Regions of high wall stress can predict the future location of rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Predicting the wall stress in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) using computational modeling may be a useful adjunct to traditional clinical parameters that indicate the risk of rupture. Maximum diameter has been shown to have many limitations, and using current technology it is possible to provide a patient-specific computational risk assessment using routinely acquired medical images. We present a case of AAA rupture where the exact rupture point was clearly visible on the computed tomography (CT) images. A blind computational study based on CT scans acquired 4 months earlier predicted elevated wall stresses in the same region that later experienced rupture.