Surgeons at University College London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) have performed the world's first AI-assisted brain surgery on a British patient, removing a tumour from his pituitary gland and saving his sight.
Patient's sight saved by AI-assisted procedure
Rhys Hibbert, 48, from Bedfordshire, was diagnosed with the tumour in 2024 and faced losing his sight without urgent action. He underwent the operation in May, and has credited the procedure with saving his sight. 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 highlighted structures of the brain in real time. The area around the pituitary gland is dense and tightly packed with blood vessels and nerves that control vision, and officials said even "going a millimetre wrong can make a critical difference". The AI highlighted areas to avoid, easing the process of removing the tumour.
AI technology previously used only in research
The new technology helps identify miniscule anatomy in the brain by colour coding, or segmenting, important structures to help surgeons recognise them safely. It had previously only ever been used as a research tool at the hospital.
The AI was developed "in house" at the UCL Hawkes Institute and was trained using hundreds of videos of brain surgeries.
Surgeons hail 'important first step globally'
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".
He said: "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."
Mr Hibbert said: "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 very fitting that the same hospital should also be the world's first to carry out an AI-assisted neurosurgery. I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to be cared for in the hospital... I'm also very humbled to have been asked if I'll be prepared to be the world's first patient in this research."
Earlier AI tool used at St Mark's Hospital
Earlier this summer, medics at St Mark's, the National Bowel Hospital, became the first outside of a research setting to use a new AI tool which colour codes different parts of the body during live operations. The tool, used 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. For instance, connective tissue could be highlighted as turquoise, nerves in green, and other parts of the anatomy in other colours.
