Newswise — A Northern Arizona University doctoral student is being recognized by the Brain Aneurysm Foundation for her work using AI and machine learning to prevent hemorrhagic stroke and other potentially fatal effects of a ruptured aneurysm.
Bioengineering student Holly Berns is leading a project that looks at whether variations in the circle of Willis, a ring of arteries at the base of the brain, can contribute to early, proactive detection of brain aneurysms. Her goal is to learn if certain factors about these arteries contribute to aneurysm formation, which can indicate a person is higher risk, which, she hopes, means more proactive treatments and fewer ruptured aneurysms.
“This research could advance the field of aneurysm detection and guide treatment for the nearly 6.7 million Americans who live with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm,” Berns said.
Her hypothesis is simple: A certain range of angles of the feeding arteries within the circle of Willis (CW) may be a predictor or cause of abnormally high hemodynamics at the artery transitions, which can eventually lead to the formation of aneurysms. In this study, she will use AI and machine learning algorithms to isolate the CW arteries from imaging of patients, calculate CW tilt angles and categorize CW tilt angles in male and female patients with and without existing aneurysms.
If her hypothesis is correct, it could play a role in changing how doctors treat aneurysms, including taking proactive steps to prevent rupture, which can have catastrophic events; according to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal about half the time, and even when a person survives, they often have significant and permanent brain injury. It also has a role in increasing health equity; women are 50% more likely to have a brain aneurysm than men, and Hispanics and Black people are twice as likely as white people to have an aneurysm rupture.
“We are hoping to discover that CW tilt angles can be used to help in cerebral aneurysm detection,” she said. “Identifying patients who are at-risk would allow for proactive screening and follow-ups, as well as informed treatment method to reduce the prevalence of subarachnoid hemorrhage from aneurysm rupture, drastically reducing patient morbidity and mortality as well as reducing hospitalizations and overall healthcare costs.”
Berns will be recognized at the BAF’s 18th Annual Research Grant Symposium, which will be held in Boston on Sept. 12. She and fellow Ph.D. student Steve Schwartz will conduct the work in the coming year.
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