How are brain aneurysms diagnosed?
Prior to the development of sophisticated non-invasive brain imaging techniques such as CT and MRI, the only way to diagnose a brain aneurysm was with a catheter angiogram or arteriogram (these are 2 words for the same thing). This still remains the “gold standard” or best way to make the diagnosis. Since the early 1990’s however, both MR and CT techniques have advanced enough so that they can produce angiogram-type images non- invasively. Both of these techniques can now diagnose brain aneurysms fairly accurately, if done well, but still not as accurately as a catheter angiogram. This is why catheter angiograms are commonly done if a CT or MR indicates the presence of a brain aneurysm.
