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Medical professionals from Scotland and the United States have successfully completed what is considered a historic brain operation employing a robot.

The lead surgeon, from a Scottish university, conducted the long-distance surgery - the extraction of blood clots after a brain attack - on a medical specimen that had been provided for research.

The professor was working from a medical facility in the Scottish city, while the specimen being treated with the device was at another location at the university.

Hours later, a neurosurgeon from the US location utilized the equipment to perform the pioneering long-distance operation from his Jacksonville base on a human body in Dundee over significant distance away.

The research collective has called it a potential "revolutionary development" if it receives authorization for clinical application.

The medics consider this technology could transform cerebral healthcare, as a limited availability of expert care can have a direct impact on the chances of recovery.

"The experience was we were observing the first glimpse of the future," said Prof Grunwald.

"While in the past this was considered futuristic fantasy, we showed that every step of the surgery can already be done."

The University of Dundee is the worldwide teaching facility of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the exclusive site in the United Kingdom where doctors can operate on medical specimens with human blood pumped through the vessels to mimic treatment on a live human.

"This was the first time that we could perform the whole mechanical thrombectomy procedure in a actual human specimen to demonstrate that each stage of the procedure are achievable," stated the primary researcher.

A charity executive, the director of a stroke charity, labeled the transatlantic procedure as "a remarkable innovation".

"Over extended periods, people living in isolated regions have been denied availability to thrombectomy," she continued.

"Robotics like this could correct the imbalance which persists in medical intervention across the UK."

How does the technology work?

An brain attack happens when an blood vessel is obstructed by a clot.

This cuts off blood and oxygen supply to the brain, and neurons cease working and deteriorate.

The best treatment is a clot removal, where a specialist uses surgical tools to clear the obstruction.

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

The medical expert said the experiment proved a robot could be linked with the identical medical instruments a doctor would typically employ, and a medical staff who is attending the case could easily connect the tools.

The surgeon, in another location, could then manipulate and control their own wires, and the automated system then carries out exactly the same movements in live timing on the individual to conduct the clot removal.

The subject would be in a hospital operating room, while the doctor could perform the operation using the advanced machine from any location - even their private dwelling.

The lead researcher and the neurosurgeon could see live X-rays of the body in the experiments, and track developments in immediate feedback, with the lead researcher stating it took just a brief period of preparation.

Technology companies leading tech firms were contributed to the initiative to secure the communication link of the mechanical device.

"To perform surgery from the US to Britain with a minimal delay - an instant - is absolutely amazing," commented Dr Hanel.

Advancements in brain care

The lead researcher, who has been honored for her contributions and is also the executive member of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, stated there were two main problems with a conventional clot removal - a global shortage of doctors who can perform it, and treatment depends on your geographical position.

In the region, there are just three locations people can receive the procedure - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you aren't located nearby, you must journey.

"The intervention is very time sensitive," stated Prof Grunwald.

"Each six-minute postponement, you have a one percent reduced probability of having a successful recovery.

"This system would now provide a novel approach where you're independent of where you live - conserving the crucial moments where your brain is otherwise dying."

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