title: Quantum computing: a prime modality in neurosurgery's future.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With each significant development in the field of neurosurgery, our dependence on computers, small and large, has continuously increased. From something as mundane as bipolar cautery to sophisticated intraoperative navigation with real-time magnetic resonance imaging-assisted surgical guidance, both technologies, however simple or complex, require computational processing power to function. The next frontier for neurosurgery involves developing a greater understanding of the brain and furthering our capabilities as surgeons to directly affect brain circuitry and function.
  
  
  METHODS
  This has come in the form of implantable devices that can electronically and nondestructively influence the cortex and nuclei with the purpose of restoring neuronal function and improving quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We are now transitioning from devices that are turned on and left alone, such as vagus nerve stimulators and deep brain stimulators, to "smart" devices that can listen and react to the body as the situation may dictate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The development of quantum computers and their potential to be thousands, if not millions, of times faster than current "classical" computers, will significantly affect the neurosciences, especially the field of neurorehabilitation and neuromodulation. Quantum computers may advance our understanding of the neural code and, in turn, better develop and program implantable neural devices. When quantum computers reach the point where we can actually implant such devices in patients, the possibilities of what can be done to interface and restore neural function will be limitless.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. brianlee@usc.edu
authors: Brian
authors: B
authors: Lee
authors: Charles Y
authors: CY
authors: Liu
authors: Michael L J
authors: ML
authors: Apuzzo
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D062207:Brain-Computer Interfaces / Q000639:trends; D003201:Computers / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D038361:Neuronavigation / Q000639:trends; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000639:trends*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000639:trends*; D011789:Quantum Theory