Exploring the Combination of Computer Vision and Surgical Neuroanatomy: A Workflow Involving Artificial Intelligence for the Identification of Skull Base Foramina

BACKGROUND: The skull base is a complex region in neurosurgery, featuring numerous foramina. Accurate identification of these foramina is imperative to avoid intraoperative complications and to facilitate educational progress in neurosurgical trainees. The intricate landscape of the skull base often challenges both clinicians and learners, necessitating innovative identification solutions. We aimed to develop a computer vision model that automates the identification and labeling of the skull base foramina from various image formats, enhancing surgical planning and educational outcomes. METHODS: We employed a deep learning methodology, specifically using a convolutional neural network architecture. Our model was trained on a dataset comprising of 3560 high-resolution, annotated images of the skull base, taken from various perspectives and lighting conditions to ensure model generalizability. Model performance was quantitatively assessed using precision and recall metrics. <black square> RESULTS: The convolutional neural network model demonstrated strong performance, achieving an average precision of 0.77. At a confidence threshold of 0.28, the model reached an optimal precision of 90.4% and a recall of 89.6%. Validation on an independent test set of images corroborated the model's capability to consistently and accurately identify and label multiple skull base foramina across diverse imaging scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: This study successfully introduces a highly accurate computer vision model tailored for the identification of skull base foramina, illustrating the model's potential as a transformative tool in anatomical education and intraoperative structure visualization. The findings suggest promising avenues for future research into automated anatomical recognition models, suggesting a trajectory toward increasingly sophisticated aids in neurosurgical operations and education.