Treating aneurysms on the computer
Most aneurysms in the brain go unnoticed by those affected. It is only when, if for some reason or another, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or a computed tomography (CT) scan is carried out on the head, that by chance doctors discover an abnormal bulge in a blood vessel in the brain. Prof. Dr. Daniel Behme, Chief Physician in Neuroradiology at Magdeburg's University Hospital, deals with these "incidental findings".
The fact that blood continues to be pumped through the vein and into the bulge can cause the vessel to rupture and lead to a stroke. To remove an aneurysm, the surgeons must approach the bulge in the middle of the brain mass very carefully. "With the traditional surgical method, the skull is opened up and the brain tissue moved aside in order to seal off the aneurysm using a clamp," says Daniel Behme. This procedure is increasingly being replaced by minimally invasive interventions. However, continuous optimization of these modern endovascular interventions is necessary.
"A so-called flow diverter - that is, a very finely woven, spiral-shaped stent - is placed in the blood vessel beneath the aneurysm. The blood flows past the aneurysm, with very little going into the bulge. The blood remaining in the bulge thromboses over time." says Daniel Behme, explaining a treatment method that is currently being optimized.
The STIMULATE research campus in Magdeburg develops software and hardware for image-based minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of cancer and vascular diseases. The STIMULATE research groups, "Image Processing" led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Saalfeld and "Medical Flows" led by Dr.-Ing. Philipp Berg, create 3D phantoms on the basis of medical data with which it is possible to simulate and predict the flow of blood outside of the human body. The stent can be placed in these models on a trial basis.
The working group of CDS member apl. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gábor Janiga of the Chair of Fluid Mechanics and Technical Flows at Otto von Guericke University, together with the Institute of Mechanics, headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing Daniel Juhre, is responsible for the simulation of virtual stent placement and blood flow.
To the official press release of the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg