Recent interest in the use of artifical intelligence tools like Chat GPT have prompted a response from the medical journal publications community on authorship concerns, information quality, and forms of appropriate use. See examples of AI-generated art in this month's issues.

In many parts of the world, the month of May celebrates nurses. This month on the cover and in the Editors Message, we celebrate the tremendous work of Nurses in Neurosurgery, such an important part of the development, practice, and future of our specialty. Courtesy of Dr. Dan Leksell, the cover image shows his father Professor Lars Leksell performing air ventriculography with his nurse assistant.​

This cover image shows robot-assisted stereotactic biopsy trajectories performed using 3D intraoperative imaging and frameless registration system on the MNI 152 template. Modern robotic assistance is safe and versatile with a high practical accuracy. Further developments of this combination – intraoperative imaging and surgical robot – will allow the refinement of other stereotactic procedures. Read more in Deboeuf et al, “Feasibility and Accuracy of Robot-Assisted, Stereotactic Biopsy using 3-Dimensional Intraoperative Imaging and Frameless Registration Tool.”

Analyzing forces during neurosurgery in real-time can help optimize intraoperative tissue force, reduce the risk of tissue injury, and provide objective metrics for training and assessment. Previously, this has been achieved using specialized and adapted instruments or with designs that are incompatible with neurosurgical workflow. We developed a sensorized surgical glove to detect intraoperative forces, applicable to any surgical procedure, and any surgical instrument in either hand. In a proof-of-concept study we demonstrated its use in a surgical dissection task, thus supporting the need for further clinical studies. Read more in “A sensorized surgical glove to analyze forces during neurosurgery”.

This month’s cover features a graphic that provides a conceptual overview of a novel technique for monitoring supratentorial ventricular caliber after ventricular shunt placement and endoscopic third ventriculostomy. A low-profile sonolucent polymethyl methacrylate burr hole cover is used during the index surgery. Transcutaneous, trans-burr hole ultrasound can then be performed to evaluate intracranial anatomy postoperatively. Ultimately, ultrasound may replace some portion of follow up computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, in addition to providing an option for point-of-care imaging in clinic or at bedside. Read more in “First Experience with Postoperative Transcranial Ultrasound Through Sonolucent Burr Hole Covers in Adult Hydrocephalus Patient”.

The “neurosurgical universe” is imagined using a network of published terms across neurosurgery journals from 2019 to 2022, which we colored by subspecialty areas. The connectivity between topics and the relative volume of published work on a topic is depicted by word size.