Global trends and hotspots of neuromodulation in spinal cord injury: a study based on bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Objective: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition that can result in permanent disability. Neuromodulation is a promising technology that has gained popularity as a treatment for SCI. This study aims to analyze the published literature to investigate the global trends and hotspots in research on neuromodulation in the context of SCI. Methods: All relevant publications on the topic of neuromodulation in SCI from January 1, 2005, to September 17, 2024, were acquired from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Bibliometric analysis was performed to evaluate the publication distribution by country, institution, author, and journal, as well as keyword, using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Scimago Graphica software. Results: Overall, 3,211 publications were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. The publication number in 2005 and 2024 were 77 and 222, respectively. A steady increasing trend in the publication number over the past two decades was observed. The Unites States published 1544 articles with 52,521 citations, ranking first regarding publication number and total citations. Case Western Reserve University was the most productive institution that published 181 papers. All of the highly productive institutions were located in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The University of California Los Angeles harvested 6626 total citations and 81.8 average citations, ranking first among the productive institutions. Gorgey AS published 60 articles and ranked first regarding total publication number. Edgerton VR harvested 4333 citations and ranked first among the authors for total citations. The analysis of high-yielding journals suggested that Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine was the most productive journal with 133 publications. Spinal Cord yielded 4200 citations and ranked first among the journals for total citations. The keyword analysis identified “functional electrical stimulation” and “spinal cord stimulation” as research hotspots. Conclusion: This study delineates the current knowledge landscape and research trends on the topic of neuromodulation in SCI. The findings highlight the growing interest in this field and underscore the significance of neuromodulation in SCI research.