METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FAST AUTOMATIC CENTERLINE EXTRACTION FOR VIRTUAL ENDOSCOPY

摘要

A method for automatic centerline extraction for a virtual endoscopy image of an organ having a boundary surface includes centering on selected points of an initial path through the image, which is derived from an endoscopy dataset, respective spheres exhibiting respective maximal diameters short of contacting the boundary surface; and forming a centered path consecutively joining centers of the spheres.