Identification of preferred collagen orientations for cerebral saccular aneurysms

Abstract

Cerebral saccular aneurysms are likely harbored by 3 to 5% of the population of the United States. Rupture of cerebral aneurysms is the leading cause of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage, which claims 35 to 50% of its victims and leaves many survivors severely disabled. Finite element analysis has been applied in the study of cerebral saccular aneurysms to develop a better understanding of growth and rupture. Using an existing finite element code, simulations for selected geometric models of aneurysms were evaluated to determine which collagen orientations yielded preferred mechanical states that minimized the likelihood of rupture. These preferred mechanical states were identified by calculating stress Gelds for vertebral and carotid arteries. Results show that stress Gelds for cerebral arteries differ from non-cerebral arteries, providing possible insight into the development of cerebral saccular aneurysms, and preferred collagen orientations create a more spherical deformed configuration.