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Doctors from Scotland and the United States have performed what is considered a historic stroke surgery using robotic technology.

The medical expert, working at a research center, conducted the distant clot removal - the extraction of vascular blockages after a brain attack - on a human cadaver that had been provided for research.

The expert was working from a treatment center in Dundee, while the specimen being treated with the machine was across the city at the university.

Hours later, a neurosurgeon from Florida used the technology to conduct the initial intercontinental procedure from his American facility on a donated cadaver in the Scottish city over 4,000 miles away.

The research collective has labeled it a potential "revolutionary development" if it gains clearance for use on patients.

The surgeons think this system could change stroke treatment, as a slow access to expert care can have a significant effect on the recovery prospects.

"It felt as if we were observing the early preview of the future," commented the medical expert.

"Whereas before this was regarded as theoretical concept, we showed that every step of the operation can already be done."

The Scottish institution is the international education hub of the global medical association, and is the sole location in the Britain where medical professionals can treat medical specimens with human blood circulated in the arteries to replicate operations on a living person.

"This represented the pioneering moment that we could perform the entire surgical process in a genuine medical subject to show that every phase of the surgery are possible," explained Prof Grunwald.

A healthcare leader, the head of a stroke charity, described the long-distance operation as "a remarkable innovation".

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

"Robotics like this could address the disparity which occurs in medical intervention across the UK."

What is the operational process?

An ischaemic stroke happens when an vascular pathway is clogged by a obstruction.

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

The best treatment is a clot removal, where a specialist uses catheters and wires to clear the obstruction.

But what happens when a person can't get to a specialist who can do the procedure?

Prof Grunwald said the experiment demonstrated a mechanical device could be attached to the identical medical instruments a doctor would normally use, and a medic who is with the patient could easily connect the tools.

The surgeon, in a separate site, could then hold and move their individual tools, and the automated system then performs comparable motions in real time on the patient to carry out the clot removal.

The subject would be in a treatment center, while the specialist could conduct the surgery via the automated equipment from any location - even their private dwelling.

Prof Grunwald and Ricardo Hanel could observe real-time imaging of the specimen in the studies, and observe results in real time, with the Scottish specialist explaining it took only 20 minutes of preparation.

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

"To operate from the United States to Britain with a 120 millisecond lag - a moment - is truly remarkable," stated the medical expert.

Advancements in brain care

The medical expert, who has won an award for her research and is also the senior official of the global healthcare association, explained there were primary challenges with a traditional procedure - a global shortage of specialists who can perform it, and intervention relies upon your location.

In the Scottish nation, there are merely three sites patients can access the surgery - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you don't live there, you must travel.

"The intervention is extremely time-critical," explained the medical expert.

"Each six-minute postponement, you have a slightly decreased likelihood of having a good outcome.

"This technology would now provide a innovative method where you're not reliant upon where you reside - saving the valuable minutes where your neural tissue is deteriorating."

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