Automated image registration of cerebral digital subtraction angiography.

PURPOSE: Our aim is to automatically align digital subtraction angiography (DSA) series, recorded before and after endovascular thrombectomy. Such alignment may enable quantification of procedural success. METHODS: Firstly, we examine the inherent limitations for image registration, caused by the projective characteristics of DSA imaging, in a representative set of image pairs from thrombectomy procedures. Secondly, we develop and assess various image registration methods (SIFT, ORB). We assess these methods using manually annotated point correspondences for thrombectomy image pairs. RESULTS: Linear transformations that account for scale differences are effective in aligning DSA sequences. Two anatomical landmarks can be reliably identified for registration using a U-net. Point-based registration using SIFT and ORB proves to be most effective for DSA registration and are applicable to recordings for all patient sub-types. Image-based techniques are less effective and did not refine the results of the best point-based registration method. CONCLUSION: We developed and assessed an automated image registration approach for cerebral DSA sequences, recorded before and after endovascular thrombectomy. Accurate results were obtained for approximately 85% of our image pairs.

Comparison of diffusion weighted imaging b0 with T2*-weighted gradient echo or susceptibility weighted imaging for intracranial hemorrhage detection after reperfusion therapy for ischemic stroke.

PURPOSE: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) b0 may be able to substitute T2*-weighted gradient echo (GRE) or susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in case of comparable detection of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), thereby reducing MRI examination time. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of DWI b0 compared to T2*GRE or SWI for detection of ICH after reperfusion therapy for ischemic stroke. METHODS: We pooled 300 follow-up MRI scans acquired within 1 week after reperfusion therapy. Six neuroradiologists each rated DWI images (b0 and b1000; b0 as index test) of 100 patients and, after a minimum of 4 weeks, T2*GRE or SWI images (reference standard) paired with DWI images of the same patients. Readers assessed the presence of ICH (yes/no) and type of ICH according to the Heidelberg Bleeding Classification. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of DWI b0 for detection of any ICH, and the sensitivity for detection of hemorrhagic infarction (HI1 & HI2) and parenchymal hematoma (PH1 & PH2). RESULTS: We analyzed 277 scans of ischemic stroke patients with complete image series and sufficient image quality (median age 65 years [interquartile range, 54-75], 158 [57%] men). For detection of any ICH on DWI b0, the sensitivity was 62% (95% CI: 50-76) and specificity 96% (95% CI: 93-99). The sensitivity of DWI b0 was 52% (95% CI: 28-68) for detection of hemorrhagic infarction and 84% (95% CI: 70-92) for parenchymal hematoma. CONCLUSION: DWI b0 is inferior for detection of ICH compared to T2*GRE/SWI, especially for smaller and more subtle hemorrhages. Follow-up MRI protocols should include T2*GRE/SWI for detection of ICH after reperfusion therapy.

Interobserver Agreement on Intracranial Hemorrhage on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: The Heidelberg Bleeding Classification, developed for computed tomography, is also frequently used to classify intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) on magnetic resonance imaging. Additionally, the presence of any ICH is frequently used as (safety) outcome measure in clinical stroke trials that evaluate acute interventions. We assessed the interobserver agreement on the presence of any ICH and the type of ICH according to the Heidelberg Bleeding Classification on magnetic resonance imaging in patients treated with reperfusion therapy. METHODS: We used 300 magnetic resonance imaging scans including susceptibility-weighted imaging or T2*-weighted gradient echo imaging of ischemic stroke patients within 1 week after reperfusion therapy. Six observers, blinded to clinical characteristics except for suspected location of the infarction, independently rated ICH according to the Heidelberg Bleeding Classification in random pairs. Percent agreement and Cohen's kappa (κ) were estimated for the presence of any ICH (yes/no), and for agreement on the Heidelberg Bleeding Classification class 1 and 2. For the Heidelberg Bleeding Classification class 1 and 2, weighted κ was estimated to take the degree of disagreement into account. RESULTS: In 297 of 300 scans, the quality of scans was sufficient to score ICH. Observers agreed on the presence or absence of any ICH in 264 of 297 scans (88.9%; κ 0.78 [95% CI, 0.71-0.85]). There was agreement on the Heidelberg Bleeding Classification class 1 and 2 and no ICH in class 1 and 2 in 226 of 297 scans (76.1%; κ 0.63 [95% CI, 0.56-0.69]; weighted κ 0.90 [95% CI, 0.87-0.93]). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of any ICH can be reliably scored on magnetic resonance imaging and can, therefore, be used as (safety) outcome measure in clinical stroke trials that evaluate acute interventions. Agreement of ICH types according to the Heidelberg Bleeding Classification is substantial and disagreements are small.

