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Doctors from the Scottish region and America have accomplished what is considered a pioneering stroke procedure using robotic technology.

The lead surgeon, working at a medical institution, conducted the remote thrombectomy - the extraction of blood clots post a stroke - on a donated body that had been provided for research.

The expert was positioned in a major hospital in Dundee, while the subject undergoing procedure with the system was across the city at the university.

Hours later, a neurosurgeon from the American state used the system to perform the initial intercontinental procedure from his Florida location on a human body in Scotland over 6,400km away.

The research collective has labeled it a potential "game changer" if it receives authorization for medical treatment.

The doctors consider this technology could revolutionize cerebral healthcare, as a limited availability of professional intervention can have a direct impact on the chances of recovery.

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

"Whereas before this was considered futuristic fantasy, we proved that each phase of the procedure can already be done."

The University of Dundee is the global training center of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, and is the sole location in the Britain where doctors can work with donated bodies with human blood flowing through the blood pathways to replicate operations on a living person.

"This represented the pioneering moment that we could execute the entire surgical process in a real human body to prove that every phase of the procedure are possible," stated Prof Grunwald.

A charity executive, the chief executive of a health foundation, labeled the long-distance operation as "a significant breakthrough".

"For too long, people living in countryside locations have been denied availability to surgical intervention," she stated.

"Such technological systems could rebalance the inequity which persists in medical intervention throughout Britain."

How does the system function?

An ischaemic stroke occurs when an artery is blocked by a clot.

This disrupts blood and oxygen supply to the cerebral tissue, and neurons cease working and deteriorate.

The optimal therapy is a surgical extraction, where a surgeon uses surgical tools to remove the clot.

But what transpires when a person can't get to a expert who can perform the surgery?

The lead researcher explained the trial showed a automated system could be linked with the identical medical instruments a surgeon would typically employ, and a medical staff who is attending the case could readily join the wires.

The expert, in a different place, could then operate and direct their personal instruments, and the robot then carries out exactly the same movements in immediate sequence on the subject to perform the surgical procedure.

The subject would be in a medical facility, while the specialist could conduct the surgery via the automated equipment from anywhere - even their private dwelling.

Prof Grunwald and the American specialist could view real-time imaging of the body in the studies, and monitor progress in real time, with the Scottish specialist stating it took just a brief period of instruction.

Technology companies prominent manufacturers were involved in the project to ensure the communication link of the robot.

"To operate from the America to the Scottish nation with a brief latency - a moment - is truly remarkable," said the medical expert.

Innovations in cerebral healthcare

The lead researcher, who has won an award for her contributions and is also the executive member of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, explained there were two main problems with a standard thrombectomy - a international lack of specialists who can conduct it, and intervention relies upon your physical place.

In Scotland, there are just three locations patients can obtain the treatment - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you don't live there, you must journey.

"The intervention is highly dependent on timing," stated Prof Grunwald.

"Every six minutes delay, you have a 1% less chance of having a good outcome.

"This technology would now deliver a novel approach where you're not depending on where you reside - conserving the valuable minutes where your brain is degenerating."

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