Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Sep 26;59(10):1721.
doi: 10.3390/medicina59101721.

Augmented Reality in Neurosurgery: A New Paradigm for Training

Grace Hey  1 , Michael Guyot  1 , Ashley Carter  2 , Brandon Lucke-Wold  3
Affiliations
Review

Augmented Reality in Neurosurgery: A New Paradigm for Training

Grace Hey et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) involves the overlay of computer-generated images onto the user's real-world visual field to modify or enhance the user's visual experience. With respect to neurosurgery, AR integrates preoperative and intraoperative imaging data to create an enriched surgical experience that has been shown to improve surgical planning, refine neuronavigation, and reduce operation time. In addition, AR has the potential to serve as a valuable training tool for neurosurgeons in a way that minimizes patient risk while facilitating comprehensive training opportunities. The increased use of AR in neurosurgery over the past decade has led to innovative research endeavors aiming to develop novel, more efficient AR systems while also improving and refining present ones. In this review, we provide a concise overview of AR, detail current and emerging uses of AR in neurosurgery and neurosurgical training, discuss the limitations of AR, and provide future research directions. Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), 386 articles were initially identified. Two independent reviewers (GH and AC) assessed article eligibility for inclusion, and 31 articles are included in this review. The literature search included original (retrospective and prospective) articles and case reports published in English between 2013 and 2023. AR assistance has shown promise within neuro-oncology, spinal neurosurgery, neurovascular surgery, skull-base surgery, and pediatric neurosurgery. Intraoperative use of AR was found to primarily assist with surgical planning and neuronavigation. Similarly, AR assistance for neurosurgical training focused primarily on surgical planning and neuronavigation. However, studies included in this review utilize small sample sizes and remain largely in the preliminary phase. Thus, future research must be conducted to further refine AR systems before widespread intraoperative and educational use.

Keywords: augmented reality; cranial neurosurgery; machine learning; neuro-oncology; neurosurgery; neurosurgical training; neurovascular surgery; spine surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Brief visual overview of how AR has been integrated into the field of neurosurgery.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Article selection process as outlined by PRISMA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cannizzaro D., Zaed I., Safa A., Jelmoni A.J., Composto A., Bisoglio A., Schmeizer K., Becker A.C., Pizzi A., Cardia A., et al. Augmented Reality in Neurosurgery, State of Art and Future Projections. A Systematic Review. Front. Surg. 2022;9:864792. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.864792. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chicchi Giglioli I.A., Pallavicini F., Pedroli E., Serino S., Riva G. Augmented Reality: A Brand New Challenge for the Assessment and Treatment of Psychological Disorders. Comput. Math. Methods Med. 2015;2015:862942. doi: 10.1155/2015/862942. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Parsons D., MacCallum K. Current Perspectives on Augmented Reality in Medical Education: Applications, Affordances and Limitations. Adv. Med. Educ. Pract. 2021;12:77–91. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S249891. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Parekh P., Patel S., Patel N., Shah M. Systematic review and meta-analysis of augmented reality in medicine, retail, and games. Vis. Comput. Ind. Biomed. Art. 2020;3:21. doi: 10.1186/s42492-020-00057-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Regenbrecht H., Baratoff G., Wilke W. Augmented reality projects in the automotive and aerospace industries. IEEE Comput Graph. Appl. 2005;25:48–56. doi: 10.1109/MCG.2005.124. - DOI - PubMed