4D-CTA image and geometry dataset for kinematic analysis of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Abstract

This article presents a dataset used in the article "Kinematics of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms" [1], published in the Journal of Biomechanics. The dataset is publicly available for download from the Zenodo data repository (10.5281/zenodo.15477710). The dataset includes time-resolved 3D computed tomography angiography (4D-CTA) images of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) captured throughout the cardiac cycle from ten patients diagnosed with AAA, along with ten patient-specific AAA geometries extracted from these images. Typically, the 4D-CTA dataset for each patient contains ten electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated 3D-CTA image frames acquired over a cardiac cycle, capturing both the systolic and diastolic phases of the AAA configuration. For method verification, the dataset also includes synthetic ground truth data generated from Patient 1's 3D-CTA AAA image in the diastolic phase. The ground truth data includes the patient-specific finite element (FE) biomechanical model and a synthetic systolic 3D-CTA image. The synthetic systolic image was generated by warping Patient 1's diastolic 3D-CTA image using the realistic displacement field obtained from the AAA biomechanical FE model. The images were acquired at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Western Australia and provided to the researchers at the Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory at The University of Western Australia (ISML-UWA), where image-based AAA kinematic analysis was performed using a newly created algorithm, as described in [1]. The AAA geometries were extracted using an automated image processing pipeline comprising AI-based segmentation with PRAEVAorta software by NUREA (https://www.nurea-soft.com/), automated post-processing with the ISML-UWA in-house code (https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.07238), and surface model extraction using the freely available BioPARR (Biomechanics-based Prediction of Aneurysm Rupture Risk) (https://bioparr.mech.uwa.edu.au/) and 3D Slicer (https://www.slicer.org/) software packages [2,3]. Our dataset enabled the analysis of AAA wall displacement and strain throughout the cardiac cycle using a non-invasive, in vivo, image registration-based approach [1]. The use of widely adopted, open-source file formats-NRRD for images and STL for geometries-facilitates broad applicability and reusability in AAA biomechanics studies that require patient-specific geometry and information about AAA kinematics during cardiac cycle.

Keywords: Abdominal aortic aneurysm; Biomechanics; Computed tomography angiography; Image registration; Non-invasive method; Patient-specific analysis; Wall displacement; Wall strain.

Fig. 1

Overview of the dataset directory structure and contents, consisting of ten patient folders (P1 to P10) and one “Ground Truth” folder. Each patient folder contains cropped 3D-CTA images of the patient’s abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) at multiple cardiac phases (e.g., 30 %.nrrd, representing 30 % of the cardiac cycle) and a triangulated surface model (Wall.stl) of the AAA external wall in the systolic phase. The “Ground Truth” folder includes data used to verify the AAA kinematic analysis method developed by Jamshidian et al. [1]. These data allow researchers to reproduce the ground truth or use it directly to assess the accuracy of new AAA kinematic analysis methods.

Fig. 2

Example visualization of Patient 1’s AAA dataset, showing the cropped 3D-CTA image at the 30% phase of the cardiac cycle (systolic phase), alongside the corresponding triangulated surface model of the AAA external wall. The geometry is provided as an STL file in the patient’s RAS coordinate system, aligned with the anatomical axes: left–right (R), posterior–anterior (A), and inferior–superior (S).

Fig. 3

Visualization of the synthetic ground truth data used for verifying AAA kinematic analysis methods: (a) The triangulated surface model of Patient 1’s AAA with an assumed wall thickness. (b) The hexahedral finite element (FE) mesh created in HyperMesh (https://altair.com/hypermesh) and imported into the Abaqus FE software (https://www.3ds.com/products/simulia/abaqus) for patient-specific biomechanical modelling. (c) The resulting displacement of the AAA wall from the FE biomechanical simulation, used to warp the diastolic-phase 3D-CTA image of Patient 1’s AAA and generate a synthetic systolic image. This synthetic ground truth supports method verification in line with FDA and ASME guidelines by providing physiologically plausible AAA wall displacement.