Spontaneous Iliac Vein Ruptures: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous iliac vein rupture is a rare, but frequently lethal condition. It is important to timely recognize its clinical features and immediately start adequate treatment. We aimed to increase awareness to clinical features, specific diagnostics, and treatment strategies of spontaneous iliac vein rupture by evaluating the current literature. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from inception until January 23, 2023, without any restrictions. Two reviewers independently screened for eligibility and selected studies describing a spontaneous iliac vein rupture. Patient characteristics, clinical features, diagnostics, treatment strategies, and survival outcomes were collected from included studies. RESULTS: We included 76 cases (64 studies) from the literature, mostly presenting with left-sided spontaneous iliac vein rupture (96.1%). Patients were predominantly female (84.2%), had a mean age of 61 years, and frequently presented with a concomitant deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (84.2%). After various follow-up times, 77.6% of the patients survived, either after conservative, endovascular, or open treatment. Endovenous or hybrid procedures were frequently performed if the diagnose was made before treatment, and almost all survived. Open treatment was common if the venous rupture was missed, for some cases leading to death. CONCLUSION: Spontaneous iliac vein rupture is rare and easily missed. The diagnose should at least be considered for middle-aged and elderly females presenting with hemorrhagic shock and concomitant left-sided DVT. There are various treatment strategies for spontaneous iliac vein rupture. An early diagnose brings options for endovenous treatment, which seems to have good survival outcomes based on previously described cases.

Deep-Learning-Based Thrombus Localization and Segmentation in Patients with Posterior Circulation Stroke.

Thrombus volume in posterior circulation stroke (PCS) has been associated with outcome, through recanalization. Manual thrombus segmentation is impractical for large scale analysis of image characteristics. Hence, in this study we develop the first automatic method for thrombus localization and segmentation on CT in patients with PCS. In this multi-center retrospective study, 187 patients with PCS from the MR CLEAN Registry were included. We developed a convolutional neural network (CNN) that segments thrombi and restricts the volume-of-interest (VOI) to the brainstem (Polar-UNet). Furthermore, we reduced false positive localization by removing small-volume objects, referred to as volume-based removal (VBR). Polar-UNet is benchmarked against a CNN that does not restrict the VOI (BL-UNet). Performance metrics included the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) between automated and manually segmented thrombus volumes, the thrombus localization precision and recall, and the Dice coefficient. The majority of the thrombi were localized. Without VBR, Polar-UNet achieved a thrombus localization recall of 0.82, versus 0.78 achieved by BL-UNet. This high recall was accompanied by a low precision of 0.14 and 0.09. VBR improved precision to 0.65 and 0.56 for Polar-UNet and BL-UNet, respectively, with a small reduction in recall to 0.75 and 0.69. The Dice coefficient achieved by Polar-UNet was 0.44, versus 0.38 achieved by BL-UNet with VBR. Both methods achieved ICCs of 0.41 (95% CI: 0.27-0.54). Restricting the VOI to the brainstem improved the thrombus localization precision, recall, and segmentation overlap compared to the benchmark. VBR improved thrombus localization precision but lowered recall.

Spatio-temporal deep learning for automatic detection of intracranial vessel perforation in digital subtraction angiography during endovascular thrombectomy.

