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Medical professionals from the Scottish region and America have performed what is thought of as a historic stroke procedure employing a robot.

The medical expert, from a Scottish university, executed the long-distance surgery - the extraction of blood clots post a stroke - on a human cadaver that had been donated to medical science.

The professor was positioned in a major hospital in the Scottish city, while the body she was operating on with the system was separately situated at the academic institution.

Subsequently, Ricardo Hanel from Florida used the equipment to perform the pioneering long-distance operation from his Jacksonville base on a medical specimen in Scotland over 4,000 miles away.

The medical group has called it a potential "game changer" if it gains clearance for clinical application.

The doctors think this innovation could revolutionize stroke treatment, as a delay in accessing specialist treatment can have a direct impact on the healing potential.

"It felt as if we were witnessing the first glimpse of the next generation," stated the medical expert.

"While in the past this was regarded as futuristic fantasy, we proved that every step of the procedure can currently be accomplished."

The University of Dundee is the worldwide teaching facility of the international stroke organization, and is the exclusive site in the Britain where surgeons can treat medical specimens with human blood pumped through the blood pathways to simulate procedures on a living person.

"This was the first time that we could conduct the whole mechanical thrombectomy procedure in a real human body to show that each stage of the procedure are possible," said the primary researcher.

A healthcare leader, the director of a stroke charity, described the intercontinental surgery as "an extraordinary advancement".

"During many years, people living in remote and rural areas have been denied availability to surgical intervention," she stated.

"Such technological systems could correct the imbalance which persists in stroke treatment nationwide."

How does the technology work?

An blockage stroke happens when an blood vessel is obstructed by a obstruction.

This cuts off circulation and oxygenation to the brain, and neural cells stop functioning and die.

The best treatment is a thrombectomy, where a surgeon uses medical instruments to clear the obstruction.

But what happens when a individual cannot access a specialist who can perform the surgery?

Prof Grunwald explained the experiment proved a mechanical device could be attached to the same catheters and wires a specialist would typically employ, and a healthcare professional who is attending the case could easily connect the wires.

The expert, in another location, could then manipulate and control their individual tools, and the mechanical device then performs precisely identical actions in immediate sequence on the subject to carry out the surgical procedure.

The patient would be in a medical facility, while the doctor could carry out the surgery with the advanced machine from anywhere - even their own home.

The medical expert and Ricardo Hanel could see immediate scans of the specimen in the trials, and monitor progress in live conditions, with the Dundee expert stating it took merely twenty minutes of preparation.

Technology companies leading tech firms were involved in the project to guarantee the network connection of the automated system.

"To perform surgery from the America to Scotland with a minimal delay - a moment - is absolutely amazing," stated the medical expert.

Advancements in brain care

The lead researcher, who has received recognition for her work and is also the vice president of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, stated there were key issues with a conventional clot removal - a worldwide deficiency of surgeons who can do it, and care is determined by your physical place.

In the Scottish nation, there are merely three sites people can obtain the treatment - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you don't live there, you must travel.

"The intervention is very time sensitive," said the lead researcher.

"Each six-minute postponement, you have a 1% less chance of having a positive result.

"This innovation would now provide a new way where you're independent of where you dwell - conserving the precious time where your brain is otherwise dying."

Healthcare information showed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|