Hemodynamic Investigation of the Effectiveness of a Two Overlapping Flow Diverter Configuration for Cerebral Aneurysm Treatment (original) (raw)

Computational Study of Hemodynamic Changes Induced by Overlapping and Compacting of Stents and Flow Diverter in Cerebral Aneurysms

Frontiers in Neurology, 2021

Purpose: The flow diversion effect of an intracranial stent is closely related to its metal coverage rate (MCR). In this study, the flow diversion effects of Enterprise and low-profile visualized intraluminal support (LVIS) stents are compared with those of a Pipeline flow diverter, focusing on the MCR change. Moreover, the changes in the flow diversion effect caused by the additional manipulations of overlapping and compaction are verified using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. Methods: CFD analysis was performed using virtually generated stents mounted in an idealized aneurysm model. First, the flow diversion effects of single Enterprise, LVIS, and Pipeline devices were analyzed. The Enterprise and LVIS were sequentially overlapped and compared with a Pipeline, to evaluate the effect of stent overlapping. The effect of compacting a stent was evaluated by comparing the flow diversion effects of a single and two compacted LVIS with those of two overlapped, uncompacted LV...

Hemodynamic Investigation of the Flow Diverter Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysm

Fluids

Flow diverter stents (FDS) are increasingly used for the treatment of complex intracranial aneurysms such as fusiform, giant, or wide-neck aneurysms. The primary goal of these devices is to reconstruct the diseased vascular segment by diverting blood flow from the aneurysm. The resulting intra-aneurysmal flow reduction promotes progressive aneurysm thrombosis and healing of the disease. In the present study, a numerical investigation was performed for modeling blood flow inside a patient-specific intracranial aneurysm virtually treated with FDS. The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of FDS placement prior to the actual endovascular treatment and to compare the effectiveness of devices differing in porosity. Numerical simulations were performed under pulsatile flow conditions, taking into account the non-Newtonian behavior of blood. Two possible post-operative conditions with virtual stent deployment were simulated. Hemodynamic parameters were calculated and compared bet...

The adverse effects of flow-diverter stent-like devices on the flow pattern of saccular intracranial aneurysm models: computational fluid dynamics study

Acta Neurochirurgica

Background Stent deployment across the aneurysmal neck has been established as one of the endovascular methods to treat intracranial aneurysms with or without coils. Objective The purpose is to study the possible adverse effects of deployment of the new flow-diverter stent-like devices (FD) on the flow characteristics of saccular aneurysm models. Methods Numerical simulations of the blood flow patterns in the artificial models of three aneurysms were studied. One model was designed without an FD stent, the second model with one FD stent, and the third model with two stents. Numerical simulation for incompressible laminar blood flow was conducted in the three artificial cerebral aneurysm models by means of computational fluid dynamics. Results There was a noticeable increase in the values of the circumferential pressure distributed on the walls of the aneurysm after stent deployment; this led to an increase the tension of the aneurysm surface and was considered to be an adverse effect. This pressure increase was further aggravated by the deployment of another stent. However, there is a beneficial effect of using FD stents, translating into the reduction of the flow velocity inside the aneurysm and wall shear stress at the inflow zone. This reduction decreases further with the deployment of another stent. Conclusion Aneurysms become tenser after the deployment of one flow-diverter stent and (more tense still) after after the deployment of another stent. This principle should be kept in mind when choosing which group of aneurysms is the best candidate for such a treatment strategy. This study recommends deploying several FD stents during endovascular procedures until complete arrest of the blood flow occurs during the procedure; otherwise, the aneurysm may become tenser and dangerous if a slow blood flow jet still exists inside it at the end of the procedure.

Effects of Flow-Diverting Device Oversizing on Hemodynamics Alteration in Cerebral Aneurysms

American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2012

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Flow-diverting devices are increasingly being considered for large or giant aneurysms with wide necks, which are difficult to treat with coils or clips. These devices are often oversized to achieve good positioning against the artery wall. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of oversized flow-diverting devices in altering aneurysmal flows and creating hemodynamic environments favorable for thrombosis and aneurysm occlusion.

Aneurysm Rupture Following Treatment with Flow-Diverting Stents: Computational Hemodynamics Analysis of Treatment