Intracranial vessel perforation is a peri-procedural complication during endovascular therapy (EVT). Prompt recognition is important as its occurrence is strongly associated with unfavorable treatment outcomes. However, perforations can be hard to detect because they are rare, can be subtle, and the interventionalist is working under time pressure and focused on treatment of vessel occlusions. Automatic detection holds potential to improve rapid identification of intracranial vessel perforation. In this work, we present the first study on automated perforation detection and localization on X-ray digital subtraction angiography (DSA) image series. We adapt several state-of-the-art single-frame detectors and further propose temporal modules to learn the progressive dynamics of contrast extravasation. Application-tailored loss function and post-processing techniques are designed. We train and validate various automated methods using two national multi-center datasets (i.e., MR CLEAN Registry and MR CLEAN-NoIV Trial), and one international multi-trial dataset (i.e., the HERMES collaboration). With ten-fold cross-validation, the proposed methods achieve an area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic of 0.93 in terms of series level perforation classification. Perforation localization precision and recall reach 0.83 and 0.70 respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed automatic solutions perform at similar level as an expert radiologist.

autoTICI: Automatic Brain Tissue Reperfusion Scoring on 2D DSA Images of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients.

The Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) score is an important metric for reperfusion therapy assessment in acute ischemic stroke. It is commonly used as a technical outcome measure after endovascular treatment (EVT). Existing TICI scores are defined in coarse ordinal grades based on visual inspection, leading to inter- and intra-observer variation. In this work, we present autoTICI, an automatic and quantitative TICI scoring method. First, each digital subtraction angiography (DSA) acquisition is separated into four phases (non-contrast, arterial, parenchymal and venous phase) using a multi-path convolutional neural network (CNN), which exploits spatio-temporal features. The network also incorporates sequence level label dependencies in the form of a state-transition matrix. Next, a minimum intensity map (MINIP) is computed using the motion corrected arterial and parenchymal frames. On the MINIP image, vessel, perfusion and background pixels are segmented. Finally, we quantify the autoTICI score as the ratio of reperfused pixels after EVT. On a routinely acquired multi-center dataset, the proposed autoTICI shows good correlation with the extended TICI (eTICI) reference with an average area under the curve (AUC) score of 0.81. The AUC score is 0.90 with respect to the dichotomized eTICI. In terms of clinical outcome prediction, we demonstrate that autoTICI is overall comparable to eTICI.

Very Late Leptomeningeal Collaterals-Potential New Way to Subdivide Modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Ischemia (mTICI) 2B.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that the modified thrombolysis in cerebral ischemia (mTICI) 2B score is associated with better functional outcome; however, 50-99% reperfusion is a large range and there may be factors which can differentiate this further. The effects of very late leptomeningeal collaterals (VLLC) on mTICI-2B patients were studied. METHOD: A prospectively collected registry of anterior circulation AIS patients treated with the EmboTrap revascularization device from 2013 to 2016 was evaluated. Imaging parameters and timings, including the mTICI score were verified by an external core laboratory blinded to the clinical data. The final angiogram was examined for the appearance of VLLC in predicting 3­month outcomes including excellent functional outcomes, defined as modified Rankin scale (mRS) 0-1, bleeding risk and mortality. RESULTS: A total of 177 consecutive anterior circulation stroke patients were included in the analysis. Of these 94 (53.1%) achieved only mTICI-2B reperfusion, 16/94 (17.0%) patients achieved excellent functional outcomes at 3 months and 26 (27.7%) had hyperdensity on follow-up computed tomography (CT). On univariate analysis, the presence of VLLC was inversely associated with excellent functional outcomes at 3 months and positively associated with mortality in patients with mTICI-2B reperfusion. On multivariate analysis VLLC was inversely associated with excellent outcomes (odds ratio 0.075, 95% confidence interval 0.007-0.765, P = 0.029) but not associated with mortality. CONCLUSION: The mTICI-2B grade may be further refined by secondary radiological markers. The VLLC sign is associated with the loss of excellent functional outcomes at 3 months. It is a simple sign to discriminate mTICI-2B into different grades but should be verified in larger populations from other centers.

Intracranial Stenting after Failure of Thrombectomy with the emboTrap® Device.

