By Matt Waltham, MA MB BChir PhD FRCS, Clinical Director, Cydar Medical
At the Charing Cross Symposium 2026, an accelerating shift in aortic care was clear: volume – not maximum diameter – is being recognized as superior for assessing and managing endovascular aneurysm repair outcomes.
Across multiple sessions and podium discussions, three themes dominated:
1. Aortic Volume is Emerging as a Superior Metric
A growing body of evidence highlights aortic volume as a more sensitive and earlier indicator of treatment success or failure compared to traditional maximum diameter measurements. Volume changes provide a more complete representation of aneurysm behavior—capturing subtle progression or regression that diameter alone may miss. Unlike the inherent variability in measuring maximum diameter, there is an opportunity to use AI tools to provide a single, simple, and reproducible way to measure volume.
2. Sac Management Remains a Critical Challenge
Despite advances in EVAR, long-term outcomes are still imperfect with sac expansion seen in many cases. Improved prediction, detection of adverse indicators, and novel approaches to sac management continue to drive innovation. There is still a need for:
- Earlier detection of adverse sac behavior
- More precise and consistent longitudinal tracking
- Data-driven decision-making post-procedure
3. Clinicians Need Reliable, Simple Tools
Clinicians are seeking reliable, simple tools to aid detection and guide management. The solution must:
- Integrate seamlessly into the workflow
- Deliver consistent, reproducible outputs efficiently
- Remove variability and subjectivity
- Enable faster, more confident decisions
CX Spotlight: Dr. Jan Heyligers on Data, AI, and Volume
Dr. Jan Heyligers presentation “Creating the Digital Twin for Aortic Aneurysmal Pathology,” reinforced how technology is enabling this shift to data-driven management.
Key highlights included:
- The evolution of Cydar Maps from imaging support to data-driven clinical intelligence across the entire patient pathway
- A growing global dataset (8,500+ patients) enabling real-world insights
- Demonstrated reductions in radiation exposure and procedural time
- The emergence of automated volume assessment (AVA) as a core capability
Critically, Dr. Heyligers emphasized the role of automated, AI-driven volume analysis in both pre- and post-procedural workflows—enabling consistent, objective tracking of aneurysm behavior over time.
He also spoke about the “digital twin”, where patient-specific data is leveraged to:
- Compare against large datasets
- Predict outcomes for different clinical decisions eg device selection
- Optimize patient specific treatment strategies
“Automated volume assessment…creates a powerful dataset based on end-of-treatment…enabling correlation between anatomy, device selection, and outcomes like volume change.”
From Insight to Innovation: Cydar responds with AVA
The themes from CX 2026 reflect real, unmet clinical needs. Cydar’s Automated Volume Assessment (AVA) feature was developed precisely to meet this need.
AVA enables:
- Fully automated volume measurement (no manual input required)
- Consistent, reproducible volumetric analysis across timepoints (before and after the procedure)
- Immediate feedback on aneurysm behavior
- Seamless integration into existing workflows
In short, AVA transforms volume from a research concept into a practical, everyday clinical tool. AVA is now available as part of the Cydar Maps solution —bringing automated, data-driven volume analysis directly into clinical practice.
CX 2026 made one thing clear:
The future of aortic care is measurable, data-driven, and volume-led.
And, AVA is making that actionable today.
Learn More
Read more about AVA: https://cydarmedical.com/analyze/
Connect with our team to schedule a demo: https://cydarmedical.com/contact/