Abstract
Brain aneurysms are at risk of rupture causing death or disability. Many treatments exist for wide neck bifurcation aneurysms, the most common type of aneurysm, but none have become definitive standard of care because a variety of deficiencies exist for each. Flow diversion (FD) with tubular FDs has emerged as definitive treatment for sidewall aneurysms, causing sufficient reduction in aneurysm flow velocity that blood stasis and thrombosis occurs, leading to complete occlusion of the aneurysm. Tubular FD at bifurcations, however, are inadequate, leading to incomplete neck coverage and obstruction of blood flow to side branches. This paper describes the use of particle imaging velocimetry to evaluate iterative design changes to achieve a true bifurcation FD, capable of sufficiently reducing aneurysm flow velocity to produce prolonged stasis and ultimately leading to complete aneurysm occlusion without the use of adjuvant intrasaccular contents such as coils.
