{"slug": "nhs-hospital-claims-world-first-ai-assisted-brain-surgery", "title": "NHS hospital claims world-first AI-assisted brain surgery", "summary": "University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust has performed what it claims is the world's first brain operation using AI-assisted technology, removing a pituitary brain tumour from 48-year-old Rhys Hibbert. The AI system, developed by University College London's Hawkes Institute and powered by the NVIDIA Clara IGX platform, analysed the live surgical video feed in real time to help surgeons identify critical structures and avoid risky areas. The procedure took place at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery as part of a research programme backed by government funding and Google.", "body_md": "##### During a procedure in which a misstep of just a millimetre can cause death or severe damage, clinicians used technology to help analyse video of their work in real time\n\nA London NHS trust claims to have performed the world’s first brain operation using artificial intelligence tools to help support the work of surgeons.\n\nUniversity College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust recently removed a pituitary brain tumour from 48-year-old Rhys Hibbert. During the operation, surgeons were assisted by AI technology developed by the trust’s academic partner organisation: University College London (UCL).\n\nThe system “analysed the live surgical video feed in real time, rather than using pre-surgery scans, to help the surgical team make more precise decisions by highlighting critical structures at the base of the brain”, according to UCL.\n\nAcademics at the university’s Hawkes Institute developed the tool, which was “trained and evaluated… using a large collection of annotated endoscopic pituitary surgery videos from previous operations”.\n\nBefore being deployed in a live surgical setting, the AI function – which is underpinned by the NVIDIA Clara IGX platform – had previously been used to help train surgeons.\n\nNow two UCLH clinicians – Professor Hani Marcus, supported by Danyal Khan – have put the technology into practice, by using it to help guide their work during a procedure in which “going a millimetre wrong can make a critical difference and lead to death, blindness or stroke”, according to UCL, which added that “the AI supported the surgical team helping identify risky areas to avoid while removing as much tumour as safely possible”.\n\n### Related content\n\n[Government-backed researchers claim AI cancer breakthrough](https://www.publictechnology.net/2024/06/12/health-and-social-care/government-backed-researchers-claim-ai-cancer-breakthrough/)[NHS launches AI and robotic pilot to speed up cancer diagnoses](https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/02/04/health-and-social-care/nhs-launches-ai-and-robotic-pilot-to-speed-up-cancer-diagnoses/)[NHS App to incorporate AI triage offering](https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/07/06/health-and-social-care/nhs-app-to-incorporate-ai-triage-offering/)\n\nGoing forward, the technology could also be used to help “to track surgical instruments and instrument–tissue interactions, with the aim of supporting surgeons during complex procedures and providing feedback”, academics believe.\n\nThe patient volunteered to take part in the procedure, which took place at the UCLH-based National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery as part of a research programme backed by government funding and extra financial assistance from Google.\n\n“The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery was founded in 1859… and was the world’s first dedicated neurosurgical hospital,” Hibbert said. “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.”\n\nDr Sophia Bano, associate professor in robotics and AI at the UCL Hawkes Institute, added: “This AI system was developed by a multidisciplinary team at UCL. By learning from hundreds of surgical videos, it has been exposed to a breadth of surgical examples that would take a surgeon many years to encounter. It is designed to help recognise critical anatomy, surgical instruments and tissue interactions in real time, supporting the surgeon during highly delicate procedures.”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/nhs-hospital-claims-world-first-ai-assisted-brain-surgery", "canonical_source": "https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/09/01/health-and-social-care/nhs-hospital-claims-world-first-ai-assisted-brain-surgery/", "published_at": "2026-09-01 10:40:35+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-01 10:51:59.450394+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-research", "ai-products"], "entities": ["University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust", "University College London (UCL)", "Hawkes Institute", "NVIDIA Clara IGX", "National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery", "Rhys Hibbert", "Professor Hani Marcus", "Danyal Khan"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/nhs-hospital-claims-world-first-ai-assisted-brain-surgery", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/nhs-hospital-claims-world-first-ai-assisted-brain-surgery.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/nhs-hospital-claims-world-first-ai-assisted-brain-surgery.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/nhs-hospital-claims-world-first-ai-assisted-brain-surgery.jsonld"}}