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Doctors from Scotland and the United States have performed what is believed to be a world-first stroke procedure utilizing automated systems.

The medical expert, working at a Scottish university, conducted the remote thrombectomy - the removal of circulatory obstructions after a cerebral event - on a donated body that had been provided for research.

The professor was located at a major hospital in Dundee, while the specimen being treated while using the device was across the city at the university.

Hours later, a neurosurgeon from Florida employed the technology to carry out the first transatlantic surgery from his American facility on a medical specimen in Scotland over 4,000 miles away.

The team has labeled it a potential "game changer" if it becomes approved for use on patients.

The surgeons believe this system could change stroke treatment, as a slow access to expert care can have a major influence on the healing potential.

"The experience was we were seeing the initial vision of the next generation," commented Prof Grunwald.

"While in the past this was regarded as futuristic fantasy, we demonstrated that each phase of the operation can now be performed."

The Scottish institution is the worldwide teaching facility of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the sole location in the United Kingdom where surgeons can operate on cadavers with human blood pumped through the blood pathways to replicate operations on a actual patient.

"This represented the pioneering moment that we could perform the complete clot removal operation in a genuine medical subject to demonstrate that each stage of the operation are possible," explained the lead expert.

Juliet Bouverie, the head of a health foundation, called the long-distance operation as "a remarkable innovation".

"During many years, individuals from isolated regions have been deprived of access to thrombectomy," she added.

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

What is the operational process?

An brain attack takes place when an blood vessel is obstructed by a blockage.

This interrupts circulation and oxygenation to the neural matter, and neurons cease working and deteriorate.

The optimal therapy is a thrombectomy, where a specialist uses catheters and wires to extract the blockage.

But what occurs when a person cannot access a specialist who can do the procedure?

Prof Grunwald explained the experiment showed a mechanical device could be linked with the equivalent surgical tools a specialist would normally use, and a medic who is attending the case could readily join the tools.

The surgeon, in another location, could then hold and move their individual tools, and the automated system then executes exactly the same movements in real time on the patient to carry out the clot removal.

The subject would be in a hospital operating room, while the doctor could conduct the surgery with the technological system from any location - even their own home.

The lead researcher and Ricardo Hanel could view real-time imaging of the subject in the experiments, and monitor progress in immediate feedback, with the Dundee expert stating it took just a brief period of preparation.

Technology companies prominent manufacturers were involved in the research to ensure the connectivity of the automated system.

"To conduct procedures from the America to Britain with a brief latency - a blink of an eye - is genuinely extraordinary," commented Dr Hanel.

Innovations in cerebral healthcare

The lead researcher, who has been honored for her work and is also the vice president of the international medical organization, explained there were primary challenges with a traditional procedure - a global shortage of doctors who can conduct it, and intervention relies upon your location.

In the Scottish nation, there are only three places people can access the surgery - urban centers. If you aren't located nearby, you must travel.

"The treatment is highly dependent on timing," stated the medical expert.

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

"This technology would now deliver a novel approach where you're not reliant upon where you live - saving the valuable minutes where your brain is degenerating."

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