My predecessor has called Intraoperative Neurophysiology the “New Frontier” of Clinical Neurophysiology, and he could not have been more right. A drive of innovation is taking place in this field both fueled by the demand of intraoperative monitoring services and the extraordinary advancements achieved in only a few years learning from the experience gained by recording from the surgically exposed nervous system. Neurophysiology during Neurosurgery is the true goldmine of learning about the brain and the spinal cord it has been called by one of the pioneers of our young field. Patients undergoing brain or spinal cord surgery are greatly benefitting from the new possibilities opened by our new techniques, and made safer by our contribution in the operating room.
ISIN, the International Society of Intraoperative Neurophysiology, is still a young society. We have just held our second meeting, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which after the first meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland in 2007 was another stunning success in terms of innovative concepts presented and number of attendees. We have learned new things about the organization of the motor cortex and its eloquent areas, as well as about many aspects of motor control in the spinal cord, particularly after spinal cord injury.
Many other classical field of intraoperative monitoring have been addressed at the meeting and attracted lots of attention by a large number of practitioners, many already seasoned "neuromonitorists", and many more newly committed to the field, all from around the world. From cranial nerve monitoring to aspects of deep brain stimulation, from pedicle screw stimulation to modern refinements in SEP-monitoring many new pages in the book of intraoperative neurophysiology have been turned. We have again and more urgently learned the need for training and education on all levels of practice, in all countries, and for all involved medical and neuroscientific specialties. For example there is a great need for monitoring services in the South American Continent and thus a great demand for educated specialists, and there is demand for intraoperative motor monitoring but little awareness amongst neurosurgeons in some countries. And of course there is great need and interest for monitoring in developing countries but frequently a lack of resources to even get started. Educating those who perform monitoring and educating those who use it, so that they can use it judiciously, will be a big priority for ISIN in the years to come.
Steps to improve our capacity to offer education in intraoperative neurophysiology have been prepared in the past and will come to fruition in the coming years. Most countries do not have educational standards and quality assurance measures for intraoperative neurophysiology. ISIN aims to address this need.
To advance and to address this enormous growth, ISIN needs you, our active members to provide input to the board concerning the initiatives about education, guidelines and quality and to serve as committee members, speakers and messengers about what we do. And ISIN needs you, the "not-yet" members, to join our ranks and become part of a fast growing group of professionals dedicated to improve intraoperative neurophysiology and thereby improve neurological safety and patient care during surgery on the nervous system.
Sincerely,
Karl F. Kothbauer, M. D.
President of ISIN
