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Objective: Neurosurgery is one of the most competitive specialties, and navigating the match process is often challenging for aspiring applicants. Here, we analyze insights from the National Resident Matching Program Director Surveys, illustrating evolving trends in applicant selection for interviews and for the ranking process, and providing a comparison with other specialties., Methods: We evaluated 7 surveys administered from 2012 to 2022. Six biennial surveys reported on factors influencing interview and ranking processes, while all 7 surveys included data about the program director (PD)'s attitude toward United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) test scores., Results: The response rate of PDs decreased over the years. The most cited factor for interviews included specialty-specific recommendation letters (95%), USMLE Step 1 scores (91%), and interest in research (78%). A recent decline in emphasis on USMLE Step 1 scores coincided with a growing reliance on USMLE Step 2 scores. Award in basic science held significant esteem to a subset of programs. Personal characteristics dominated for ranking, with faculty interaction (89%), interpersonal skills (89%), and house staff interaction (85%) being the most important. Yet, PDs reported a difficulty in assessing interpersonal skills through virtual interviews., Conclusions: Our analysis revealed the pervasive importance of specialized endorsements and academic achievements when screening applicants for the interview process. A shift in emphasis toward the USMLE Step 2 became apparent. Personal characteristics, on the other hand, seemed crucial to make a match and rank high among the pool of interviewed applicants. We uncovered difficulties in assessing these characteristics through virtual interviews., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Hybrid operating rooms (hybrid-ORs) combine the functionalities of a conventional surgical theater with the advanced imaging technologies of a radiological suite. Hybrid-ORs are usually equipped with CBCT devices providing both 2D and 3D imaging capability that can be used for both interventional radiology and image guided surgical applications. Across all fields of surgery, the use of hybrid-ORs is gaining in traction, and neurosurgery is no exception. We hence aimed to comprehensively review the use of hybrid-ORs, the associated advantages, and disadvantages specific to the field of neurosurgery., Materials and Methods: Electronic databases were searched for all studies on hybrid-ORs from inception to May 2022. Findings of matching studies were pooled to strengthen the current body of evidence., Results: Seventy-four studies were included in this review. Hybrid-ORs were mainly used in endovascular surgery (n = 41) and spine surgery (n = 33). Navigation systems were the most common additional technology employed along with the CBCT systems in the hybrid-ORs. Reported advantages of hybrid-ORs included immediate assessment of outcomes, reduced surgical revision rate, and the ability to perform combined open and endovascular procedures, among others. Concerns about increased radiation exposure and procedural time were some of the limitations mentioned., Conclusion: In the field of neurosurgery, the use of hybrid-ORs for different applications is increasing. Hybrid-ORs provide preprocedure, intraprocedure, and end-of-procedure imaging capabilities, thereby increasing surgical precision, and reducing the need for postoperative imaging and correction surgeries. Despite these advantages, radiation exposure to patient and staff is an important concern., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to augment clinicians' diagnostic and decision-making capabilities. It is well suited to identify patterns and correlations within data sets and may be applied to identify elements of importance in complex and data-laden areas such as patient selection, diagnostics, treatment, and outcome prediction. The development of modern neurosurgery has been dependent on major technological advances. In line with this, a growing interest is seen in the use of AI to assist in neurosurgical research and enhance neurosurgical practices., Methods: A bibliometric analysis of the 50 most-cited articles alluding to the use of AI in neurosurgery, from inception until July of 2022, was undertaken using the Web of Science database. Statistical analyses were performed on R., Results: The citation count ranged from 29 to 159 (mean: 51.9, standard deviation: 24.8), and the top-cited article was a 2018 systematic review published in World Neurosurgery. Most articles were published after 2015 (85%). The United States was the largest contributing country on the list with 22 articles. Four first and last authors, each, had 2 or more publications. Female first and last authorship was attributed to 18% and 0% of the articles, respectively., Conclusions: This review highlights the most-impactful articles pertaining to AI in the field of neurosurgery. Although female authors were significantly underrepresented on the list, their work was at least as impactful as their male peers. Finally, the striking dominance of articles originating from the developed world raises concerns as to the future of AI in attending to the global health crisis., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Surgical simulation practices have witnessed a rapid expansion as an invaluable approach to resident training in recent years. One emerging way of implementing simulation is the adoption of extended reality (XR) technologies, which enable trainees to hone their skills by allowing interaction with virtual 3D objects placed in either real-world imagery or virtual environments. The goal of the present systematic review is to survey and broach the topic of XR in neurosurgery, with a focus on education. Five databases were investigated, leading to the inclusion of 31 studies after a thorough reviewing process. Focusing on user performance (UP) and user experience (UX), the body of evidence provided by these 31 studies showed that this technology has, in fact, the potential of enhancing neurosurgical education through the use of a wide array of both objective and subjective metrics. Recent research on the topic has so far produced solid results, particularly showing improvements in young residents, compared to other groups and over time. In conclusion, this review not only aids to a better understanding of the use of XR in neurosurgical education, but also highlights the areas where further research is entailed while also providing valuable insight into future applications.