The aim of this study was to develop a technically simple swine aneurysm-training model by inserting a silicone aneurysm circuit in the cervical vessels. A silicone aneurysm circuit was created by designing multiple aneurysms in size and configuration on a silicone vessel. Five swine underwent surgical implantation of this circuit ...

This report describes an effective cerebral perfusion method using an additional 4th side limb graft sewn to a trifurcated graft in patients undergoing redo aortic root reconstruction combined with total aortic arch replacement. This method is useful in cases where the origin of the innominate artery is unsuitable for clamping ...

Today, the majority of coronary stents are balloon-expandable and are deployed using a balloon-tipped catheter. To improve deliverability, the membrane of the angioplasty balloon is typically folded about the catheter in a pleated configuration. As such, the deployment of the angioplasty balloon is governed by the material properties of the ...

Purpose:To examine the associations between intracranial artery calcifications (IACs) and coronary artery calcifications (CACs) in patients with ischemic stroke and to assess the predictive value of IAC for asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD).Materials and Methods:This retrospective study, approved by an institutional review board that waived the need for informed consent, ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluates a semi-automated method for Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm (TAA) measurement using ECG-gated Dual Source CT Angiogram (DSCTA). METHODS: This retrospective HIPAA compliant study was approved by our IRB. Transaxial maximum diameters of outer wall to outer wall were studied in fifty patients at seven anatomic locations of the ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between aortic arch calcifications (AAC) on chest radiography and coronary artery calcium (CAC) score determined by CT. METHODS: A total of 128 patients (75 men; 69.3 ± 14.7 years) who underwent chest radiography and CAC scoring at CT were included in this retrospective analysis. The extent of AAC ...

OBJECTIVESThe theoretical differences in energy losses as well as coronary flow with different band sizes for branch pulmonary arteries (PA) in hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) remain unknown. Our objective was to develop a computational fluid dynamic model (CFD) to determine the energy losses and pulmonary-to-systemic flow rates. This study ...

Abstract Objective Individual studies examining the effects of prostacyclin and its analogues on pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) have reported controversial results. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of these agents for PAH by a meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Research design and methods We systematically searched Pubmed, ...

Cerebral aneurysms treated by traditional endovascular methods using platinum coils have a tendency to be unstable, either due to chronic inflammation, compaction of coils, or growth of the aneurysm. We propose to use alternate filling methods for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms using polyurethane based shape memory polymer (SMP) foams. ...

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and the main reason for long-term disability. An appropriate animal model of stroke is urgently required for understanding the exact pathophysiological mechanism of stroke and testing any new therapeutic regimen. Our work aimed to establish a canine stroke model occluding ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to compare the diagnostic value of color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography against that of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) or surgery in the evaluation of failing hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: CDUS and MDCT angiography were performed ...

INTRODUCTION: Our objective is to determine the utility of noncontrast Hounsfield unit values, Hounsfield unit values corrected for the patient's hematocrit, and venoarterial Hounsfield unit difference measurements in the identification of intracranial venous thrombosis on noncontrast head computed tomography. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed noncontrast head computed tomography exams performed in ...

INTRODUCTION: The arteries of bifurcation aneurysms are sometimes so angulated or tortuous that an exchange maneuver is necessary to catheterize them with a balloon or stent delivery catheter. Because of the risk of distal wire perforation associated with exchange maneuvers, we sought to find an alternative technique. METHODS: Our experience ...

Aortic stenosis is the most prevalent and life-threatening form of valvular heart disease. It is primarily treated via open-heart surgical valve replacement with either a tissue or a mechanical prosthetic heart valve (PHV), each prone to degradation and thrombosis, respectively. Polymeric PHVs may be optimized to eliminate these complications, and ...

Purpose: The degree of stenosis is an important biomarker in assessing the severity of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of our work is to develop and evaluate a semiautomatic method for carotid lumen segmentation and subsequent carotid artery stenosis quantification in CTA images.Methods: The authors present a semiautomatic stenosis detection and ...

The objective is to show the feasibility of shear strain elastography (SSE) in vivo with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) radio-frequency data acquired at 20 MHz in carotid arteries of pigs. We previously proposed the Lagrangian Speckle Model Estimator (LSME) to estimate the strain tensor including the shear strain that could be ...

The objective of this study was to assess the lumen visibility of carotid artery stents using multi-detector-row computed tomography (MDCT) angiography; compare medium-smooth, medium-sharp, and sharp kernels; and correlate these results to those of digital subtraction angiography (DSA). We retrospectively evaluated 52 stents from 51 patients who underwent 16- and ...

Endoscopic sinus surgery is a widely used technique in otolaryngologic practice. To avoid complications, the locations of important anatomical structures, such as the anterior ethmoid artery (AEA), should be determined preoperatively. We want to evaluate the effect of ethmoid cavity pneumatization on the location of the AEA and to determine ...

