A brain aneurysm is defined as a weakness in a blood vessel. This area then becomes susceptible to filling with blood and creating a dome, just like a balloon. Causing increased pressure in the brain and loss of oxygen to the surrounding cells, leading to sometimes deadly outcomes.

A wide-necked bifurcated aneurysm is a rare abnormal extremely large type of aneurysm that has been difficult to treat for a long time. With currently available methods, it has been impossible to treat some patients. However, a group of neuroscientists working in Long Island, New York, have come up with a way to relieve this rare problem.

A new non-invasive technique

The non-invasive technique, disclosed to the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery, involves an extremely small and permanently placed device. Termed the Cercus Contour permanent impact, the metal object looks like a mesh cup on a thin wire stem and is positioned using a catheter. The mesh floret-like feature blocks the blood supply to the dome, causing it to shrink.

“The device is designed for the treatment of complex brain aneurysms, more specifically wide-necked bifurcation aneurysms, which are traditionally the most difficult to treat with other techniques,” said David Fiorella, a neuroscientist who worked on the project.

Currently, 12 of these devices have been successfully implanted into people. The majority of candidates involved in the trials were women, as aneurysms hugely impact them more than men, though it is unclear why. Although this exciting device is in trials, it may be a little longer until it is regularly deployed as a treatment, with Fiorella stating: “It will probably take at least one to two years for the trial to be completed.”

Source study: Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery – Endovascular treatment of wide-necked intracranial aneurysms using the novel Contour Neurovascular System: a single-center safety and feasibility study