BACKGROUND: Approved alternatives in the guidelines for acute ischemic stroke patients who have failed intracranial thrombectomy are lacking. Primary permanent intracranial stenting was initially used in the era before thrombectomy and might still be a useful rescue treatment in acute stroke patients suffering from ongoing large vessel occlusion refractory to thrombectomy. METHODS: The prospectively collected registry of patients with acute stroke caused by large vessel occlusions and treated with the emboTrap® device in Karolinska Hospital from October 2013 through March 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical outcome of non-recanalized patients with a thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) score of 0-1 after failed thrombectomy were compared with those who were treated with permanent intracranial stenting as rescue therapy. Favorable outcome was defined as modified Rankin scale 0-2. RESULTS: The emboTrap® device was used in 201 patients. Persistent re-occlusions on withdrawal of the thrombectomy device were seen in 26 patients (13%) and of those, 12 individuals (46%) were treated with intracranial stenting. Baseline National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS), occlusion site, and onset-to-puncture time did not differ between the stenting group and the non-recanalized group. During the procedure half dose (5/12 patients) or full dose abciximab (6/12 patients), or aspirin (1/12 patient) was given intravenously immediately after stent placement. In 2 patients (17%) multiple stents were implanted. The stenting group had better functional outcomes at 3 months compared to the non-stenting group with 8/12 (66%) vs. 3/14 (21.4%, p < 0.05). Of the patients 5 (36%) in the non-stented group had died at 3 months follow-up, whereas mortality in the stenting cohort was 0% (p < 0.05) and no symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) occurred in either group. CONCLUSION: Intracranial stenting after failure of recanalization with thrombectomy led to a better rate of clinical outcome than leaving the patient non-recanalized. The required antiplatelet therapy, predominantly abciximab, did not lead to additional ICH.

Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score Versus Computed Tomographic Perfusion to Predict Functional Outcome After Successful Reperfusion in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose- We aimed to compare the ability of conventional Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS), automated ASPECTS, and ischemic core volume on computed tomographic perfusion to predict clinical outcome in ischemic stroke because of large vessel occlusion ≤18 hours after symptom onset. Methods- We selected patients with acute ischemic stroke from the CRISP study (Computed Tomographic Perfusion to Predict Response to Recanalization in Ischemic Stroke Project) with successful reperfusion (modified treatment in cerebral ischemia score 2b or 3). We used e-ASPECTS software to calculate automated ASPECTS and RAPID software to estimate ischemic core volumes. We studied associations between these imaging characteristics and good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-2) or poor outcome (modified Rankin Scale score, 4-6) in univariable and multivariable analysis, after adjustment for relevant clinical confounders. Results- We included 156 patients. Conventional and automated ASPECTS was not associated with good or poor outcome in univariable analysis ( P=nonsignificant for all). Automated ASPECTS was associated with good outcome in multivariable analysis ( P=0.02) but not with poor outcome. Ischemic core volume was associated with good ( P<0.01) and poor outcome ( P=0.04) in univariable and multivariable analysis ( P=0.03 and P=0.02, respectively). Computed tomographic perfusion predicted good outcome with an area under the curve of 0.62 (95% CI, 0.53-0.71) and optimal cutoff core volume of 15 mL. Conclusions- Ischemic core volume assessed on computed tomographic perfusion is a predictor of clinical outcome among patients in whom endovascular reperfusion is achieved ≤18 hours after symptom onset. In this population, conventional or automated ASPECTS did not predict outcome.

Smaller caliber of the internal carotid artery in patients with ipsilateral aplasia of the A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery: a study with CTA.

To measure the diameter and the transsectional area of the internal carotid arteries (ICA) on CT Angiography (CTA) in patients with aplasia of the A1-segment of the ACA (A1) and in patients with symmetrical A1, the mean diameter and area of the ICA on both sides were measured at a level of 2 cm below the skull base with a commercially available CT software in 41 consecutive patients with aplasia of A1 observed during a 12-month period on CTA and in 41 control patients with symmetrical A1. The mean diameter of the ipsilateral ICA was 3.83 ± 0.60 mm versus 4.86 ± 0.60 mm as mean diameter of the contralateral ICA and versus 4.40 ± 0.60 mm as mean diameter of both ICAs in the control group of patients. The mean area of the ipsilateral ICA was 11.58 ± 3.80 mm2 versus 18. 82 ± 7.39 mm2 as mean area of the contralateral ICA and versus 15.29 ± 4.42 mm2 as mean area of both ICA in the control group of patients. These differences are statistically highly significant. In patients with symmetrical A1, there was no statistical difference between the diameter or area of both internal carotid arteries. In conclusion, in patients with aplasia of A1, the ipsilateral diameter and area of the cervical ICA is smaller than the diameter and area of the contralateral ICA and smaller than the diameter and area of both internal carotid arteries in patients with symmetrical A1.

