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Surgeons from Scotland and America have successfully completed what is believed to be a world-first stroke surgery using robotic technology.

Prof Iris Grunwald, working at a research center, conducted the distant clot removal - the removal of vascular blockages following a cerebral event - on a medical specimen that had been contributed to medicine.

The surgeon was working from a treatment center in the Scottish city, while the subject undergoing procedure while using the machine was across the city at the university.

Later that day, a medical specialist from the US location employed the equipment to perform the pioneering long-distance operation from his Jacksonville base on a donated cadaver in Scotland over 4,000 miles away.

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

The surgeons believe this innovation could revolutionize stroke care, as a slow access to expert care can have a direct impact on the recovery prospects.

"The experience was we were observing the early preview of the coming era," stated the medical expert.

"Where previously this was regarded as futuristic fantasy, we showed that each phase of the procedure can now be performed."

The medical research center is the international education hub of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the only place in the Britain where doctors can work with cadavers with biological fluid pumped through the arteries to simulate procedures on a living person.

"This was the first time that we could conduct the whole mechanical thrombectomy procedure in a actual human specimen to prove that all steps of the operation are possible," explained the primary researcher.

A charity executive, the chief executive of a stroke charity, described the transatlantic procedure as "a remarkable innovation".

"During many years, people living in remote and rural areas have been limited in obtaining to thrombectomy," she continued.

"This type of automation could correct the imbalance which occurs in medical intervention throughout Britain."

What is the operational process?

An blockage stroke occurs when an blood vessel is obstructed by a clot.

This cuts off circulation and oxygenation to the cerebral tissue, and brain cells stop functioning and expire.

The superior intervention is a surgical extraction, where a specialist uses surgical tools to extract the blockage.

But what happens when a patient can't get to a specialist who can conduct the operation?

The medical expert explained the experiment proved a mechanical device could be attached to the same catheters and wires a specialist would normally use, and a healthcare professional who is present with the individual could easily connect the instruments.

The surgeon, in a separate site, could then operate and direct their personal instruments, and the robot then performs exactly the same movements in immediate sequence on the patient to perform the clot removal.

The patient would be in a treatment center, while the surgeon could perform the surgery via the automated equipment from anywhere - even their own home.

Prof Grunwald and the American specialist could observe real-time imaging of the specimen in the studies, and observe results in real time, with the Dundee expert saying it took only 20 minutes of training.

Tech giants Nvidia and Ericsson were involved in the initiative to guarantee the network connection of the automated system.

"To perform surgery from the America to Britain with a minimal delay - a moment - is genuinely extraordinary," commented Dr Hanel.

The future of stroke treatment

The medical expert, who has been honored for her contributions and is also the senior official of the global healthcare association, said there were two main problems with a conventional clot removal - a global shortage of specialists who can do it, and intervention relies upon your geographical position.

In the region, there are just three locations people can obtain the treatment - urban centers. If you don't live there, you must commute.

"The procedure is highly dependent on timing," said Prof Grunwald.

"For every six minutes of waiting, you have a 1% less chance of having a positive result.

"This system would now provide a new way where you're independent of where you reside - preserving the precious time where your cerebral matter is deteriorating."

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