Table 3.

Previous studies on navigation techniques adopted for IAC drilling in VS surgery via the retrosigmoid transmeatal approach

Authors (Published by, Year) Study Type	Navigation Technique for IAC Drilling
Samii et al. (Neurosurgery, 2000) [17] Cadaveric, radiological, and preliminary clinical study	Microscope-based navigation system using a laser-assisted autofocus microscope for IAC drilling
Pillai et al. (Neurosurgery, 2009) [15] Cadaveric study	HR-CT optical navigation using a pointer, combined with endoscope-assisted drilling of the posterior IAC wall
Scerrati et al. (World Neurosurgery, 2016) [19] Cadaveric study	HR-CT-based optical navigation with a pointer to expose the IAC fundus
Matsushima et al. (World Neurosurgery, 2017) [12] Cadaveric and clinical study	Application of electromagnetic navigation for temporal bone drilling procedures
Ogiwara et al. (J Neurol Surg B Skull Base, 2018) [14] Clinical study	Real-time neuronavigation with a color-coded 3D model of labyrinthine structures overlaid on the microscope view
Jia et al. (Frontiers in Neurosurgery, 2022) [9] Clinical study	Precise and safe exposure of the intrameatal portion of the tumour using optical navigation (on CT-MRI fused images) combined with endoscopy