Videoconferences may be known for putting people to sleep, but never like this. Dr. Thomas Hemmerling and his team of McGill’s Department of Anesthesia achieved a world first on August 30, 2010, when they treated patients undergoing thyroid gland surgery in Italy remotely from Montreal. The approach is part of new technological advancements, known as ‘Teleanesthesia’, and it involves a team of engineers, researchers and anesthesiologists who will ultimately apply the drugs intravenously which are then controlled remotely through an automated system.
This achievement is a product of an on-going scientific collaboration between Dr. Hemmerling’s team and the Italian team of Dr. Zaouter of the Department of Anesthesia of Pisa University (Chairman Prof. Giunta).