KarunaNews Story

Even from a few kilometers away, Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira is able to perform a critical diagnostic procedure, thanks to an internet connection and a remote-controlled robot. “Every minute counts,” Pereira said. “If I can deploy the robot and treat closest to where the patient is, that can save hours. And that is really the ultimate goal of this type of treatment.” The team at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto has performed 10 brain angiograms — a procedure used to get detailed images of blood vessels in the brain — through this remote-controlled robot over a fiber-optic internet connection. But that's just the start. The same team hopes to perform a remote endovascular thrombectomy — a critical surgery to remove blood clots — via robot, for a patient about 500 kilometers away in Sault Ste. Marie. While it still needs approval from Health Canada, if performed, it would be the first time endovascular thrombectomy was performed remotely in the world. It's an advancement that doctors say could have a positive impact for stroke patients in rural parts of Canada, and across the globe.