This study evaluated the feasibility and accuracy of three-dimensional rotational angiography (3DRA) to determine the anatomy of the left atrium (LA) and pulmonary veins (PVs) compared with cardiac computed tomography (CCT) and trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE). One hundred two patients (56.1 ± 9.9 years, 86 males) with an indication for atrial fibrillation ablation were ...

BACKGROUND:: Classification of MCA aneurysms is sometimes difficult, as the identification of the main MCA bifurcation, the key for accurate classification of MCA aneurysms, is inconsistent and somewhat subjective. OBJECTIVE:: We aimed to use the meeting point of M1 and M2 trunks as an objective, generally accepted and angiographically evident ...

Aims: Among three versions of bioresorbable magnesium scaffolds featuring different paclitaxel-elution kinetics, we determined the best-performing scaffold and compared it with established, paclitaxel-eluting, permanent stents TAXUS Liberté and eucaTAX. Methods and results: Drug-elution kinetics in magnesium scaffolds were modulated by varying the composition of their bioresorbable poly(lactide-co-glycolide) coating loaded with ...

A flow diverter (FD) is a flexible, densely braided stent-mesh device placed endoluminally across an intracranial aneurysm to induce its thrombotic occlusion. FD treatment planning using computational virtual stenting and flow simulation requires accurate representation of the expanded FD geometry. We have recently developed a high fidelity virtual stenting (HiFiVS) ...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the validity of duplex ultrasonography (DUS) using a microconvex array transducer (MAT) with enhanced flow imaging (EFI) for visualization of the distal, internal carotid artery (ICA) and the accurate assessment of ICA stenosis. METHODS: Patients who underwent both DUS and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were ...

OBJECTIVE: The use of cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements obtained from computed tomographic angiography (CTA) for the calculation of carotid artery stenosis has been suggested but not yet validated in a large population. The objective of this study was to determine whether CTA-derived CSA measurements were able to predict carotid stenosis ...

BACKGROUND: Monitoring the expansion of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) is critical to avoid aneurysm rupture in surveillance programs, for instance. However, measuring the change of the maximum diameter over time can only provide limited information about AAA expansion. Specifically, regions of fast diameter growth may be missed, axial growth cannot ...

The purpose of the study was to design a hybrid decision support system (HDSS) that could simulate the embolized coil selection pattern of the radiologists in aneurysms treatment. As the longest available length of the coils should be used in most cases, therefore only the shape diameter (SD) selection was ...

Studies have suggested that operator proficiency has a substantial effect on complication rates and procedural outcomes. Endovascular simulators have been used for training and have been proposed as an alternative to the conventional assessment of skills. The present study sought to validate simulation as an objective method for proficiency evaluation ...

Vascular access problems are a daily occurrence in hemodialysis units. Loss of patency of the vascular access limits hemodialysis delivery and may result in underdialysis that leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Despite the known superiority of autogenous fistulae over grafts, autogenous fistulae also suffer from frequent development of stenosis ...

BACKGROUND: Pocket-sized echocardiography may serve as an initial tool to screen for aortic stenosis (AS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a novel and simple method using pocket-sized echocardiography to screen for AS. METHODS: Subjects (n = 130) with systolic ejection murmur or known AS were studied. ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:SACE is performed for complex aneurysms. There are several configurations of stent placement for bifurcation aneurysms. We investigated hemodynamics among 8 different configurations of stent placement, which may relate to the recanalization rate.MATERIALS AND METHODS:We created a silicone block model of a patient-specific asymmetric bifurcation aneurysm. Enterprise closed-cell ...

OBJECTIVE: Abnormal haemodynamics is commonly agreed to be a major contributor to the development of distal anastomotic intimal hyperplasia. A new vascular graft design proposed by computational studies was used to demonstrate its surgical feasibility and to compare it with the conventional graft in a porcine model. METHOD: The device ...

Our objective was to develop a method for studying the biomechanics of the common carotid artery (CCA) by evaluating both radial and less known axial distension of the arterial wall. We developed software capable of tracking the movements of different arterial wall layers from ultrasound recordings of CCA, and we then ...

BACKGROUND: The Pediatric Heart Network is conducting a large international randomized trial to compare aortic root growth and other cardiovascular outcomes in 608 subjects with Marfan syndrome randomized to receive atenolol or losartan for 3 years. The authors report here the echocardiographic methods and baseline echocardiographic characteristics of the randomized ...

In this work, a computational procedure is proposed to vascularize anatomical regions supplied by many inflow sites. The proposed methodology creates a partition of the territory to be vascularized into nonoverlapping subdomains that are independently supplied by the so-called perforator arteries (inflow sites). Then, in each subdomain, the constrained constructive ...

