Current Research Status and Medical Education Innovation Hotspots in Cartilage Repair Treatment: A CiteSpace -based Visualization Study

Articular cartilage injury represents a significant clinical challenge, with traditional treatments providing limited efficacy. Advances in regenerative medicine and digital education have created new opportunities for both cartilage repair therapies and innovations in medical education. This study aims to systematically analyze the research status, hotspots, and development trends in these two fields from 2013 to 2024 using bibliometric and visualization methods. Literature was retrieved from the PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases for English articles published between January 1, 2013, and December 1, 2024. A search strategy combining Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and free-text keywords was employed, resulting in 5,589 included articles. CiteSpace 5.8.R3 was used for keyword co-occurrence, co-citation, collaboration network, and burst detection analyses, with time slicing to reveal dynamic trends. Annual publications in cartilage repair treatment showed steady growth, with research hotspots focusing on stem cell therapy, tissue engineering, 3D printing, and biomaterials. In medical education innovation, research concentrated on educational reform, virtual learning, and flipped classrooms. The collaboration network analysis indicated that the United States and Germany played central roles in cartilage repair, while the United States and the Netherlands were central in medical education innovation. Burst keyword analysis revealed a shift in cartilage repair toward personalized therapies and bioprinting, and in medical education toward virtual reality and blended learning models. The study found that cartilage repair research was moving toward interdisciplinary integration, with personalized and intelligent repair serving as its main development directions. Medical education, leveraging virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, promoted the reconstruction of teaching scenarios and the optimization of learning pathways. Future research should enhance clinical translation, integrate educational technologies, and foster cross-institutional collaboration to promote synergistic innovation in both fields.