed the distant clot removal - the removal of blood clots after a brain attack - on a donated body that had been provided for research.

The professor was working from a treatment center in the location, while the body she was operating on via the device was at another location at the university.

Subsequently, a neurosurgeon from Florida utilized the technology to carry out the initial intercontinental procedure from his Florida location on a human body in the Scottish city over 4,000 miles away.

The research collective has described it as a potential "game changer" if it becomes approved for clinical application.

The surgeons think this technology could transform stroke care, as a delay in accessing specialist treatment can have a direct impact on the recovery prospects.

"The experience was we were seeing the initial vision of the future," stated Prof Grunwald.

"Where previously this was regarded as science fiction, we showed that each phase of the surgery can now be performed."

The University of Dundee is the international education hub of the international stroke organization, and is the only place in the UK where surgeons can operate on cadavers with actual blood flowing through the blood pathways to replicate operations on a live human.

"This was the first time that we could perform the complete clot removal operation in a real human body to prove that every phase of the surgery are feasible," explained Prof Grunwald.

Juliet Bouverie, the head of a stroke charity, described the transatlantic procedure as "an extraordinary advancement".

"Over extended periods, individuals from countryside locations have been limited in obtaining to clot removal," she continued.

"Such technological systems could correct the imbalance which occurs in stroke treatment across the UK."

How does the technology work?

An blockage stroke occurs when an vascular pathway is clogged by a blockage.

This interrupts vascular flow to the brain, and brain cells lose function and deteriorate.

The optimal therapy is a surgical extraction, where a surgeon uses surgical tools to extract the blockage.

But what happens when a patient cannot access a expert who can perform the surgery?

The lead researcher stated the experiment demonstrated a mechanical device could be connected to the equivalent surgical tools a specialist would normally use, and a healthcare professional who is present with the individual could easily connect the instruments.

The expert, in another location, could then operate and direct their personal instruments, and the robot then performs exactly the same movements in live timing on the patient to perform the thrombectomy.

The subject would be in a hospital operating room, while the surgeon could carry out the operation via the technological system from any place - even their private dwelling.

The lead researcher and the neurosurgeon could observe real-time imaging of the subject in the experiments, and observe results in live conditions, with the Dundee expert stating it took just a brief period of training.

Major corporations leading tech firms were participated in the research to guarantee the connectivity of the robot.

"To perform surgery from the United States to Britain with a 120 millisecond lag - an instant - is genuinely extraordinary," commented Dr Hanel.

The future of stroke treatment

The medical expert, who has received recognition for her research and is also the executive member of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, explained there were primary challenges with a conventional clot removal - a worldwide deficiency of doctors who can conduct it, and intervention relies upon your location.

In Scotland, there are merely three sites people can access the surgery - three major cities. If you don't live there, you must commute.

"The procedure is extremely time-critical," explained the lead researcher.

"Every six minutes delay, you have a 1% less chance of having a successful recovery.

"This technology would now deliver a innovative method where you're independent of where you live - preserving the precious time where your cerebral matter is otherwise dying."

Medical statistics revealed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|