TY - JOUR T1 - Neurovascular Modeling: Small-Batch Manufacturing of Silicone Vascular Replicas JF - American Journal of Neuroradiology JO - Am. J. Neuroradiol. SP - 1159 LP - 1164 DO - 10.3174/ajnr.A1543 VL - 30 IS - 6 AU - J.Y. Chueh AU - A.K. Wakhloo AU - M.J. Gounis Y1 - 2009/06/01 UR - http://www.ajnr.org/content/30/6/1159.abstract N2 - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Realistic, population based cerebrovascular replicas are required for the development of neuroendovascular devices. The objective of this work was to develop an efficient methodology for manufacturing realistic cerebrovascular replicas.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brain MR angiography data from 20 patients were acquired. The centerline of the vasculature was calculated, and geometric parameters were measured to describe quantitatively the internal carotid artery (ICA) siphon. A representative model was created on the basis of the quantitative measurements. Using this virtual model, we designed a mold with core-shell structure and converted it into a physical object by fused-deposit manufacturing. Vascular replicas were created by injection molding of different silicones. Mechanical properties, including the stiffness and luminal coefficient of friction, were measured.RESULTS: The average diameter, length, and curvature of the ICA siphon were 4.15 ± 0.09 mm, 22.60 ± 0.79 mm, and 0.34 ± 0.02 mm−1 (average ± standard error of the mean), respectively. From these image datasets, we created a median virtual model, which was transformed into a physical replica by an efficient batch-manufacturing process. The coefficient of friction of the luminal surface of the replica was reduced by up to 55% by using liquid silicone rubber coatings. The modulus ranged from 0.67 to 1.15 MPa compared with 0.42 MPa from human postmortem studies, depending on the material used to make the replica.CONCLUSIONS: Population-representative, smooth, and true-to-scale silicone arterial replicas with uniform wall thickness were successfully built for in vitro neurointerventional device-testing by using a batch-manufacturing process. ER -