Patent ID: 7970189
Filing Date: 2011-06-28
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. A method of automatic extraction of a pulmonary artery tree from a 3D medical image, comprising: determining, via a processor, an orientation of a local bronchus, segmenting, via the processor, local pulmonary vessels of the local bronchus into segmented local pulmonary vessels of the local bronchus, determining, via the processor, the orientation of the segmented local pulmonary vessels of the local bronchus, separating, via the processor, the segmented local pulmonary vessels into pulmonary arteries and veins by determining a measure for arterialness for each segmented local pulmonary vessel, measuring, via the processor, diameters or radii of a bronchi and pulmonary arteries along the pulmonary tree during the segmentation, calculating, via the processor, a ratio of the measured diameters or radii of the bronchi and pulmonary arteries, and marking, via the processor, positions where the calculated ratio exhibits unusual values in a display.