Endovascular rodent model using tail access and ultrasound guidance

We have developed a cost-effective method to study the fate of stents, particularly flow diverter stents placed in the abdominal aorta, in a rat model. This technique utilizes (caudal) tail artery access,1-5 thereby avoiding the need for surgical exposure of the femoral or carotid arteries and reducing procedural invasiveness,6 7 aligning with the principles of refinement and reduction in animal research.7 This approach may be particularly beneficial for studies requiring multiple or iterative vascular access. The use of ultrasound guidance further reduces costs and infrastructure requirements by eliminating the need for specialized angiography suites.8 This makes this technique accessible to a broader range of research settings, promoting wider adoption and collaboration in the field of endovascular research. A detailed demonstration of this method is provided in the accompanying educational video (video 1).neurintsurg;jnis-2025-023444v1/V1F1V1Video 1-Technical video describing the tail artery access and flow diverter deployment using ultrasound guidance.