Detection of flow dynamic changes in 3D printed aneurysm models after treatment

Abstract

Treatment success and potential relapse of intracranial aneurysms need to be followed-up by regular imaging. However, the metallic material inside treated aneurysms can cause artifacts in MRI, CT and DSA possibly compromising clinical interpretation. Furthermore, frequent follow-ups with X-ray based imaging methods seriously increase the patient’s exposure to ionizing radiation. Thus, magnetic particle imaging (MPI) may be beneficial for patients with treated aneurysms. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate the capability of MPI to depict the change of the contrast agent dynamics of aneurysms after treatment. Realistic aneurysm models before and after treatment by different means were connected to a peristaltic pump with a physiologic flow (250 ml/min) and pulsation rate (70/min). Contrast agent curves over time were measured during injection of a 3 ml bolus within 3 s of an aqueous solution of 50 mmol(Fe)/L. MPI was able to detect the expected delay and dispersion of the contrast agent in the treated aneurysm as well as a less filling with contrast agent, if densely packed material was present inside the aneurysm. The delay was estimated based on the MPI contrast agent curves to be in the order of about 1 s. Thus, MPI is capable to detect delay and dispersion of the contrast agent dynamics after aneurysm treatment with clinical standard metallic material.