The rupture of aortic aneurysms is a catastrophic event that represents a major public health issue. It has received a large interest from the scientific community. However, only limited research has provided quantitative values of mechanical stresses that may assess the risks of rupture of aneurysms [1].

In this study we have applied an imaging approach for measuring the deformations of the aneurysmal tissue tested in a biaxial inflation test [2]. The tissues have been taken from the thoracic ascending aorta of 6 diseased patients operated for aneurysm treatment by conventional surgery at the University Hospital of Saint-Etienne, France.

Quantitative values of ultimate stresses are reported in Tab. 1. Rupture is anisotropic, but primarily induced by axial stresses. Moreover, it is observed that rupture in aneurysms is preceded by a local weakening of the mechanical properties of the tissue, especially in the intima and media layers which are more fragile, and that these effects announcing a pending rupture can be detected by advanced imaging techniques. Our investigations continue in that sense for proposing novel diagnosis methodologies based on these observations.