The world’s first successful AI assisted surgery to remove a brain tumour was performed in London, helping save the sight of 48 year old Rhys Hibbert.
The surgical team remained in full control throughout the operation, while the AI system analysed camera footage in real time, helping identify critical and very small anatomical structures in the brain, including nerves.
The surgery was performed in May at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, part of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Details were kept confidential until today, 27 August, while Hibbert recovered.
Hibbert was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2024 and initially did not require surgery, but his symptoms later worsened and his eyesight was at risk.
A week after the operation, Hibbert was walking without a cane and had begun seeing without glasses. He has since returned to work as a customer service manager. “I feel like I’ve got a 360 degree panoramic view of everything around me,” he said.
The hospital had previously used the technology as a research tool, but this was the first time it was used during surgery on a patient. The pituitary gland, blood vessels and nerves controlling vision are located very close together and, according to health officials, “an error of just one millimetre can make a critical difference,” with possible consequences including blindness, stroke or death.
Source: The Guardian
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