King's leads global push to standardise robotics for stroke treatment

Until now, no agreed framework existed for how robotic systems for mechanical thrombectomy (MT) should be built, tested or evaluated. A new position statement, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA), fills that gap, defining standards that put patient safety first.

MT is a life-saving procedure used to remove blood clots from the brain. The complex procedure is needed within hours to achieve the best outcomes, but as it requires specialist expertise, access remains limited.

Robotic surgical systems could expand access to MT by enabling specialists to perform procedures remotely. However, progress has been hampered by a lack of standardisation across studies.

"In 2023, we carried out a systematic review of endovascular robotics and autonomy," said Harry Robertshaw, first author and PhD student at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences. "We found that although several studies existed, they were all testing different tasks, using different models and measuring different outcomes. This made it impossible to compare results or identify the most effective approaches."

To address this, the team brought together an international group of experts in interventional neuroradiology, robotics, data science, health economics, policy, statistics and patient advocacy to establish consensus frameworks for developing and validating robotic MT. The resulting position statement sets out how the systems should be tested and how their effectiveness should be measured and reported.

Patient perspectives were key, with input from patient representatives and organisations including the Stroke Association. This helped ensure that safety, real-world impact and patient benefit remain central.

The researchers hope the position statement will drive more comparable studies, accelerating progress across the field.

Senior author Dr Thomas Booth commented: "While AI-assisted robotic MT is not yet ready for routine clinical use, the speed of innovation in both robotics and AI means transformative advances are likely to be just around the corner. Our work lays the foundation for that future by defining clear standards to ensure that global development and validation are well understood."