Chemo-Fluidic Modeling of Occlusion in Cerebral Aneurysms Treated with Flow Diverter Stents
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It is estimated that 2 to 5% of population in the world suffers from cerebral aneurysms. These aneurysms, when left untreated, may result in subarachnoid hemorrhage which has a 50% mortality rate. The treatment of cerebral aneurysm has however, improved significantly over the years. Contrary to the past where open surgery was performed, cerebral aneurysms are now often treated using less invasive approaches. Several types of cerebral aneurysms – including saccular aneurysms which are the most common types of aneurysms – are treated through the insertion of a flow diverting stent, which reduces the blood flow into the aneurysm. This treatment induces stasis and intra-saccular thrombosis, leading to diminished chances of aneurysm rupture. Currently, device selection for endovascular embolization technique heavily depends on the expertise of clinicians. In this study, we perform in silico modeling to predict the effect of flow diversion device on the blood hemodynamics and occlusion of the cerebral aneurysm. The cerebral aneurysm model is derived from patient-specific imaging data and a canonical stent model is used. The immersed boundary solver, ViCar3D, is used to solve the computational model which yields the flow pattern and occlusion inside the cerebral aneurysm. This study provides insights on the thrombotic occlusion of flow-diverter treatments of cerebral aneurysm and represents a capability that could be used by clinicians to evaluate endovascular treatments.
