An intracranial aneurysm (otherwise known as a cerebral or brain aneurysm) is a weak or thin spot on a blood vessel, specifically an artery, in the brain that inflates or bulges out with blood. Thus, an aneurysm can put pressure on the nerves or brain tissue around it. It may also rupture, spilling blood into the surrounding tissue (NINDS, 2019). This rupture can cause a variety of health issues such as brain injury, coma, or hemorrhagic stroke. It also has an impact on the patient's quality of life and may even lead to death (NINDS, 2018).
There are several risk factors for developing an aneurysm, including high blood pressure, a genetic predisposition, smoking, or some infection in the blood. Each year in the United States, 6% of the population will be affected by an unruptured intracranial aneurysm and 30,000 patients suffer from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm (AANS).
Nowadays, there are many different options and procedures for treating intracranial aneurysms; for example, endovascular embolization involves stopping the flow of the blood in the aneurysm. In some cases, a combination of therapy or treatments is best. Nevertheless, all of these treatments depend on the clinical condition of the patient, and doctors must choose which course of treatment poses the least risk for the individual (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2018). On the other hand, not all kinds of aneurysms need to be treated; depending on the size of the aneurysm and other individual risk factors, some aneurysms only need to be monitored by CTA (Computer Tomography Angiography) or MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiography) to ensure that they don’t develop further (NINDS, 2018).
Despite the various treatments available today, researchers and biomedical engineers continue to search for improved methods of treating intracranial aneurysms. In the last year, artificial intelligence has begun to enter the spheres of biomedical devices and healthcare. Now, researchers are investigating whether AI can help with treating intracranial aneurysms. This has led to the development of The Aneurysm Occlusion Assistant (AnOA).
AnOA is an AI platform that allows medical staff (especially neurosurgeons) to test the same predictions made in the research on patients before the procedure, during the surgery (Williams et al., 2021). Before the surgery, neurosurgeons use a neural network which can recognize any problem and solve it in different fields such as machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence) (IBM, 2020). Neural networks are used to predict if the procedure would succeed in occluding the patient’s unruptured intracranial aneurysm. They can determine whether the endovascular surgery would be successful or not based on this result. The goal of using AnOA is to help neurosurgeons better customize endovascular aneurysm treatments during the surgery, hopefully improving the success rate of these surgeries (Williams et al., 2021).
Many patients could benefit from AnOA's assistance in developing a personalized medication for endovascular aneurysms, which will lower the danger of various medical procedures and therapies. It could also assist neurosurgical staff in making important decisions in pseudo-real time to ensure the success of the surgery. Even though it has not been tested in a prospective clinical study, the AnOA is significant as a precursor computational platform in the surgical area because it is the first software that can effectively use and apply machine learning-based aneurysm research into a clinical area (Williams et al., 2021).
With the development of this software and the advancement of artificial intelligence in biomedical applications, medicine will have new tools for reducing risk in all types of surgeries and therefore saving and extending the lives of many.
About the Author
Violeta Vilcapoma is a freshman at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Perú concentrating in Biomedical Engineering.
References
Artificial Intelligence (AI). (n.d.). National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/artificial-intelligence-ai
Cerebral Aneurysms Fact Sheet | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2018, May). National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Cerebral-Aneurysms-Fact-Sheet
Cerebral Aneurysms Information Page | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2019, March 27). National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Cerebral-Aneurysms-Information-Page
Cerebral Aneurysm – Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments. (s. f.). American Association of Neurological Surgeons. https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Cerebral-Aneurysm
Education, I. C. (2020, August 17). Neural Networks. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/neural-networks
Endovascular Coiling. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/endovascular-coiling
Endovascular Treatment. (2019, 8 April). Brain Aneurysm Foundation. https://www.bafound.org/treatment/endovascular-treatment/
Kieffer, S. (2018, December 13). Brain Aneurysms | Johns Hopkins Cerebrovascular Center. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/centers_clinics/cerebrovascular/conditions/aneurysms.html#:%7E:text=Johns%20Hopkins%20estimates%20that%20two,can%20also%20have%20brain%20aneurysms
Marasini, A. (2022). Role of Artificial Intelligence in Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysm: An Overview. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.784326/full
Williams, K. A., Podgorsak, A. R., Bhurwani, M., Rava, R. A., Sommer, K. N., & Ionita, C. N. (2021). The Aneurysm Occlusion Assistant, an AI platform for real time surgical guidance of intracranial aneurysms. Proceedings of SPIE--the International Society for Optical Engineering, 11601, 116010V. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2581003
There are several risk factors for developing an aneurysm, including high blood pressure, a genetic predisposition, smoking, or some infection in the blood. Each year in the United States, 6% of the population will be affected by an unruptured intracranial aneurysm and 30,000 patients suffer from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm (AANS).
