"TIPS" and Technical Nuances for Digital Illustration in Neurointerventional Surgery.

ABSTRACT

Medical illustrations represent a precious resource for learning surgical anatomy and surgical techniques, allowing pre- and postoperative reviews. As traditional hand-drawn illustrations are difficult to use and expressing the area of neurointerventional surgery is time-consuming, we proposed methods for neurointerventional surgeons to create digital illustrations (DIs) for neurointerventional surgery using the iPad-exclusive Procreate application (Savage Interactive, Hobart, Australia). Dedicated "digital pens" were created and used for each endovascular device, creating straightforward representations of neurointerventional procedures and changes over time. DIs in neurointervention easily depict changes to highlighted surgical scenes for various devices with complex configurations and structures. DIs are also versatile, allowing easy intra- and inter-institutional sharing and discussion of technical tips on the manipulation of medical devices (coils, catheters, stents, etc.) among neurointerventional surgeons worldwide. DIs can be applied as educational tools not only in neurointerventional surgery, but also in craniotomy surgery and for surgical records from other specialties.