Modeling the Geometry, Hemodynamics and Tissue Mechanics of Cerebral Aneurysms

The relationship between cerebral aneurysm geometry and biomechanics was investigated. Human cerebral aneurysm geometry was reconstructed from computed tomography angiography (CTA) and refined. Various indices of global geometric (size and shape) features were computed based on differential and computational geometry techniques. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to model both steady and pulsatile blood flow in the aneurysm and surrounding vasculature. Hemodynamic indices such as wall shear stress, pressure and particle residence time were obtained. Nonlinear finite element method (FEM) and a reported finite strain constitutive model were employed to estimate the distribution of mechanical stress in the aneurysm wall under static pressure. Shear stress, sac pressure and mechanical stress correlated better with lesion shape while particle residence time correlated better with lesion size.