World's first live AI-assisted brain surgery removes 11mm tumour and saves patient's sight
alex_verem · x · 2026-09-06
Rhys Hibbert, a 48-year-old from Bedfordshire, became the world's first patient to undergo brain surgery with real-time AI assistance at University College London Hospital. An 11mm benign tumour on his pituitary gland was pressing on his optic nerves and could have blinded him.
Surgeons removed the tumour through the nose with an endoscope while a bespoke AI tool watched the same camera feed, tracked instruments, and flagged where hidden arteries and nerves were most likely to be, highlighting safe zones to cut. The model was trained on hundreds of hand-annotated pituitary surgeries — built at UCL over nearly a decade with NIHR and Google funding. Still research-stage: fewer than ten patients so far, surgeons keep full control, and a larger trial is planned. Hibbert's vision recovered after the operation.
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