20/11/2025
Every stroke patient deserves the best possible treatment, and in the event of an ischaemic stroke (caused by a blood clot in the brain) that treatment is a mechanical thrombectomy.
By removing the blood clot directly from the brain, using a specialist device, this procedure can can save lives and reduce disability.
But too many stroke patients across the UK miss out on this life-saving procedure due to limited availability and inconsistent service delivery, resulting in a postcode lottery. One major cause of this inequality is a shortage of trained specialists.
With too few experts available, patients often have to travel long distances for care. This is far from ideal. Time is critical for stroke patients, and every minute spent travelling reduces the likelihood of a successful outcome. Not to mention that mechanical thrombectomy is a highly time-sensitive treatment, and there is a short window of opportunity for it to be delivered effectively.
But imagine if this treatment could be performed remotely, in your local hospital, using state-of-the-art robotics, operated by a specialist several hundred miles away. It may sound like science fiction, but this innovation has the potential to be the future of stroke treatment, and end the postcode lottery for people in remote, rural, and under-serviced areas.
Recently, Professor Iris Grunwald at University of Dundee demonstrated this possibility by performing a remote thrombectomy on a cadaver* located in another part of Dundee.
To further showcase the potential of the technology, a neurosurgeon in Florida carried out the same procedure, from more than 4,000 miles away.
As Professor Grunwald emphasised, 'a specialist doesn’t need to be in the same hospital, or even in the same country, to help you'. The team now hope to take part in clinical trials next year.
* Thank you to those people who donate their bodies to science so vital life-saving research like this can happen.
