Coupling haemodynamics with vascular wall mechanics and mechanobiology to understand intracranial aneurysms

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Abstract
Arteries exhibit a remarkable ability to adapt in response to sustained alterations in haemodynamic loading, to heal in response to injuries, and to compensate in response to diverse disease conditions. Nevertheless, such compensatory adaptations are limited and many vascular disorders, if untreated, lead to significant morbidity or mortality. Parallel advances in vascular biology, medical imaging, biomechanics and computational methods promise to provide increased insight into many arterial diseases, including intracranial aneurysms. In particular, although it may be possible to identify useful clinical correlations between either the blood flow patterns within or the shape of aneurysms and their rupture-potential, our ultimate goal should be to couple studies of haemodynamics with those of wall mechanics and the underlying mechanobiology so that we can understand better the mechanisms by which aneurysms develop, enlarge, and rupture and thereby identify better methods of treatment. This article presents one such approach to fluid-solid-growth (FSG) modelling of intracranial aneurysms.

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