Quantifiable Indices Towards Estimating Hemodynamics in Cerebral Aneurysms and the Efficacy of Flow Diverter Deployments

A cerebral aneurysm is an abnormal dilation of a blood vessel in the brain that harbours the risk of rupturing. Hemorrhages resulting from ruptured aneurysms are a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Flow diversion is an emerging endovascular treatment option that aims at redirecting blood flow away from the aneurysm neck by deploying a stent-like device (flow diverter) inside the parent artery. This local change in hemodynamics supposedly leads to flow stasis and thrombus formation inside the aneursym, eventually cutting it off from the normal circulation of blood. To decide whether an induced blood flow alteration is sufficient for aneurysm occlusion is an essential task that the treating doctor currently fulfills by visually comparing cerebral angiography sequences taken before and after flow diverter placement. Thus far, several angiography-based methods have been proposed that try to quantify the effectiveness of a flow diverter in reducing the flow inside the aneurysm. This research project focuses on evaluating these state-of-the-art methods while developing novel approaches towards predicting the efficacy of flow diverter deployments.