Abstract
Experimental and computational data suggest that hemodynamics play a critical role in the development, growth, and rupture of cerebral aneurysms. The flow structure, especially in aneurysms with a large sac, is highly complex and three-dimensional. Therefore, volumetric and time-resolved measurements of the flow properties are crucial to fully characterize the hemodynamics. In this study, phase-contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging is used to assess the fluid dynamics inside a 3D-printed replica of a giant intracranial aneurysm, whose hemodynamics was previously simulated by multiple research groups. The physiological inflow waveform is imposed in a flow circuit with realistic cardiovascular impedance. Measurements are acquired with sub-millimeter spatial resolution for 16 time steps over a cardiac cycle, allowing for the detailed reconstruction of the flow evolution. Moreover, the three-dimensional and time-resolved pressure distribution is calculated from the velocity field by integrating the fluid dynamics equations, and is validated against differential pressure measurements using precision transducers. The flow structure is characterized by vortical motions that persist within the aneurysm sac for most of the cardiac cycle. All the main flow statistics including velocity, vorticity, pressure, and wall shear stress suggest that the flow pattern is dictated by the aneurysm morphology and is largely independent of the pulsatility of the inflow, at least for the flow regimes investigated here. Comparisons are carried out with previous computational simulations that used the same geometry and inflow conditions, both in terms of cycle-averaged and systolic quantities.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0188323 |
| Journal | PloS one |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was conducted with the support of the Winston and Maxine Wallin Neuroscience Discovery Fund (Principal Investigator: Bharathi Jagadeesan). The authors would like to thank Andras Nemes, Tristan Van de Moortele, Sahar Jalal, Ute Goerke, and Andy Grande for their assistance in conducting the experiments and fruitful discussions on the matter. This research was conducted with the support of the Winston and Maxine Wallin Neuroscience Discovery Fund.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Amili et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.