Susanne Schnell1, Sameer A. Ansari2, Parmede Vakil1, Michael C. Hurley1, Bernard R. Bendok2, Hunt Batjer2, Timothy J. Carroll1, 3, James Carr1, Michael Markl
1Dept. of Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States; 2Dept. of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States; 3Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
In patients with large and giant intracranial aneurysms, 4D-Flow-MRI was employed to characterize hemodynamics, WSS and vorticity patterns and their association with aneurysm location and morphology. Two distinct groups could be identified by comparing mean WSS and vorticity. Group 1 was characterized by saccular/spherical aneurysms with narrow high-flow channels, high and heterogeneous WSS and vorticity. Group 2 consisted of fusiform aneurysms with slow-flow regions and hardly defined flow channels as well as with low more homogeneous WSS and vorticity. Future longitudinal studies based on the measurement, analysis and visualization of intracranial aneurysms using 4D-Flow-MRI have the potential to correlate disease progression with regional hemodynamics; and may thus; improve risk stratification and interventional or surgical treatment planning.