A novel parameter for the prediction of rupture risk of cerebral aneurysms based on morphology

Neurosurgeons often encounter dilemmas in the clinical management of cerebral aneurysms owing to an uncertainty of their rupture status and rupture risk. This study evaluates the influence of natural frequency of an aneurysm, as a novel morphological parameter to understand and analyze rupture status and risk prediction. In this work, we employ the natural frequency of 20 idealized and 50 patient specific aneurysms. The natural frequency of patient specific aneurysms is then compared against their rupture status. A strong correlation was observed between various morphological indicators and natural frequency for ideal and patient specific geometries. A statistical analysis with both Mann Whitney U test and T-test for rupture status against natural frequency has given a p-value less than 0.01 indicating a strong correlation between them. The correlation of morphological parameters with natural frequency from Pearson correlation coefficient and T-test suggests a holistic reflection of their effects on the natural frequency of an aneurysm. Thus, natural frequency could be a good indicator to discern the rupture potential of an aneurysm. The correlation between rupture status and natural frequency makes it a novel parameter that can differentiate between ruptured and unruptured patient specific aneurysms.