Mapping 20 years of fluorescence-guided surgery: a bibliometric landscape analysis

Abstract Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) has emerged as a groundbreaking technique over recent decades, providing surgeons with real-time, non-invasive, and high-resolution intraoperative navigation. While research in this field has evolved substantially and explored its broad clinical potential, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis has been notably absent. This study aims to fill this gap by mapping the knowledge structure and assessing evolving trends in FGS. We conducted a search in the Web of Science Core Collection for publications from 2003 to the end of 2023, integrating the keyword NIR-II imaging to explore emerging trends. The collected data from 1,693 initial articles were comprehensively analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, the R bibliometrix package, and Carrot 2 , based on publications, countries, authors, and keywords. Our findings identified the USA and China as the most contributing countries, with key research themes encompassing clinical applications like tumor resection and sentinel lymph node mapping. Frequently occurring keywords involved fluorescent dyes, particularly 5-aminolevulinic acid and indocyanine green (ICG). Institutional and journal analyses revealed Leiden University and the Journal of Biomedical Optics as the leading institution and journal, respectively. A subsequent, detailed analysis was performed on 102 publications specifically addressing NIR-II imaging. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the FGS landscape, and the insights gained hold the potential to inform and guide future research directions. Graphical Abstract