health
UK patient first in world to get AI-assisted brain surgery to remove tumour
The world first AI-backed surgery was performed on a British patient(Image: UCLH/PA Wire)
TL;DR
- Rhys Hibbert, 48, is the world's first patient to receive AI-assisted surgery to remove a brain tumour.
- The surgery took place at University College London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN).
- AI technology was used to guide surgeons around nerves and blood vessels near the pituitary gland, an area densely packed with critical structures.
- The AI analyzes live surgical feeds and color-codes important anatomical structures, helping surgeons identify and avoid damage to delicate tissues.
- Hibbert credited the procedure with saving his sight and is now back at work.
- The AI tool was developed in-house at the UCL Hawkes Institute and had previously only been used for research.
- Consultant neurosurgeon Hani Marcus hailed the procedure as an important global advancement.