Numerical simulation of individual coil placement -- A proof-of-concept study for the prediction of recurrence after aneurysm coiling

Rupture of intracranial aneurysms results in severe subarachnoidal hemorrhage, which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Neurointerventional occlusion of the aneurysm through coiling has evolved to a therapeutical standard. The choice of the specific coil has an important influence on secondary regrowth requiring retreatment. Aneurysm occlusion was simulated either through virtual implantation of a preshaped 3D coil or with a porous media approach. In this study, we used a recently developed numerical approach to simulate aneurysm shapes in specific challenging aneurysm anatomies and correlated these with aneurysm recurrence 6 months after treatment. The simulation showed a great variety of coil shapes depending on the variability in possible microcatheter positions. Aneurysms with a later recurrence showed a tendency for more successful coiling attempts. Results revealed further trends suggesting lower simulated packing densities in aneurysms with reoccurrence. Simulated packing densities did not correlate with those calculated by conventional software, indicating the potential for our approach to offer additional predictive value. Our study, therefore, pioneers a comprehensive numerical model for simulating aneurysm coiling, providing insights into individualized treatment strategies and outcome prediction. Future directions involve expanding the model's capabilities to simulate intraprocedural outcomes and long-term predictions, aiming to refine occlusion quality criteria and validate prediction parameters in larger patient cohorts. This simulation framework holds promise for enhancing clinical decision-making and optimizing patient outcomes in endovascular aneurysm treatment.
Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures