Flow-diverting (FD) stent implantation has become a popular treatment mode for intracranial aneurysms (IAs). The stent wire configurations post-treatment can greatly affect the treatment outcomes. However, it remains a challenge to predict the stent wire configurations prior to a treatment. In this study, we propose to compare the FD stent structures and wire configurations between treatments with FD stents of different diameters being deployed at different compaction levels.

We adopted a recently reported spring–mass model to virtually implant FD stents of three diameters — 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0 mm, with each diameter modelled at three compaction levels (no compaction, a low compaction, and a high compaction) — into two clinically observed IAs: one successfully treated and the other unsuccessfully treated previously with a single FD stent. We then examined the morphological differences in stent wire configurations across different treatment scenarios, and quantified the porosity achieved in each such scenario.

This led us to two main findings. Firstly, at the same compaction level, the porosity differences attributable to device diameter were limited (SD < 2%). Secondly, stent deployment with some compaction could effectively reduce the FD wire porosity within the aneurysm ostium — a low compaction reduced the porosity by around 10%, and a high compaction reduced the porosity by around 30%.

The FD stent structures observed from virtual deployment can be used in the subsequent aneurysmal haemodynamic simulations. Thus, the virtual stent deployment strategy, together with the stent compaction measurement and simulation technique presented in this study, may contribute to research into flow-diversion treatment planning.