London (GNP): A patient in the United Kingdom (UK) has become the world’s first to undergo brain surgery with live artificial intelligence (AI) assistance, successfully having his tumour removed.
Rhys Hibbert, a father of two from Bedfordshire, could have lost his sight without the operation, according to surgeons at University College London Hospital, who used an AI tool that analysed a live video feed of the surgery and advised the team on how to avoid critical, hidden vessels and nerves in the brain, allowing them to safely remove as much of the tumour as possible.
Hibbert’s condition emerged roughly 18 months before the surgery, when the previously fit and healthy 48-year-old customer services manager fell unconscious and began fitting during a routine lunchtime walk. A subsequent brain scan revealed an 11mm non-cancerous tumour growing on his pituitary gland, a marble-sized organ at the base of the skull that secretes hormones vital to growth, metabolism, and the regulation of blood pressure and temperature.
Because the gland sits close to the carotid arteries and the optic nerves that control vision, the tumour began pressing on Hibbert’s optic nerves, narrowing his peripheral vision and leading to tripping, severe fatigue, and dizziness in the months before surgery.
Against that backdrop, Hibbert agreed without hesitation when surgeons offered him the chance to become the first patient to undergo the procedure with their AI tool, saying medical progress depends on patients being willing to take part in research.
The operation itself involved inserting an endoscope through the nose to reach the base of the skull, where the tumour remained hidden behind layers of bone and tough membrane, a particularly difficult site given that anatomy tends to differ between individual patients and complication rates for the procedure include a 25 to 50 percent chance of not removing the tumour completely and a 0.5 to 2 percent chance of injuring a major blood vessel.
It was this complexity that the AI tool was designed to address. Displayed on a second screen during the operation, the system analysed the live video feed, tracked surgical instruments, and marked up areas where vessels and nerves were most likely located, functioning in a manner similar to facial recognition technology but applied to hidden anatomical structures instead.
Professor Hani Marcus, who helped carry out the procedure, said the system had been trained on more operations than most surgeons encounter in a lifetime and can act as an expert second pair of eyes, adding that unlike other experimental AI tools, it operates in real time.
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The research team, whose work is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Google, said the tool is intended only to assist surgeons, who retain full control throughout the procedure, and that their long-term goal is to develop a system offering surgeons expert guidance they can consult or disregard as needed.
Eight weeks after the operation, Hibbert has described a significant recovery, saying his vision has continued to improve steadily and that the fatigue and other side effects he experienced before surgery have disappeared entirely.
Health Innovation Minister James Frith said he was pleased Hibbert had undergone what he called life-changing surgery as part of government-funded research, adding that AI requires proper safeguards to ensure safety while also allowing the opportunities it offers to be realised. Says Rhys Hibbert, “It’s given me my life back.”