INTRODUCTION: A novel cryoballoon with improved refrigerant distribution promises better pulmonary vein (PV) isolation success rate without sacrificing the technology's safety profile. This study aimed to compare the Arctic Front® (AF) balloon to the new Arctic Front Advance™ (AFA). METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty pulmonary PVs from 10 healthy dogs weighing ...

OBJECTIVES: Recently, a novel method to estimate aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) noninvasively from an oscillometric single brachial cuff waveform reading has been introduced. We investigated whether this new approach provides acceptable estimates of aPWV compared with intra-aortic catheter measurements. METHODS: Estimated values of aPWV obtained from brachial cuff readings ...

Aim: The aim of this paper was to present a mathematical model to calculate the required main aortic graft-diameter for parallel chimney-grafts. Methods: Geometric approximation model, developed to allow for a standardized calculation of the main aortic graft-diameter determined by the aortic diameter and the diameter of the chimney-graft. Results: ...

We propose a novel method to reconstruct the hypothetical geometry of the healthy vasculature prior to intracranial aneurysm (IA) formation: a Frenet frame is calculated along the skeletonization of the arterial geometry; upstream and downstream boundaries of the aneurysmal segment are expressed in terms of the local Frenet frame basis ...

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive procedures, such as the TVT-Secur™, have been linked to injury to the corona mortis. Injury during the insertion of the TVT-Secur™ happens due to the vessel's position close to the place of the margin (25-30 mm from the symphysis pubis). AIMS: Systematic description of the aberrant vessel anatomy ...

OBJECTIVE: Certain clinical situations, such as a surgical embolectomy for an acute embolic occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) or the surgical repair of a blood blister-like aneurysm (BBA), can require the superior wall of the ICA to be repaired using a microsuture technique. This can be complicated and ...

We describe a 68-year-old man with acute stroke in whom the newly developed single sweep method for three-dimensional (3D) carotid ultrasound provided a rapid and comprehensive assessment of atherosclerotic plaque burden in the internal carotid artery. The two-dimensional duplex carotid scan diagnosed 50-69% stenosis, and with the three-dimensional method, the ...

Purpose : To determine gutter size and stent-graft geometry in an in vitro juxtarenal aneurysm model using various chimney graft (CG) configurations. Methods : Two silicone juxtarenal aortic aneurysm models were constructed combining different diameters of the aorta and renal artery. In a single-branched CG configuration, 2 sizes (23 and ...

Recent in vivo studies, utilizing ultrasound contour and speckle tracking methods, have identified significant longitudinal displacements of the intima-media complex, and viscoelastic arterial wall properties over a cardiac cycle. Existing computational models that use thin structure approximations of arterial walls have so far been limited to models that capture only ...

The aim of this study was to compare the stent designed by Chonnam National University Hospital (designated as CNUH) with commercial cobalt-chromium coronary stent in a porcine coronary overstretch restenosis model. CNUH stent was subjected to mechanical performance tests. Pigs were randomized into two groups in which the coronary arteries ...

OBJECTIVES: We report our evaluation of a novel retrograde wiring technique known as the Rendezvous method. BACKGROUND: Different strategies of retrograde approaches can be used to improve the success rate of recanalization of coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO). We previously introduced the Rendezvous technique as an alternative final step for ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between 5-min Apgar score and umbilical cord artery carbon dioxide tension (pCO2 ). DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: European hospital labor wards. POPULATION: Data from 36 432 newborns ≥36 gestational weeks were obtained from three sources: two trials of monitoring with fetal electrocardiogram (the Swedish randomized controlled ...

BACKGROUND: In selected type B acute aortic dissection with aortic growth and patent false lumen, an intervention may be required to prevent aortic rupture. Apart from stent grafting of the thoracic aorta, aimed at occluding the primary intimal tear, some have advocated closure of reentry tears by stent grafting of ...

AIMS: There is no definitive and reliable echocardiographic method for estimating the pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) to differentiate persistent vascular disease from dynamic pulmonary hypertension. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the pulmonary venous blood flow velocity-time integral (VTIpv) and PVR. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eighteen ...

BACKGROUND:: In treating cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistulas (CSdAVFs), transvenous embolization of the whole affected sinus is usually performed, which may result in the disturbance of normal venous drainage, or permanent cranial nerve palsy. Objective: To describe superselective shunt occlusion (SSSO) of CSdAVFs. METHODS:: Between July 2005 and August 2011, ...

Backround: Intermittent claudication is a classic symptom of peripheral arterial disease. It is mainly treated conservatively but if this fails, a form of revascularization is indicated. The revascularization in chronic occlusion of femoropopliteal region is currently performed by two basic methods: the standard method of surgical bypass and the newer ...