The rupture mechanism of intracranial aneurysms is still not fully understood. Although the size of the aneurysm is the shape index most commonly used to predict rupture, some controversy still
exists about its adequateness as an aneurysm rupture predictor. In this work, an automatic method to geometrically characterize the shape of cerebral saccular aneurysms using 3D moment invariants is proposed. Geometric moments are efficiently computed via application of the Divergence Theorem over the aneurysm surface using a non-structured mesh. 3D models of the aneurysm and its connected parent vessels have been reconstructed from segmentations of both 3DRA and CTA images. Two alternative approaches have been used for segmentation, the first one based on isosurface deformable models, and the second one based on the level set method. Several experiments were also conducted to both assess the influence of pre-processing steps in the stability of the aneurysm shape descriptors, and to know the robustness of the proposed method. Moment invariants have proved to be a robust technique while providing a reliable way to discriminate between ruptured and unruptured aneurysms (Sensitivity=0.83, Specificity=0.74) on a data set containing 55 aneurysms. Further investigation over larger databases is necessary to establish their adequateness as reliable predictors of rupture risk.
Although the natural history of cerebral aneurysms remains unknown, hemodynamics is thought to play an important role in their initiation, growth and rupture. This paper describes a pilot clinical study of the association between intraaneurysmal hemodynamic characteristics and the rupture of cerebral aneurysms. A total of 62 patient-specific models of cerebral aneurysms were constructed from 3D angiography images. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed under pulsatile flow conditions. The aneurysms were classified into different categories depending on the complexity and stability of the flow pattern, the location and size of the flow impingement region, and the size of the inflow jet. These features were analyzed for associations with history of rupture. A large variety of flow patterns was observed. It was found that 72% of ruptured aneurysms had complex or unstable flow patterns, 80% had small impingement regions and 76% had small jet sizes. Conversely, unruptured aneurysms accounted for 73%, 82% and 75% of aneurysms with simple stable flow patterns, large impingement regions and large jet sizes, respectively.
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