The invention relates to a method and apparatus for neural tissue detection carried out using the Neural Tissue Detector (NTD), which is the apparatus that embodies the hardware aspect of the invention. The NTD enables neural tissue detection by stimulating a small tissue area and by measuring possible occurrences of induced response from neural tissue, if neural tissue is present in said small stimulated tissue area. The information gathered by the measurement provides a real-time assessment of the nature of the tissue which is targeted by the NTD. The invention is applicable to all types of neural tissues, including motor, and/or sensory and/or other types of neural tissues. The invention offers particular advantages in robot based surgical procedures or intravascular catheter based procedures but can also be used for manual surgery, according to different specific embodiments.