Surgeons in Dundee and the U.S. Perform World-First Remote Robotic Stroke Surgery

In a medical milestone, surgeons from the University of Dundee in Scotland and their U.S. counterparts have completed the world’s first remote robotic procedure to treat a stroke by removing a blood clot (thrombectomy), marking a breakthrough in neurovascular care.

During the experiment, the stroke operation was conducted using a robotic system developed by the medtech company Sentante, allowing a surgeon in Florida to operate remotely on a human cadaver located in Dundee, more than 6,400 kilometers away.

The procedure was led by Iris Grunwald of the University of Dundee, who controlled the robot remotely from within the hospital while her U.S. counterpart managed coordination from the American side.

They removed a simulated clot using haptic feedback and live imaging, successfully demonstrating that critical vascular surgery could be performed across continents with very low latency.

According to the Dundee team, this achievement opens the way for truly global access to specialist stroke treatment, especially in regions lacking local neuro-interventional expertise.

The ability to mobilize expert surgeons remotely could reduce delays in treating acute stroke, which is vital since every minute of delay can cost millions of brain cells. Professor Grunwald described the result as “undoubtedly one of the most exciting innovations in stroke intervention in the last decade.”

While the initial test was performed on a cadaver for safety and technical proof-of-concept, the teams now anticipate clinical trials in live patients, subject to regulatory approvals and further validation of the system’s reliability.

The key remaining hurdles include ensuring seamless connectivity, real-time imaging across vast distances, robust fail-safe protocols, and cost-effective deployment in hospitals worldwide.

If successful, the technique may mark a paradigm shift in how stroke care is delivered, transforming it from a local service to a global, distributed capability.

Source: Euronews, University of Dundee newsroom, BBC News