On April 24, Surgical Data Science Collective (SDSC) gathered with the leaders of the global neurosurgical community for the 2025 Boston Declaration, held at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston, MA. This prestigious event offered the opportunity for governmental agencies, academic and clinical institutions, professional societies, non-governmental organizations, industry, and patient advocacy groups around the world to pledge resource contributions as part of a unified mission to address Global Neurosurgery needs. The Boston Declaration reviews existing evidence, employs on-the-ground expert experience, and seeks broad inclusivity and transparency to formulate new global neurosurgery goals in underserved regions.
In support of the Boston Declaration’s education and capacity-building efforts, SDSC has committed to offering free access to our Platform Library to the entire global neurosurgical community. The Platform Library is the collection of videos on our Surgical Video Platform (SVP) that the uploading user has elected to make available to all other users. It already contains hundreds of neurosurgical videos, and is fortified with several artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models for use in surgical research and education programs.
SDSC strongly believes a core part of modern neurosurgical education stems from studying the case videos of experienced surgeons – acting as a supplement to time in the cadaver lab, operating room, and study sessions. With free, unlimited access to the global Platform Library within SVP, surgeons and learners around the world can teach and learn together, make notes on peer videos, and foster an environment of cross-global collaboration to better neurosurgical education and research.
While there is currently a total of 228 neurosurgery case videos on the Platform Library, we are anticipating a substantial annual increase. To complement this, we will be tracking the global neurosurgical community’s requests for AI/ML models for their procedures, as well as securing funding that supports continued model creation. Using our media outreach and network to encourage as many surgeons as possible to share their case videos in the Platform Library, we hope to solicit valuable feedback that will guide the next steps in our AI/ML modelling pipeline.
SDSC is confident that with the help of the wider neurosurgical community, we can foster a prospering Platform Library that benefits everyone. Access to the library is of immediate effect, and it will remain free and available to anyone and everyone in the surgical community. Upload your videos today, make them part of the Platform Library, and be part of a global movement to democratize surgical knowledge for the benefit of both patients and surgeons worldwide.
