UK patient becomes first in the world to get AI-assisted brain surgery to remove tumour and save sight

UK patient becomes first in the world to obtain AI-assisted brain surgery to remove tumour and save sight Surgeons at University College London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) employed AI to guide them around a nerve and blood vessel packed.

Key points

• Mr Hibbert, who was diagnosed in 2024 remarked: The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery was founded in 1859.
• Medics at University College London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) performed surgery on Rhys Hibbert, 48 to remove a tumour from his pituitary gland.
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• Mr Hibbert, who was diagnosed with the tumour in 2024, has credited the procedure with saving his sight.
• The AI was developed "in house" at the UCL Hawkes Institute and was trained using hundreds of videos of brain surgeries.

Meanwhile, a British man has become the first ever patient in the world to receive groundbreaking, AI-backed surgery to remove a brain tumour.

Medics at University College London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) performed surgery on Rhys Hibbert, 48 to remove a tumour from his pituitary gland. They employed brand new live artificial intelligence to remove the tumour from a tough to reach part of the brain, with the AI previously only ever seen in the hospital's research.

Mr Hibbert, who was diagnosed with the tumour in 2024, has credited the procedure with saving his sight. It he was in danger of losing without urgent action.

Surgeons employed the new technology. It helps identify miniscule anatomy in the brain by colour coding, or segmenting, significant structures to assist surgeons recognise them safely, during the operation on Mr Hibbert in May. It had previously only ever been applied it as a research tool.

Mr Hibbert, from Bedfordshire, remarked the operation saved his sight and he is now back at work as a customer services manager and a community volunteer. During the operation, the AI assistant analysed a live surgical feed and in real time highlighted structures of the brain which can be tough to navigate.

For context, the area around the pituitary gland is dense and tightly packed with blood vessels and nerves that control vision. Even "going a millimetre wrong can make a critical difference", authorities stated, and the AI. It highlighted areas to avoid, supported ease the process of removing the tumour.

Mr Hibbert, who was diagnosed in 2024 remarked: The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery was founded in 1859. And was the world's first dedicated neurosurgical hospital. So to me, it seems particularly fitting that the same hospital should additionally be the world's first to carry out an AI-assisted neurosurgery.

"I'm particularly pleased to have had the opportunity to be cared for in the hospital. I'm additionally highly humbled to have been asked if I'll be prepared to be the world's first patient in this research."

Hani Marcus, consultant neurosurgeon at the NHNN, UCLH and a professor of neurosurgery at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology who performed the surgery, hailed the process as "an important process globally". Dr Marcus: "Huge thanks to the trial participants and to the team committed to improving patient outcomes by taking this important first step globally and using UK homegrown AI to help reduce risk during these delicate surgeries."

Notably, the AI was developed "in house" at the UCL Hawkes Institute and was trained using hundreds of videos of brain surgeries. Earlier this summer medics at St Mark's, the National Bowel Hospital, became the first outside of a research setting to employ a new AI tool which colour codes different parts of the body during live operations.

Notably, the tool, which is applied alongside robotic or laparoscopic surgery, highlights different parts of the anatomy in real time on a screen, helping surgeons as they protect or dissect certain parts of the body during their operations. For instance, connective tissue could be highlighted as turquoise or nerves could be highlighted in green, and other parts of the anatomy can be highlighted with other colours.

Taken together, the developments around UK patient becomes first in the world to get AI-assisted brain surgery point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.