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Surgeons from the Scottish region and the United States have accomplished what is believed to be a pioneering stroke procedure employing a robot.

Prof Iris Grunwald, from a Scottish university, performed the remote thrombectomy - the elimination of circulatory obstructions following a cerebral event - on a medical specimen that had been donated to medical science.

The expert was working from a major hospital in Dundee, while the body she was operating on via the system was at another location at the academic institution.

Later that day, Ricardo Hanel from the US location used the technology to perform the pioneering long-distance operation from his Jacksonville base on a human body in the Scottish city over significant distance away.

The medical group has labeled it a potential "game changer" if it becomes approved for clinical application.

The medics think this technology could change stroke treatment, as a limited availability of expert care can have a major influence on the recovery prospects.

"It seemed like we were observing the first glimpse of the next generation," commented the lead researcher.

"Whereas before this was thought to be theoretical concept, we proved that all stages of the procedure can currently be accomplished."

The University of Dundee is the international education hub of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the exclusive site in the United Kingdom where doctors can treat cadavers with actual blood pumped through the blood pathways to replicate operations on a living person.

"This was the first time that we could execute the complete clot removal operation in a actual human specimen to prove that every phase of the procedure are achievable," said the primary researcher.

Juliet Bouverie, the director of a health foundation, called the long-distance operation as "a significant breakthrough".

"For too long, individuals from isolated regions have been deprived of access to surgical intervention," she continued.

"This type of automation could correct the imbalance which occurs in stroke treatment nationwide."

How does the technology work?

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

This interrupts blood and oxygen supply to the brain, and neurons stop functioning and expire.

The optimal therapy is a thrombectomy, where a expert uses catheters and wires to clear the obstruction.

But what happens when a individual can't get to a specialist who can perform the surgery?

Prof Grunwald said the study showed a robot could be attached to the equivalent surgical tools a doctor would normally use, and a healthcare professional who is present with the individual could easily connect the wires.

The specialist, in another location, could then operate and direct their personal instruments, and the mechanical device then carries out precisely identical actions in live timing on the subject to conduct the thrombectomy.

The patient would be in a treatment center, while the surgeon could perform the procedure via the advanced machine from any location - even their own home.

The lead researcher and the neurosurgeon could observe immediate scans of the subject in the trials, and track developments in immediate feedback, with the Dundee expert saying it took just a brief period of preparation.

Technology companies prominent manufacturers were contributed to the initiative to secure the communication link of the mechanical device.

"To perform surgery from the US to Britain with a brief latency - an instant - is genuinely extraordinary," commented the neurosurgeon.

The future of stroke treatment

The medical expert, who has been honored for her contributions and is also the senior official of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, explained there were key issues with a standard thrombectomy - a international lack of doctors who can conduct it, and treatment depends on your physical place.

In the region, there are just three locations patients can access the surgery - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you don't live there, you must journey.

"The procedure is extremely time-critical," stated the medical expert.

"Every six minutes delay, you have a slightly decreased likelihood of having a positive result.

"This innovation would now provide a novel approach where you're not reliant upon where you live - conserving the precious time where your brain is degenerating."

Public health data showed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|