A brain aneurysm can be a deadly time bomb, if it's not detected early enough. Now, one hospital in Shanghai is claiming a breakthrough in the development of a new device, which doctors say can stem recurrence rates for larger aneurysms.

Doctor Liu Jianmin from Shanghai Changhai Hospital is getting ready for his next surgery…But this time, it won't be behind closed doors. The micro-surgery procedure will be broadcast live to the World Neurovascular Conference in Chicago. That's because Doctor Liu is inserting a brand new device, a flow diverter called a Tubridge. It can help to control blood flow into the aneurysm, and actually make it shrink. The device was jointly developed by the hospital and the Micro Port Scientific Corporation, which is also based in Shanghai.

"In our clinical tests, we've shown that the cure rate for larger aneurysms is higher than 90-percent. It produces much better results than the traditional treatment," said doctor Liu.

A cerebral aneurysm is a weak or thin spot on a blood vessel in the brain that balloons up and fills with blood. The bulging aneurysm can put pressure on a nerve or surrounding brain tissue. Aneurysms can later burst and bleed into the brain, causing serious complications or even death.

It's taken 8 years of hard work to develop the Tubridge. But it looks like the efforts of Doctor Liu and the hospital may be about to pay off.

"We gradually realized that behind the bulging aneurysm is a lesion of the vascular wall. The device we use is to fix the wall. Once the wall is fixed, the aneurysm will become small and will heal," he said.

Treating brain aneurysms is highly precise and complex work. And that means it's also very expensive. It's hoped that this latest innovation will be a step towards a cheaper cost and a greater number of successful cures. (CCTV.com)