Lack of thrombus organization in nonshrinking aneurysms years after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVE: During endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR), blood is trapped in the aneurysm sac at the moment the endograft is deployed. It is generally assumed that this blood will coagulate and evolve into an organized thrombus. It is unknown whether this process always occurs, what its time span is, and how it influences aneurysm shrinkage. With magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), quantitative analysis of the aneurysm sac is possible in terms of endoleak volume as well as unorganized thrombus volume and organized thrombus volume. We investigated the presence of unorganized thrombus in nonshrinking aneurysms years after EVAR. METHODS: Fourteen patients with a nonshrinking aneurysm without endoleak on computed tomography/computed tomography angiography underwent MRI with a blood pool agent (gadofosveset trisodium). Precontrast T1-, precontrast T2-, and postcontrast T1-weighted images (3 and 30 minutes after injection) were acquired and evaluated for the presence of endoleak. The aneurysm sac was segmented into endoleak, unorganized thrombus, and organized thrombus by interactively thresholding the differently weighted images. The classification was visualized in real-time as a color overlay on the MR images. The volumes of endoleak, unorganized thrombus, and organized thrombus were calculated. RESULTS: Median time after EVAR was 2 years (range, 1-8.2 years). The average aneurysm sac volume of the patients was 167 ± 107 mL (mean ± standard deviation). Nine patients had an endoleak on the postcontrast T1-w images 30 minutes after injection. On average, the aneurysm sac contained 78 ± 61 mL unorganized thrombus, which corresponded to 51 ± 21 volume-percentage, irrespective of the presence of an endoleak on the blood pool agent enhanced MRI images (independent t-test, P = .8). CONCLUSIONS: In our study group, half of the nonshrinking aneurysm sac contents consisted of unorganized thrombus years after EVAR.

Long-term outcome of popliteal artery aneurysms after ligation and bypass.

OBJECTIVES: After exclusion of popliteal artery aneurysms (PAAs) through bypass surgery, there is a risk of persistent flow through collaterals and growth of the excluded aneurysmal sac. This study was conducted to evaluate this risk at long-term follow-up. METHODS: Sixty-five PAAs treated by proximal and distal ligation and bypass grafting with reversed autologous vein in 52 patients (1998-2010) were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 41 months (range, 1-144 months). Five aneurysms showed residual flow (8%). One of these aneurysms had increased in size, 36 months postoperatively. This aneurysm underwent an embolization procedure after which no flow or further enlargement was demonstrated. CONCLUSION: In this study, the risk of persistent flow in a PAA excluded by proximal and distal ligation and bypass is low. Still, considering this risk and its possible complications, follow-up by duplex ultrasound in all patients until up to more than 10 years postoperatively is recommended.

Use of multispectral MRI to monitor aneurysm sac contents after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

PURPOSE: To validate a newly developed semi-automatic multispectral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tool for quantitatively monitoring aneurysm sac contents in patients after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). METHODS: MRI studies from 24 EVAR patients were retrospectively analyzed. The precontrast T1-weighted and T2-weighted and the postcontrast T1-weighted images were displayed simultaneously. Two independent observers classified the aneurysm sac voxels into categories for endoleak, unorganized thrombus, or organized thrombus by interactively thresholding the multispectral images relative to the signal intensity of fat. Voxel classification was visualized as a color overlay on the MR images; when the observer changed the thresholds, the color overlay was updated immediately. The volumes of the voxels in each category were calculated and expressed in milliliters. The intra- and interobserver variability for measuring the volumes of endoleak and unorganized and organized thrombus were calculated; a Bland and Altman analysis was applied to determine the mean differences and the repeatability coefficient (RC). RESULTS: Mean aneurysm sac volume was 78 ± 42 mL. The intraobserver mean difference for the endoleak volume was 0.5 ± 1.9 mL with an RC of 3.7 mL; the interobserver mean difference was -0.8 ± 3.6 mL (RC 7.1 mL). The intraobserver mean difference for unorganized thrombus volume was -1.2 ± 4.4 mL (RC 8.6 mL); the interobserver mean difference was 0.3 ± 6.3 mL with an RC of 12.3 mL. The intraobserver mean difference for organized thrombus volume was 0.8 ± 5.0 mL (RC 9.7 mL); the interobserver mean difference was 0.4 ± 6.3 mL (RC 12.4 mL). CONCLUSION: Reproducible monitoring of aneurysm sac contents in EVAR patients is feasible with multispectral MRI in combination with our semi-automatic post-processing tool.

