DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17191239
title: Spin-echo black-blood MRI Datasets of Intracranial Aneurysm Models Before and After Treatment with 15 Endovascular Devices

description: This repository contains 38 in vitro spin-echo (SE) black-blood (BB) MRI datasets of 5 unique aneurysm models constructed based on 3D rotational angiographic data of two patients. One patient has an aneurysm at the internal carotid artery (ICA) while another at the basilar artery (BA). To enable systematic comparison, the BA model was modified 4 times to accommodate various sizes of endovascular devices. All models were 3D-printed multiple times (up to 5 copies per model) to compare different designs of devices under consistent anatomical conditions. Mimicking treatment, endovascular devices were deployed into 15 aneurysm models (five flow-diverter stents [FD1-5] and ten intrasaccular devices [IFD1-10]). Digital BA models [1,2] and ICA models [3,4] have been previously used elsewhere and are publicly available at Zenodo [5,6].

The datasets were used in the publication "Evaluating flow modulating treatment response in intracranial aneurysms using black blood MRI in vitro," published in Communications Medicine, DOI: XXX (Pravdivtseva, 2025). In the paper, we utilized BB MRI, along with 4D Flow MRI, to assess the treatment effect of various endovascular devices. For the details regarding the aneurysm models and endovascular devices, please refer to the paper (Pravdivtseva, 2025).

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging 

MRI experiments were conducted on a clinical 3T scanner with a 32-channel head coil (Ingenia CX, R5 V6.1, Philips Healthcare, Best, Netherlands). ICA models were perfused with a 40:60 glycerol–water mixture (dynamic viscosity 3.72 cP [7]) driven by a pulsatile piston pump (PD-1100, BDC Laboratories). BA models were perfused with water using a peristaltic pump (Ismatec MCP Standard, Cole-Parmer, USA). All test fluids were doped with gadobutrol (0.3 mmol/L, Gadovist, Bayer Vital, Germany) to enhance MR signal.

SE BB MRI was performed using a T1-weighted 3D variable refocusing flip-angle turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequence (Volume ISotropic Turbo spin echo Acquisition, VISTA [8]), both with and without motion-sensitized driven-equilibrium (MSDE) preparation [9]. Two frequency-encoding (FE) orientations were tested — perpendicular (transverse) and parallel (sagittal) to the parent vessel of the aneurysm models — to examine the influence of imaging direction on BB signal.

To evaluate how black-blood contrast depends on acquisition settings, four SE BB protocols were applied:

1) BB1 – SE BB without MSDE, FE perpendicular to flow;

2) BB2 – SE BB with MSDE, FE perpendicular to flow;

3) BB3 – SE BB without MSDE, FE parallel to flow; 

4) BB4 – SE BB with MSDE, FE parallel to the flow. 

Experiment 1 included all four protocols, Experiment 2 used BB1 and BB2, while Experiment 3 applied only BB1.

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References

1.         Korte, J. et al. In vitro and in silico assessment of flow modulation after deploying the Contour Neurovascular System in intracranial aneurysm models. J. NeuroInterventional Surg. (2023). doi:10.1136/jnis-2023-020403

2.         Pravdivtseva, M. S. et al. The effect of the size of the new contour neurovascular device for altering intraaneurysmal flow. Interv. Neuroradiol. 15910199221145985 (2023). doi:10.1177/15910199221145985

3.         Velvaluri, P. et al. Thin-Film Patient-Specific Flow Diverter Stents for the Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms. Adv. Mater. Technol. 6, 2100384 (2021).

4.         Bautz, L. et al. Development of 3D-printed flow-diverting stents for studying the effect of aneurysm treatment in vitro. Ann. 3D Print. Med. 18, 100196 (2025).

5.         Pravdivtseva, M. S. 3D models of basilar tip intracranial aneurysms (STL) to study flow dynamics. (2021). doi:10.5281/zenodo.4723100

6.         Pravdivtseva, M., Oni, O. A. & Bautz, L. Intracranial aneurysm models with flow-diverting stents for 3D printing (STL files). (2025). at <https://zenodo.org/records/14987035>

7.         Segur, J. B. & Oberstar, H. E. Viscosity of Glycerol and Its Aqueous Solutions. Ind. Eng. Chem. 43, 2117–2120 (1951).

8.         Qiao, Y. et al. Intracranial arterial wall imaging using three-dimensional high isotropic resolution black blood MRI at 3.0 Tesla. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 34, 22–30 (2011).

9.         Wang, J., Yarnykh, V. L. & Yuan, C. Enhanced Image Quality in Black-Blood MRI by Using the Improved Motion-Sensitized Driven-Equilibrium (iMSDE) Sequence. JMRI 31, 1256–1263 (2010).