Haemodynamic changes induced by intrasaccular packing on intracranial aneurysms: A computational fluid dynamic study

Abstract

Abstract Endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms is a routine medical practice. The most widely used technique is the packing the aneurysm sac with an embolic material. To gain deeper understanding in the effects of specific treatment methods, the intra-aneurysmal haemodynamics are studied with the help of patient-specific computational models. Numerical simulations demonstrated that embolisation with liquid polymer results in an overall decrease of the wall shear stress and pressure in the aneurysm region. Within the range of clinically relevant packing density, simulation of coil embolisation showed homogenisation and decrease of the wall loads on the aneurysm sac. Increasing the packing density above 20% produces little or no further reduction of intra-aneurysmal flow. Sufficient packing of the aneurysm sac results in significant intra-aneurysmal flow decrease associated with reduced wall loads but locally increased pressure or wall shear stress zones may appear depending on the specific vessel geometry.