Personalized Aneurysm Research
The interdisciplinary project "PIRATE" is developing an AI-supported prototype software for the personalized risk assessment and treatment optimization of brain aneurysms. By combining state-of-the-art medical imaging, fluid dynamics, and artificial intelligence, the project closes a critical gap in previously inadequate diagnostics. The result is a practical, application-oriented solution in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania that fundamentally improves clinical decision support and patient safety.
Contributions to the advencement of scientific knowledge
- Do simulations of aneurysm treatments in virtual patients enable a more individualized and precise therapy?
- Can 4D flow MRI identify hemodynamic factors that can serve as new imaging biomarkers for the choice of treatment strategy?
- What impact does individual hemodynamics have on the tissue properties of the aneurysm wall?
- Can imaging data and clinical information be used to generate reliable, individual predictions regarding the growth or rupture of an aneurysm?
What is PIRATE?
The PIRATE project "Personalized Intracranial Risk Assessment of Aneurysm Patients for Therapy Evaluation" consists of an interdisciplinary team that creates individual prognoses for patients with brain aneurysms using state-of-the-art medical imaging, analytical, and computer-assisted methods.
Brain aneurysms are a neurovascular disease whose treatment largely depends on the expertise of the physicians and the specific characteristics of the aneurysm. A rupture frequently leads to bleeding with high mortality and morbidity rates. Since previous diagnostic procedures use simplified models, they often prove to be inadequate; the risk of growth or rupture of an aneurysm, as well as the associated mortality and long-term consequences, are currently difficult to assess. To help patients more effectively, the primary goal of the project is the development of a prototype software as a decision support tool for physicians, which determines the optimal treatment strategy individually for each patient.
The project is divided into three subprojects, with each SP designed for the close collaboration of various team members within the consortium:
- Subproject 1: Focuses on image-based risk stratification, tissue extraction, and treatment methods for intracranial aneurysms. This includes new imaging methods, retrospective and prospective analyses of treatments, as well as the validation of new evaluation platforms. Here, in vitro biomarkers for early diagnosis are to be analyzed, and imaging findings correlated with the tissue examinations.
- Subproject 2: The focus of this subproject is on developing more efficient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods for flow imaging, as well as improving data accuracy using fluid dynamics methods. In addition, patient-specific replicas of brain aneurysms serve for method validation and hemodynamic analysis in patients who cannot undergo an MRI scan.
- Subproject 3: Concentrates on the evaluation of MRI data based on artificial intelligence to extract hemodynamic and arterial geometric metrics. These data, combined with clinical patient data, serve to develop a prognostic model for predicting the growth or rupture in future aneurysm patients.
Through the close collaboration of all subprojects within the consortium, an application-oriented solution is created. This not only enables a deeper understanding of the formation mechanisms of brain aneurysms but is specifically aimed at developing a practical application in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
General coordination: Prof. Dr. Susanne Schnell, Institute of Physics, University of Greifswald
Coordination at Rostock University Medical Center: Dr. Daniel Cantré, Institute and Polyclinic for Radiology, Pediatric and Neurosurgery
Duration: April 1, 2026 to March 30
Funding: State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)