Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Animal models provide a mechanism for fundamental studies of the coupling between hemodynamics and pathophysiology in diseases such as saccular aneurysms. In this work, we evaluated the capability of an elastase-induced saccular aneurysm model in rabbits to reproduce the anatomic and hemodynamic features typical for human intracranial aneurysms.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Saccular aneurysms were created in 51 rabbits at the origin of the RCCA. Twelve weeks' postcreation, the lumen geometry of the aneurysm and surrounding vasculature was acquired by using 3DRA. Geometric features of these models were measured. Pulsatile 3D CFD studies were performed with rabbit-specific inlet profiles.
RESULTS: Geometric features, including aneurysm height, width, neck diameter, aspect ratio, and NSI of all 51 rabbit aneurysm models fell within the range reported for human IAs. The distribution and range in values of pressure, WSS, and OSI were also typical for human IAs. A single recirculation region was observed in 33 (65%) of 51 cases, whereas a second transient recirculation zone was observed in 18 (35%) cases. Both of these flow types are commonly observed in human IAs.
CONCLUSIONS: Most hemodynamic and geometric features in a commonly used elastase-induced rabbit saccular aneurysm model are qualitatively and quantitatively similar to those seen in large numbers of human cerebral aneurysms.
Abbreviations
- AO
- aortic arch
- AR
- aspect ratio
- BF
- bottleneck factor
- CFD
- computational fluid dynamics
- D
- maximum aneurysm diameter
- D/N
- bottleneck factor
- DDPA
- hydraulic diameter of the distal parent artery
- DPA
- distal parent artery
- DPPA
- hydraulic diameter of the proximal parent artery
- 3DRA
- 3D rotational angiography
- H
- height of the aneurysm
- H/N
- aspect ratio
- IA
- intracranial aneurysm
- LCCA
- left common carotid artery
- N
- neck diameter
- NSI
- nonsphericity index
- OSI
- oscillatory shear index
- PA
- parent artery
- PPA
- proximal parent artery
- RCCA
- right common carotid artery
- Re
- Reynolds number
- S
- aneurysm surface area
- TAWSS
- time-averaged wall shear stress
- V
- aneurysm volume
- WSS
- wall shear stress
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