Madison Schillinger, “Applying Hemodynamics in Treatment Planning for Aneurysm”
Mentor: Mahsa Dabagh, Biomedical Engineering

Intracranial aneurysms are a condition where weak areas of blood vessels in the brain can expand and create blood-filled sacs. Rupture of these aneurysms leads to subarachnoid hemorrhages, a life-threatening condition, which affects approximately 30,000 individuals each year in the United States. While surgical clipping and endovascular coiling are common treatment options, flow diversion devices are a newer option. Flow Diversion Devices (FDD) are fine-mesh tubular stents, that limit the blood flow into the aneurysm and can alter the blood flow patterns inside of the aneurysm. By analyzing the hemodynamics of the blood flow in the aneurysm, specific hemodynamic parameters can be identified in order to predict which patients might respond well to stenting. This can also assist in determining why in some patients the aneurysm grows which is undesirable. Four patients post-stenting were analyzed by using Palabos, a C++ software platform that performs fluid dynamics simulations, which works in collaboration with Paraview software to visually analyze the hemodynamics. By comparing the hemodynamics for each patient and knowing if the patients responded well to the treatment, parameters such as wall shear stress and velocity distribution of the blood flow in the aneurysm could be determined to be important in predicting the success of stenting in patients with aneurysms.