Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40923792›Full record

ArticleNeurosurgery2026

A Neurosurgeon's Guide to Mobile Health Application Development With a Case Study for Cervical Myelopathy.

Pranay Singh, Erdong Chen, Benjamin Steel, Nicolas Chicoine, Salim Yakdan, Mohamad Bydon, Michael P Steinmetz, Zoher Ghogawala, Wilson Z Ray, Brian Johnson and 5 more

Abstract readCase Reports
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurosurgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Pranay SinghDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7472-7427
Erdong ChenDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Benjamin SteelDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Nicolas ChicoineDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Salim YakdanDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Mohamad BydonDepartment of Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester , Minnesota , USA.
Michael P SteinmetzDepartment of Neurosurgery, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland , Ohio , USA.
Zoher GhogawalaDepartment of Surgery, UMass Chan Medical School, Burlington , Massachusetts , USA.
Wilson Z RayDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Brian JohnsonDepartment of Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Ryan P DuncanDepartment of Physical Therapy, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Zachary WiltRothman Orthopaedics, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA.
Jetan BadhiwalaDepartment of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
Caitlin KelleherDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.
Jacob K GreenbergDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis , Missouri , USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2675-5658

Funding

Using Mobile Health Technology and Real-Time Assessments to Address Multilevel Influences on Lumbar Spine Surgery OutcomesK23AR082986 · NIAMS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI JACOB GREENBERG · 2024 to 2026
$515k
NIAMS NIH HHS 1K23AR082986-01A1NIAMS NIH HHS K23 AR082986University of Missouri Spinal Cord Injury/Disease Research Program AW00012496 / GR0032927Washington University Here and Next Research Program PJ000029167
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The integration of mobile health (mHealth) technologies is transforming neurosurgery. Despite its potential, many uses remain unrealized due to the unique challenges and complexity of developing mHealth technology. While neurosurgeons bring invaluable clinical expertise and an understanding of patient needs, the technical intricacies of application development often require collaboration with developers and computer scientists, a process that can feel unfamiliar and difficult to navigate. The aim of this article was to demystify mHealth development by providing a guide for neurosurgeons seeking to develop disease-specific mHealth applications. We outline this process using the development of SynapTrack, an mHealth tool designed to provide objective assessments of degenerative cervical myelopathy, a chronic condition caused by symptomatic compression of the cervical spinal cord. This article offers neurosurgeons concrete guidance on navigating key considerations such as design decisions, algorithm integration, database architecture, and data security. By grounding these insights with SynapTrack, this guide offers a transparent view into the development process and provides a practical framework that can be adapted to the development of other mHealth tools. The aim of this work was to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and enable neurosurgeons to develop mHealth applications tailored to the specific needs of their specialty.

Indexed as

Mobile ApplicationsNeurosurgeonsSpinal Cord DiseasesTelemedicineCervical VertebraeHumansAlgorithm developmentDatabase designDegenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM)Mobile health (mHealth)Patient privacyUser-centered design

Identifiers

PMID40923792
PMCPMC13120840

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.