Quantifying the Geometry of Vascular Access

The human vasculature has been accessed with minimally invasive techniques for almost 100 years. The first procedure to use this technique was, a cerebral angiogram, performed by Dr. Egas Moniz in Portugal in 1927. With advances in technology, these procedures are now performed for therapeutic as well as diagnostic purposes. Millions of patients are treated with these procedures in the United States each year. Vascular access is commonly obtained at arterial and venous locations in the legs, arms, and neck. Accurate anatomical models from the access site to the treatment location are critical in evaluating the performance of the devices used in these procedures. This paper will focus on quantifying the geometry of the vascular access site for several different minimally invasive procedures.