Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 782801, 11 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/782801
Review Article

Hemodynamics of Cerebral Aneurysms: Computational Analyses of Aneurysm Progress and Treatment

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Myongji University, 38-2 Nam-Dong, Yongin-Si, Kyunggi-Do 449-728, Republic of Korea

Received 22 September 2011; Accepted 10 November 2011

Academic Editor: Eun Bo Shim

Copyright © 2012 Woowon Jeong and Kyehan Rhee. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The progression of a cerebral aneurysm involves degenerative arterial wall remodeling. Various hemodynamic parameters are suspected to be major mechanical factors related to the genesis and progression of vascular diseases. Flow alterations caused by the insertion of coils and stents for interventional aneurysm treatment may affect the aneurysm embolization process. Therefore, knowledge of hemodynamic parameters may provide physicians with an advanced understanding of aneurysm progression and rupture, as well as the effectiveness of endovascular treatments. Progress in medical imaging and information technology has enabled the prediction of flow fields in the patient-specific blood vessels using computational analysis. In this paper, recent computational hemodynamic studies on cerebral aneurysm initiation, progress, and rupture are reviewed. State-of-the-art computational aneurysmal flow analyses after coiling and stenting are also summarized. We expect the computational analysis of hemodynamics in cerebral aneurysms to provide valuable information for planning and follow-up decisions for treatment.