In a medical milestone that could reshape the future of stroke care, doctors in Scotland and the United States have successfully performed the world’s first robot-assisted remote thrombectomy on human cadavers. The pioneering procedures, carried out in October 2025, showcased the potential for specialists to treat stroke patients from thousands of miles away—potentially transforming access to life-saving care for millions around the globe.
The first of these historic operations took place at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, Scotland. Professor Iris Grunwald, a leading neurointerventionist and Director of the Image Guided Therapy Research Facility at the University of Dundee, conducted a remote thrombectomy on a human cadaver located across the city at the university itself. The body, donated to medical science within the last three years and subsequently embalmed, was one of four used in the series of experiments—each prepared with human blood or fluid mimicking blood circulated through their vessels to simulate live treatment conditions.
Just hours after Professor Grunwald’s feat, neurosurgeon Ricardo Hanel in Jacksonville, Florida, performed the same procedure from over 4,000 miles away—a true transatlantic operation. Using advanced robotics developed by Lithuanian MedTech company Sentante, Dr. Hanel was able to manipulate catheters and wires in real time, with a mere 120 millisecond delay between his movements and the robot’s actions in Dundee. “To operate from the US to Scotland with a 120 millisecond lag—a blink of an eye—is truly remarkable,” Dr. Hanel told BBC News, emphasizing the unprecedented nature of the achievement.
The core of this breakthrough lies in the Sentante robotic system, which connects to the same catheters and wires that surgeons use for manual thrombectomies. The remote surgeon controls the robot’s intricate movements using joysticks, with the robot precisely replicating every motion on the patient’s body. According to Professor Grunwald, “It felt as if we were witnessing the first glimpse of the future. Where previously this was thought to be science fiction, we demonstrated that every step of the procedure can already be done.”
This isn’t the first time remote thrombectomies have been attempted—previous efforts used silicon models, 3D-printed replicas, or animals. But this is believed to be the first successful demonstration on a human body, even if the subjects were no longer alive. The University of Dundee, which serves as the global training centre for the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment, is uniquely equipped for such research. It’s the only place in the UK where doctors can operate on cadavers with human blood or simulated blood circulating in their vessels.
Thrombectomy, the removal of blood clots from the brain following an ischaemic stroke, is widely regarded as the most effective treatment for this type of stroke. Ischaemic strokes occur when a clot blocks an artery, cutting off blood and oxygen to the brain, and causing brain cells to die. The faster a clot is removed, the greater the patient’s chance of avoiding severe disability or death. Yet access to this specialized procedure is alarmingly limited. In Scotland last year, there were 9,625 ischaemic strokes, but only 212 patients—just 2.2%—received thrombectomy. Across the UK, the figure was only 3.9% in the year to March 2024, according to Public Health Scotland.
Professor Grunwald, who is also vice president of the World Federation for Interventional Stroke Treatment and an Innovate UK award winner, highlighted two major barriers to wider access: a global shortage of qualified doctors and the fact that treatment is tied to a patient’s location. “By the time patients reach a specialist centre, there’s often no brain left to save. Every six minutes delay in receiving treatment equates to a 1% lesser chance of a good outcome,” she explained to The Courier. In Scotland, only Dundee, Glasgow, and Edinburgh offer thrombectomy, meaning patients from remote areas face long, sometimes perilous journeys.
The hope is that robotic systems like Sentante’s could eliminate these geographical barriers. As Professor Grunwald put it, “This technology would now provide a new way where you’re not depending on where you live—saving the valuable minutes where your brain is otherwise dying.” In practical terms, a medic would be present with the patient to attach the necessary wires, while a specialist could perform the entire procedure remotely—potentially from anywhere in the world, even their own home. The system is so intuitive, Professor Grunwald noted, that it required only 20 minutes of training for the surgeons involved.
Tech giants Nvidia and Ericsson played a crucial role in the project, ensuring the robot’s connectivity was robust and latency minimal. The seamless integration of live X-ray imaging allowed the remote surgeons to monitor the procedure in real time, further narrowing the gap between operator and patient. “As a neurointerventionist, it is remarkable to feel the same fine control and resistance through a robotic interface as during a live procedure,” Professor Grunwald remarked. “Sentante’s technology truly bridges the gap between operator and patient, no matter the distance.”
For those living in rural or underserved regions, the implications are enormous. Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, told BBC News, “For too long, people living in remote and rural areas have been deprived of access to thrombectomy. Robotics like this could rebalance the inequity which exists in stroke treatment across the UK.”
Sentante CEO Edvardas Satkauskas echoed this optimism, crediting the University of Dundee’s unique cadaveric models for making the research possible. “For an ischaemic stroke, the difference between walking out of hospital and a lifetime of disability can be just two to three hours. Today, patients are often transported long distances to reach one of a limited number of thrombectomy centres. With Sentante, the specialist comes to the patient over a secure network and performs the entire procedure remotely—with the same tactile feel and control they have at the bedside.”
While the recent procedures were conducted on cadavers, the team is already looking ahead. Plans are underway to participate in clinical human trials in 2026, a crucial step before the technology can be approved for use on living patients. If successful, this could mark the dawn of a new era in stroke care—one where geography is no longer destiny, and life-saving expertise is only a network connection away.
For now, the world watches as Scotland and the US lead the way in remote robotic surgery. Sometimes, the future really is closer than we think.
