Artis zee system

As shown in Figure 3, the reconstructed four models based on digital subtraction angiography (DSA) images, i.e., twin A-RB, twin A-LB, twin B-LB, and twin B-LB with ACA branches virtually removed (only for the purpose of configuration comparisons), were reconstructed using Mimics Research 23.0 (Materialise NV, Leuven, Belgium), based on 390 non-invasive scanned DSA images for each brain by the Artis Zee system (Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Malvern, PA, USA). To cover the volume of cerebral arteries, the scanning was conducted with a collimated section width of 1 mm, a pitch of 1.5, and a gantry rotation time of 0.5 s in a total of 9 s. To balance arterial curvature and smoothness, reducing tolerance 0.03 with 5 iterations and smooth factor 0.4 with 10 iterations were adopted in the reconstruction. Reconstructed models were used for comparisons of morphologies and hemodynamics between the twins.

Videofluoroscopic swallow studies assays were performed as previously described (Glass and Connor, 2016 (link)). Mice were identified by alphanumeric codes to mask genotype identities to workers during VFSS assays. The food used for imaging was a 2:1 mixture of Fritos Mild Cheddar Cheese^TM dip and 40% weight/volume barium suspension. Mice were acclimated to cheese mixtures daily for a few days immediately prior to VFSS, and all food was withheld overnight prior to the VFSS study. On the day of data acquisition, each mouse was placed alone in a cage and was imaged during continuous volitional eating at 30 fps with an Artis Zee system (Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim, Germany). The duration of VFSS acquisition for each mouse was limited to the amount of time required to record several visible swallows, typically at least 10 s. For all experiments, each mouse generated VFSS data for only one time point. Following VFSS, mice were weighed.

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. All patients were from the Beijing TianTan Hospital of Capital Medical University. This study was conducted by the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University (2018-0117/2018-09-06), and written informed consent was obtained from each patient before the operation. The cohort of patients enrolled was from January 2015 to September 2018. The inclusion criteria were: patients who had 3D digital subtraction angiography by Siemens Artis Zee System (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany); a confirmed ruptured or unruptured diagnosis of the aneurysm; sufficient image quality for 3D vessel construction with no artifacts to accurately represent aneurysm and parent vasculature; saccular aneurysm; and available clinical charts. Aneurysms accompanied with other vascular abnormalities such as moyamoya disease, arteriovenous malformation, and arteriovenous fistula were excluded. A total of 719 aneurysms in 579 patients met the criteria were enrolled for analysis.

The diagnosis of rIAs was established by admission computed tomography (CT), which also was utilized to evaluate the SAH severity as reflected by the modified Fisher grade. The aneurysm size was defined as the maximum diameter of the IAs measured on two-dimensional imaging and three-dimensional digital subtraction angiography using the Siemens Artis Zee System (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). Anterior circulation aneurysms were those located in the anterior cerebral artery, anterior communicating artery, middle cerebral artery, internal carotid artery, and posterior communicating artery, whereas posterior circulation aneurysms were located in the basilar artery, posterior cerebral artery, and intracranial segment of the vertebral artery. All images were read by two neurointerventionists (B.Z. and X.H.) who were blinded to each other’s interpretations and the patients’ clinical information. Disagreements were resolved by a third reader (A.L.).