Ethical Challenges for the Future of Neurosurgery

This work informs about major changes in health care systems at present and to come, and the ethical consequences. Rapid technological developments, especially in the fields of communication and virtual communication, artificial intelligence, implanted brain chips, augmented reality, in situ real-time pathological diagnosis of lesions during surgery, and others are challenging aspects of neurosciences in particular and medicine in general. Most of these modern technologies are available nowadays, just waiting to be tried and used. Ethicists (and neurosurgeons!) are facing unprecedented challenges as they have to be one step ahead in reading the future and predict what is coming and how the implementation of these technologies may affect patients’ safety, dignity, and autonomy. This book supports neurosurgeons and medical care providers to understand and implement the newly developed technologies, which will help advance medical care.

Each chapter has been written by a world leader. Some of these authors are making the future and producing new advanced technologies. The authors discuss all the new innovations and the editors asked the authors to point out the ethical dilemmas if such technologies are implemented. The ethical questions are highlighted and suggestions are provided for solving such ethical problems to guarantee patient safety and dignity. According to the definition and principles of the Values-Based Medicine concept, the patient is the center of care, is the sole center of care. No compromising of patients’ well-being and safety can be allowed!