A young man has an idea. What should he do?

There is nothing more frustrating for a young neurosurgeon or neuroscientist than having an idea, and believing that it may work, and not knowing how to proceed. Even to the most persevering of people the process of converting the idea into reality is arduous and frustrating. A great deal of support is required in order to develop the idea and, unfortunately, the current basic medical education and post-graduate programs in most countries neither provide that support or, indeed, the knowledge of how to obtain it. Developing a creative ability is an art and science which needs to be developed through true experience requiring both time and patience. Many young researchers cannot tolerate the frustration and stumble at one of the numerous hurdles of lack of funding, sponsorship, proper guidance, lawyers, relationships with manufacturing companies, cost of registration of patent and insurance. Therefore, many great ideas are lost. It is essential to discover these young researchers and encourage them and provide them with all they need to mature their abilities. Ultimately the patient is the one who is going to gain the most from their inventions or discoveries. This very special need was one of the main concepts that led to the formation of the International Society of Neurosurgical Instrument Inventors, resulting in a forum whereby neurosurgeons with experience of inventing instruments can pool their experiences with young inexperienced neurosurgeons with fresh ideas. In this short paper some of the important obstacles facing any young neurosurgeon who may have a viable idea will be analyzed.