Patient-Specific Vascular Modeling - Microsurgery: Advances, Simulations, and Applications - page 74

the introduction of a micro-catheter into neurovascular intervention.
So far, various types of micro-catheters have been developed with
regard to their operating function to treat various diseases, which
have been treated mainly with craniotomy in the past.
However, cerebral vasculature tortuosity makes dificult to drive
intravascular devices to achieve a treatment. The blood vessels'
morphology is different for each patient and it may contribute to
make neuro-endovascular intervention more dificult. Endovascular
intervention requires advanced surgical skills and experience.
However, most of current environments for simulating endovascular
intervention are less similar to the actual artery as to its morphology
and physical characteristics. And this fact makes its surgical skills
more dificult to acquire.
Traditionally, interventionalists have solely depended on
images projected on displays or papers as the only means to get or
to provide medical information obtained by angiography or other
imaging modalities. Although the recent development of imaging
processing technology has made possible the reconstruction of three-
dimensional images from two-dimensional sliced images. Even so, it
is still not easy to understand the accurate arterial shapes because
the reconstructed three-dimensional images are still projected onto
two-dimensional planes and it may lead to misinterpretation of the
real morphology.
As a solution to these dificulties, we proposed the fabrication
of an in vitro vasculature model that hollowly reproduces the three-
dimensional coniguration of the patient's vascular lumens within
an elastic transparent silicone. The lumen of the model is obtained
by CT, MRI, and other imaging modalities. With this platform, it
becomes possible for young trainees to practice surgical skills of
endovascular intervention. These models enable to practice surgical
treatments for actual cases reproduced in silicone. And unlike the
conventional image-based diagnoses, with this model it becomes
possible to preliminary simulate neurovascular procedures. In
addition, it is useful for diagnosis and informed consent. Moreover,
this kind of model also provides evaluation platform for medical
studies and surgical instruments.
In an earlier research, Guilloud et al . [1] presented techniques to
reconstruct vessel lumens using modeling method-based dissection.
This method utilizes human vessel as casting mold and is now largely
utilized for various purposes. This modeling method allows precisely