Use of Regional Mechanical Properties of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms to Advance Finite Element Modeling of Rupture Risk

AAA rupture represents a catastrophic failure of the degenerated aortic tissue when the aneurysm wall can no longer withstand the stresses on it. Understanding the stress distribution in the aneurysm, along with its material properties, is an essential step toward predicting the rupture of an AAA. FE analysis is a computer-based method of solving complex structural problems for which the stress distribution can be easily studied. In analyzing AAA behavior with FE models, realistic aortic anatomies with patient-specific physiological and mechanical properties have been used in recent years. Data for these anatomies have typically come from computed tomography (CT) scans.