{"slug": "uk-performs-first-real-time-ai-assisted-brain-surgery", "title": "UK performs first real-time AI-assisted brain surgery", "summary": "University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) performed the UK's first real-time AI-assisted brain surgery, using AI to analyze live surgical video and protect the vision of 48-year-old Rhys Hibbert during removal of an 11-millimeter pituitary tumor. The AI system, developed at University College London and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Google, ran on an NVIDIA Clara IGX platform, and the surgery was led by consultant neurosurgeon Hani Marcus.", "body_md": "# UK performs first real-time AI-assisted brain surgery\n\nThe [UK](https://qazinform.com/tag/uk) has carried out the first brain surgery in which [artificial intelligence](https://qazinform.com/tag/artificial-intelligence) supported a neurosurgeon in real time, helping protect the vision of a man undergoing removal of a brain tumour, according to University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ([UCLH](https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/news/first-patient-live-ai-assisted-sight-saving-brain-surgery)), [Qazinform](https://qazinform.com/) News Agency reports.\n\nThe operation was performed at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH, as part of a clinical trial using AI technology developed at University College London (UCL) and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).\n\nRhys Hibbert, a 48-year-old customer services manager and community volunteer from Bedfordshire, was the first patient to undergo such surgery. His tumour had threatened his sight and could ultimately have caused blindness. The operation successfully removed the tumour and protected his vision.\n\nDuring the procedure, the [AI](https://qazinform.com/tag/ai) analysed live surgical video rather than pre-surgery scans, helping the team identify critical structures at the base of the brain. The pituitary gland, blood vessels and nerves controlling vision are tightly packed in this area, where even a small error can lead to death, blindness or stroke.\n\nHibbert’s tumour was discovered in December 2024 after he collapsed during a walk and suffered a seizure. Doctors found a tumour measuring around 11 millimetres in his pituitary gland. His condition was initially managed without surgery, but his symptoms later worsened, including severe hormone imbalance and vision problems.\n\nHibbert volunteered to take part in the research because he believes patient participation is important to medical progress.\n\n```\nIf patients are not prepared to join research, how can doctors ever learn and how can medicine ever progress? he said.\n```\n\nHe said his vision had dramatically improved after surgery, and within a week he was walking independently without glasses or sticks. He hopes his participation will contribute to future advances in medicine.\n\nThe surgery was performed by Hani Marcus, a consultant neurosurgeon at NHNN and UCLH and a professor of neurosurgery at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, alongside surgical resident Danyal Khan.\n\nThe [AI](https://qazinform.com/tag/artificial-intelligence) system was developed at the UCL Hawkes Institute and trained and evaluated using a large collection of annotated endoscopic pituitary surgery videos. It runs on an [NVIDIA](https://qazinform.com/tag/nvidia) Clara IGX platform designed to support real-time AI in medical device settings.\n\nThe trial was funded by NIHR and [Google](https://qazinform.com/tag/google) and supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Wellcome.\n\nEarlier, [Qazinform News Agency](https://qazinform.com/) reported that the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) [announced](https://qazinform.com/news/uk-invests-20m-in-ai-powered-human-models-to-improve-drug-testing-824fe8) a £20 million investment in a new research hub that would use human-based laboratory models and artificial intelligence to improve the development and testing of medicines.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-performs-first-real-time-ai-assisted-brain-surgery", "canonical_source": "https://qazinform.com/news/uk-performs-first-real-time-ai-assisted-brain-surgery-a71c15", "published_at": "2026-08-27 19:25:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-27 19:50:54.209518+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-research", "ai-products"], "entities": ["University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust", "Rhys Hibbert", "Hani Marcus", "University College London", "National Institute for Health and Care Research", "NVIDIA", "Google", "National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-performs-first-real-time-ai-assisted-brain-surgery", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-performs-first-real-time-ai-assisted-brain-surgery.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-performs-first-real-time-ai-assisted-brain-surgery.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-performs-first-real-time-ai-assisted-brain-surgery.jsonld"}}