On the Use of Geometric Modeling to Predict Aortic Aneurysm Rupture.

Background: Currently, the risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture is determined using the maximum diameter (D) of the aorta. We sought in this study to identify a set of computed tomography (CT)-based geometric parameters that would better predict the risk of rupture than D.

Methods: We obtained CT scans from 180 patients (90 ruptured AAA and 90 elective AAA repair) and then used automated software to calculate 1- , 2- , and 3-dimensional geometric parameters for each AAA.