Nowadays, there are many different options and procedures for treating intracranial aneurysms; for example, endovascular embolization involves stopping the flow of the blood in the aneurysm. In some cases, a combination of therapy or treatments is best. Nevertheless, all of these treatments depend on the clinical condition of the patient, and doctors must choose which course of treatment poses the least risk for the individual (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2018). On the other hand, not all kinds of aneurysms need to be treated; depending on the size of the aneurysm and other individual risk factors, some aneurysms only need to be monitored by CTA (Computer Tomography Angiography) or MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiography) to ensure that they don’t develop further (NINDS, 2018).
Despite the various treatments available today, researchers and biomedical engineers continue to search for improved methods of treating intracranial aneurysms. In the last year, artificial intelligence has begun to enter the spheres of biomedical devices and healthcare. Now, researchers are investigating whether AI can help with treating intracranial aneurysms. This has led to the development of The Aneurysm Occlusion Assistant (AnOA).
AnOA is an AI platform that allows medical staff (especially neurosurgeons) to test the same predictions made in the research on patients before the procedure, during the surgery (Williams et al., 2021). Before the surgery, neurosurgeons use a neural network which can recognize any problem and solve it in different fields such as machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence) (IBM, 2020). Neural networks are used to predict if the procedure would succeed in occluding the patient’s unruptured intracranial aneurysm. They can determine whether the endovascular surgery would be successful or not based on this result. The goal of using AnOA is to help neurosurgeons better customize endovascular aneurysm treatments during the surgery, hopefully improving the success rate of these surgeries (Williams et al., 2021).
Many patients could benefit from AnOA's assistance in developing a personalized medication for endovascular aneurysms, which will lower the danger of various medical procedures and therapies. It could also assist neurosurgical staff in making important decisions in pseudo-real time to ensure the success of the surgery. Even though it has not been tested in a prospective clinical study, the AnOA is significant as a precursor computational platform in the surgical area because it is the first software that can effectively use and apply machine learning-based aneurysm research into a clinical area (Williams et al., 2021).
With the development of this software and the advancement of artificial intelligence in biomedical applications, medicine will have new tools for reducing risk in all types of surgeries and therefore saving and extending the lives of many.
About the Author
Violeta Vilcapoma is a freshman at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Perú concentrating in Biomedical Engineering.
References
Artificial Intelligence (AI). (n.d.). National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/artificial-intelligence-ai
Cerebral Aneurysms Fact Sheet | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2018, May). National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Cerebral-Aneurysms-Fact-Sheet
Cerebral Aneurysms Information Page | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2019, March 27). National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Cerebral-Aneurysms-Information-Page
Cerebral Aneurysm – Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments. (s. f.). American Association of Neurological Surgeons. https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Cerebral-Aneurysm
Education, I. C. (2020, August 17). Neural Networks. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/neural-networks
Endovascular Coiling. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/endovascular-coiling
Endovascular Treatment. (2019, 8 April). Brain Aneurysm Foundation. https://www.bafound.org/treatment/endovascular-treatment/
Kieffer, S. (2018, December 13). Brain Aneurysms | Johns Hopkins Cerebrovascular Center. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/centers_clinics/cerebrovascular/conditions/aneurysms.html#:%7E:text=Johns%20Hopkins%20estimates%20that%20two,can%20also%20have%20brain%20aneurysms
Marasini, A. (2022). Role of Artificial Intelligence in Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysm: An Overview. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.784326/full
Williams, K. A., Podgorsak, A. R., Bhurwani, M., Rava, R. A., Sommer, K. N., & Ionita, C. N. (2021). The Aneurysm Occlusion Assistant, an AI platform for real time surgical guidance of intracranial aneurysms. Proceedings of SPIE--the International Society for Optical Engineering, 11601, 116010V. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2581003
