1 Mimics Based Image Reconstruction Augments Diagnosis and Management of Vascular Pathologies: A Study of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurisms

Societal Relevance: Cardiovascular pathology is the leading cause of death and disability in the Western World. Rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), having a mortality rate of 50-75%, ranks as the 13th leading cause of death in the US. The ability to reliably predict the risk of rupture of AAA on a patient-specific basis could vastly improve the clinical management of these patients. The anatomic conditions that predispose to aneurismal dilation of the aorta are present to varying degrees in the majority of the Western population over age 50. Current diagnostic tests (CT / MR angiography and duplex ultrasound) can identify the existence of aneurysm pathology with a high degree of sensitivity, but are not specific enough to identify patients at high risk for disease progression and rupture. With the advances in computer graphics techniques for surface rendering, the potential for extracting valuable information from these modalities has emerged. Combining these modalities with advanced numerical simulations additionally facilitates the quantification of significant clinical parameters that offer enhanced diagnosis of the patient’s condition, and can be used to arrive to a better informed decision regarding the need for a surgical intervention. Innovation: High risk aneurysms that are candidates for surgical intervention are those with aneurismal diameter larger than 5.5cm. This size-based-criterion fails to differentiate between small diameter aneurysms with high risk of rupture and large diameter aneurysms that may be stable. To provide a way of quantifying the risk of rupture of AAAs, we introduced a methodological approach for developing a patient specific diagnostic tool of abdominal aorti