During an ischemic stroke, the brain can lose nearly two million neurons per minute, making the timing of treatment critical to reducing the risk of death and long-term disability. Because of this, the company XCath performed the first remote telerobotic mechanical thrombectomy on a stroke patient in Panama this year using its Iris system.
The pilot clinical trial took place last March in Panama: for one week, medical teams remained on standby at two healthcare facilities located more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) apart.
Lead neurosurgeon Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira was located at a clinic in Santiago de Veraguas (central Panama). Another team waited at The Panama Clinic, a hospital in the capital, for the arrival of a potential stroke patient to be operated on using the Iris system.
The patient arrived: a 68-year-old man with a clot obstructing one of his cerebral arteries who required urgent intervention.
Dr. Mendes performed the procedure remotely in under an hour, using the remotely controlled robot to manipulate the devices required for the procedure.
“He could not speak and could not move his right side, and after the procedure he began talking and moving, and today he is almost completely recovered,” the Brazilian neurosurgeon told EFE.
Mendes is a specialist in non-invasive procedures who teaches at the University of Toronto and works at St. Michael’s Hospital.
Treated strokes as quickly as possible
After postponing the virtual interview several times due to emergency surgeries, Mendes stressed that strokes must be treated as quickly as possible. Living in remote areas should not be an obstacle to receiving timely care.
“Every hour is precious. Every minute, every hour, the patient loses significant chances of recovery,” emphasized the specialist. Mendes had been preparing for this type of operation for 12 years.
This race against time also motivated XCath CEO Eduardo Fonseca, a native of Panama, to lead the company in pioneering telerobotic systems for stroke treatment.
“A patient’s zip code should not define their chances of surviving a cerebrovascular accident. At XCath, we are working so that a specialist’s expertise can reach the patient, even if that specialist is hundreds or thousands of miles away,” Fonseca said in a statement sent to EFE.
He added: “That is the true potential of telerobotics: making distance increasingly irrelevant when every minute counts.”
Third Leading Cause of Death
According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, 11.9 million new strokes occurred in 2021, with 93.8 million people living with the effects of a stroke.
The Global Burden of Disease 2021 study, published in The Lancet Neurology, ranked stroke as the third leading cause of death worldwide that year, claiming 7.3 million lives—roughly 20,000 deaths per day.
Furthermore, according to the WHO, the risk of developing a stroke has increased by 50% over the last twenty years, with one in four adults expected to experience a stroke in their lifetime.
XCath is also working on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and a new iteration of its robotic system for future commercial launch.
According to the company, the system has received Breakthrough Device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This facilitates communication with the agency during development and regulatory review, though it does not constitute commercial clearance.
Public awareness also plays a critical role in this process, as people must understand the importance of early stroke recognition and seeking immediate care at a medical facility equipped to treat stroke patients. XCath highlights this message in the documentary “Robo Angel Chapter 1,” set to premiere October 18 in Panama and worldwide on October 29, World Stroke Day.
“Our goal is for this technology to reach more hospitals, more doctors, and above all, more patients. We want to move one step at a time (…) until one day, in any corner of the world, an Iris system is available to bring a specialist to the patient at the most critical moment and help save the lives of our loved ones. That is the spirit behind Operation Robo Angel,” Fonseca concluded. EFE