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Doctors from Scotland and America have successfully completed what is believed to be a historic brain operation using robotic technology.

The lead surgeon, working at a medical institution, executed the long-distance surgery - the extraction of vascular blockages following a stroke - on a medical specimen that had been contributed to medicine.

The professor was positioned in a medical facility in Dundee, while the subject undergoing procedure while using the system was at another location at the university.

Later that day, a neurosurgeon from the American state used the equipment to conduct the first transatlantic surgery from his Jacksonville base on a human body in the Scottish city over significant distance away.

The medical group has called it a potential "revolutionary development" if it becomes approved for clinical application.

The doctors think this technology could change stroke treatment, as a limited availability of specialist treatment can have a significant effect on the healing potential.

"It seemed like we were observing the first glimpse of the next generation," stated Prof Grunwald.

"While in the past this was considered theoretical concept, we proved that all stages of the operation can now be performed."

The Scottish institution is the international education hub of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the exclusive site in the Britain where surgeons can work with medical specimens with biological fluid flowing through the blood pathways to simulate procedures on a living person.

"This represented the pioneering moment that we could conduct the whole mechanical thrombectomy procedure in a actual human specimen to show that each stage of the operation are feasible," stated the primary researcher.

A charity executive, the head of a stroke charity, described the intercontinental surgery as "an extraordinary advancement".

"For too long, individuals from isolated regions have been denied availability to surgical intervention," she added.

"This type of automation could correct the imbalance which persists in medical intervention nationwide."

How does the technology work?

An ischaemic stroke occurs when an vascular pathway is clogged by a clot.

This disrupts blood and oxygen supply to the brain, and brain cells stop functioning and die.

The best treatment is a thrombectomy, where a surgeon uses surgical tools to extract the blockage.

But what transpires when a individual cannot access a professional who can do the procedure?

The lead researcher explained the trial demonstrated a mechanical device could be attached to the same catheters and wires a specialist would normally use, and a medical staff who is with the patient could readily join the wires.

The surgeon, in a separate site, could then operate and direct their own wires, and the mechanical device then carries out comparable motions in immediate sequence on the subject to perform the clot removal.

The patient would be in a medical facility, while the surgeon could perform the surgery with the advanced machine from anywhere - even their personal residence.

Prof Grunwald and the American specialist could observe live X-rays of the specimen in the studies, and monitor progress in live conditions, with the Scottish specialist explaining it took just a brief period of instruction.

Tech giants leading tech firms were involved in the project to ensure the network connection of the robot.

"To perform surgery from the United States to the Scottish nation with a brief latency - an instant - is genuinely extraordinary," said the neurosurgeon.

Innovations in cerebral healthcare

The medical expert, who has won an award for her research and is also the vice president of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, stated there were two main problems with a standard thrombectomy - a international lack of surgeons who can perform it, and intervention relies upon your geographical position.

In the region, there are only three places people can obtain the treatment - three major cities. If you reside elsewhere, you must journey.

"The treatment is very time sensitive," explained Prof Grunwald.

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

"This technology would now offer a new way where you're independent of where you live - preserving the valuable minutes where your neural tissue is deteriorating."

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