Description:

These models of cerebral aneurysms were constructed from 3D rotational angiography images. Physiologic flow conditions were not available for these patients, therefore flow measurements in the arteries of the circle of Willis obtained on a normal subject were used. These measurements were performed using phase-contrast MR.

The following figure shows volume renderings of the 3DRA images.

The corresponding anatomical models are shown below:

Numerical calculations of the flow of blood in these models were performed using a finite element method.
Visualizations of the mean wall shear stress are shown below:

The following figure shows the systolic pressure distribution:

Oscillatory shear index are shown below:

And finally, visualizations of the blood flow pattern are presented below. These images show that there are different types of flow patterns. The flow in some aneurysms is stable and has only one main vortex, while in others there is a more complex vortex structure that remains stable during the cardiac cycle, and yet in others the flow pattern is unstable and very dynamic throghout the cardiac cycle.