Focal fatty areas in the myocardium of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex: a unique finding.

With this collection of computed tomography and magnetic resonance images, we illustrate a recently described novel finding in the myocardium of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex.

Detection of occult endoleaks after endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm using magnetic resonance imaging with a blood pool contrast agent: preliminary observations.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether blood pool contrast agent-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can visualize endoleaks that are occult on computed tomography (CT) in patients with nonshrinking aneurysms after endovascular aneurysm repair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Written informed consent was obtained for this prospective institutional review board approved study. Twelve patients with nonshrinking aneurysms but no evidence of endoleak on CT angiography and delayed CT underwent MRI with a blood pool contrast agent (Gadofosveset trisodium, Bayer Schering Pharma, Berlin, Germany). Patients could participate once in the study. T1-weighted images were acquired before injection, 3 minutes and 30 minutes after injection. Two blinded readers independently scored the images into "endoleak," "possible endoleak," or "no endoleak" by comparing postcontrast MR images with precontrast images. Weighted kappas with linear weighting scheme were calculated for interobserver agreement. RESULTS: One MRI examination was nondiagnostic because of patient motion. In the successful 11 MRI exams, MRI 3 minutes after injection demonstrated endoleak in 2/11 MRI exams (18%) and possible endoleak in 2/11 MRI exams (18%). After 30 minutes, MRI demonstrated endoleak in 6/11 scans (55%) and possible endoleak in 1/11 scans (9%). Weighted kappa was 0.78 and 0.89 for early and late postcontrast images. CONCLUSION: Endoleaks that are occult on CT can be detected by MRI with blood pool contrast agents. Late phase MRI 30 minutes after injection revealed additional endoleaks not seen 3 minutes after injection.

Visualizing type IV endoleak using magnetic resonance imaging with a blood pool contrast agent.

Growing evidence suggests that graft porosity hampers aneurysm shrinkage in patients who have been treated with the original Excluder device. To our knowledge, this suspected porosity has never been visualized in such patients. We present three patients treated with the original Excluder device whose aneurysms did not shrink in the first 2 years after treatment. Computed tomography (CT) angiography and late phase CT did not show endoleak. We performed late phase magnetic resonance imaging with a blood pool agent to visualize graft porosity. Our cases illustrate the usability of a new contrast agent and a new imaging strategy for visualizing slow-flow endoleaks that can not be imaged using currently used imaging techniques with conventional contrast agents.

Use of dynamic computed tomography to evaluate pre- and postoperative aortic changes in AAA patients undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair.

PURPOSE: To utilize dynamic computed tomographic angiography (CTA) on pre- and postoperative endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) patients to characterize cardiac-induced aortic motion within the aneurysm neck, an essential EVAR sealing zone. METHODS: Electrocardiographically-gated CTA datasets were acquired utilizing a 64-slice Philips Brilliance CT scanner on 15 consecutive pre- and postoperative AAA patients. Axial pulsatility measurements were taken at 2 clinically relevant levels within the aneurysm neck: 2 cm above the highest renal artery and 1 cm below the lowest renal artery. Changes in aortic area and diameter were determined. RESULTS: Significant aortic pulsatility exists within the aneurysm neck during the cardiac cycle. Preoperative aortic area increased significantly, with a maximum increase of up to 12.5%. The presence of an endograft did not affect aortic pulsatility (p=NS). Postoperative area also changed significantly during a heart cycle, with a maximum increase of up to 14.5%. Diameter measurements demonstrated an identical pattern, with significant pre- and postoperative intracardiac pulsatility within and above the aneurysm neck (p<0.05). An increase in maximum diameter change up to 15% was evident. CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing EVAR experience aortic diameter changes within and above the aneurysm neck. The presence of an endograft does not abrogate this response to intracardiac pressure changes. Static CT imaging may not adequately identify patients with large aortic pulsatility, potentially resulting in endograft undersizing, stent-graft migration, intermittent type I endoleaks, and poor patient outcomes. The current standard regime of 10% to 15% oversizing based on static CT may be inadequate for some patients.