On Oct. 25, the National Geographic Channel will broadcast the actual brain surgery of an actual patient on live TV. The two-hour show, appropriately called “Brain Surgery Live,” is in partnership with the magazine Mental Floss.
“Filming will take place via two handheld cameras well as several robotic cameras with inputs directly in the doctors’ surgical equipment, allowing viewers to see live images as the brain is being operated on in real time,” Kate Stanhope explained in The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news.
The show will give viewers a look at a deep brain stimulation surgery, which involves drilling a small hole in the skull to attach electrodes to the brain. Those electrodes are connected to a pacemaker-like device so they can release electrical impulses to targeted areas of the brain.
The surgery is used to help treat certain neurological diseases like Parkinson’s. Because it’s very important that the electrodes are placed on the exact brain areas the stimulation is designed to target, the neurosurgeon typically talks to the fully awake patient during the procedure.
The show will air on Sunday, October 25 at 9pm Eastern time (October 26 at 6.30 am in India) on the National Geographic Channel. More details on who will be able to watch live are available at The Hollywood Reporter.
News!! We’re teaming up w/ @NatGeoChannel to celebrate the most complex organ in the human body. #BrainSurgeryLive pic.twitter.com/3FcmddlYM6
— Mental Floss (@mental_floss) October 6, 2015