American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2010

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Flow-diverting approaches to intracranial aneurysm treatment had many promising early results, but recent apparently successful treatments have been complicated by later aneurysm hemorrhage. We analyzed 7 cases of aneurysms treated with flow diversion to explore the possible rupture mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CFD analysis of pre-and posttreatment conditions was performed on 3 giant aneurysms that ruptured after treatment and 4 successfully treated aneurysms. Pre-and posttreatment hemodynamics were compared including WSS, relative blood flows, vascular resistances, and pressures, to identify the effects of flow-diverter placements. RESULTS: Expected reductions in aneurysm velocity and WSS were obtained, indicating effective flow diversion from the sac into the parent artery, consistent with periprocedural observations. In each case with postaneurysm rupture, the result of flow diversion led to an increase in pressure within the aneurysm. This pressure increase is related to larger effective resistance in the parent artery from placement of the devices and, in 2 cases, the reduction of a preaneurysm stenosis. CONCLUSIONS: Flow-diversion devices can cause intra-aneurysmal pressure increases, which can potentially lead to rupture, especially for giant aneurysms. This relates both to changes in the parent artery configuration, such as reduction of a proximal stenosis, and to the flow diversion into higher resistance parent artery pathways combined with cerebral autoregulation, leading to higher pressure gradients. These may be important effects that should be considered when planning interventions. Potentially dangerous cases could be identified with angiography and/or patient-specific CFD models. ABBREVIATIONS: CFD ϭ computational fluid dynamics; ⌬P ϭ pressure drop; 3DRA ϭ 3D rotational angiography; ICA ϭ internal carotid artery, PA ϭ parent artery; PED ϭ Pipeline Embolization Device; PTA ϭ percutaneous transarterial angioplasty; Post ϭ after; Pre ϭ before; P i ϭ pressure at the model inlet; P o ϭ pressure at the model outlet; P s ϭ systemic pressure; Q ϭ flow rate; R a ϭ combined resistance of the aneurysm and the parent artery segment at the aneurysm location; R d ϭ distal resistance; R p ϭ proximal resistance; WSS ϭ wall shear stress

Computer modeling of deployment and mechanical expansion of neurovascular flow diverter in patient-specific intracranial aneurysms

Flow diverter (FD) is an emerging neurovascular device based on self-expandable braided stent for treating intracranial aneurysms. Variability in FD outcome has underscored a need for investigating the hemodynamic effect of fully deployed FD in patient-specific aneurysms. Image-based computational fluid dynamics, which can provide important hemodynamic insight, requires accurate representation of FD in deployed states. We developed a finite element analysis (FEA) based workflow for simulating mechanical deployment of FD in patient-specific aneurysms. We constructed FD models of interlaced wires emulating the Pipeline Embolization Device, using 3D finite beam elements to account for interactions between stent strands, and between the stent and other components. The FEA analysis encompasses all steps that affect the final deployed configuration including stent crimping, delivery and expansion. Besides the stent, modeling also includes key components of the FD delivery system such as microcatheter, pusher, and distal coil. Coordinated maneuver of these components allowed the workflow to mimic clinical operation of FD deployment and to explore clinical strategies. The workflow was applied to two patient-specific aneurysms. Parametric study indicated consistency of the deployment result against different friction conditions, but excessive intra-stent friction should be avoided. This study demonstrates for the first time mechanical modeling of braided FD stent deployment in cerebral vasculature to produce realistic deployed configuration, thus paving the way for accurate CFD analysis of flow diverters for reliable prediction and optimization of treatment outcome.

Influence of vascular morphology on hemodynamic changes after flow diverter placement in saccular intracranial aneurysms

Flow diverter stents (FDs) are becoming widely used for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms, particularly for cases that present difficulties for other treatments such as coiling or clipping. The relationship between the surrounding vascular morphology and the effect of these devices on the changes of hemodynamic forces in the aneurysm, which has not been assessed so far, is studied in this paper. The Vascular Modeling Toolkit (VMTK) has been used for the characterization of vascular morphology. CFD simulations have been performed on untreated and virtually treated geometries of 16 saccular intracranial aneurysms. Our results indicate that distance of the aneurysm with respect to the previous curvature peak of the vessel and the angle of the aneurysm with respect to the parent vessel osculating plane are closely related to the changes of hemodynamic variables inside the aneurysm after placement of a FD.

Interaction between Flow Diverter and Parent Artery of Intracranial Aneurysm: A Computational Study

Applied Bionics and Biomechanics, 2017

To evaluate the influence of deployment strategy on the mechanical interaction between braided stent and parent artery of intracranial aneurysm (the elasticity of the arterial wall is considered), finite-element analyses are carried out by referring to computational models of flow-diverter device and arterial wall. Two implantation strategies are used to virtually implant the braided stent into the ideal intracranial aneurysm model. One is the noncompacted implantation method, and the other is the implantation method of using push-pull technique. During the process of the implantation, the changes of the arterial shape around the aneurysm and the changes of the wall pressure at the contact area between the braided stent and the inner wall of the artery are analyzed. The results indicate that the average contact pressure in the area of low porosity is 57 mmHg using the push-pull technique, and the average contact pressure of the parent artery is 10.45 mmHg using the non-push-pull tec...

Numerical study of hemodynamics in brain aneurysms treated with flow diverter stents using porous medium theory

Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 2019

Conventional approaches of implementing computational fluid dynamics to study aneurysmal hemodynamics after treatment with a flow diverter stent are computationally expensive. Cumbersome meshing and lengthy simulation runtimes are common. To address these issues, we present a novel volume penalization method that considers flow diverters as heterogeneous porous media. The proposed model requires a considerably smaller number of mesh elements, leading to faster simulation runtimes. Three patient-specific aneurysms were virtually treated with flow diverters and aneurysmal hemodynamics were simulated. The results of the virtual deployments including aneurysmal hemodynamics were compared to corresponding results from conventional approaches. The comparisons showed that the proposed approach led to 9.12 times increase in the speed of simulations on average. Further, aneurysmal kinetic energy and inflow rate metrics for the proposed approach were consistent with those from conventional approaches, differing on average by 3.52% and 3.78%, respectively.