Global research trends and hotspots in robot-assisted stereotactic neurosurgery: a bibliometric and visualization...

This study systematically assessed the current state of research on robot-assisted stereotactic neurosurgery, identified major research focuses, and investigated evolving trends in this field, with the intention of providing useful guidance for future scientific studies and clinical practice. In this study, publications related to robot-assisted stereotactic neurosurgery published between 2005 and 2025 were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded database within the Web of Science Core Collection. Descriptive and visual bibliometric analyses were conducted to evaluate publication characteristics, including research topics, journals, countries or regions, institutions, authors, and citation performance. A total of 194 publications were ultimately included in the analysis. The yearly publication output demonstrated a general upward trend over time, with a particularly noticeable increase observed after 2018. These studies were published in 88 journals, among which Operative Neurosurgery (16 publications), Acta Neurochirurgica (11 publications), and World Neurosurgery (8 publications) were the most productive journals. The most productive countries were the United States (50 publications, 25.8%), China (35 publications, 18.0%), and Germany (23 publications, 11.9%). Keyword analysis showed that recent research hotspots mainly focused on "safety," "efficacy," and "radiosurgery". Robot-assisted stereotactic neurosurgery has shown a steady increase in research activity over the past two decades and has gradually evolved toward more clinically oriented applications. However, bibliometric indicators primarily reflect publication and citation patterns rather than clinical effectiveness. Further studies based on high-quality clinical evidence are required to better evaluate its practical value and long-term outcomes.