Patent ID: 8787641

Claim:
Method for quantitative analysis of a tree or part of a tree formed by recursively splitting tubular organs, the method comprising: providing a 3D model of said tree or part of said tree, said 3D model giving a representation of a surface of a lumen wall of the tubular organs forming the tree or part of the tree; defining 3D centerlines of said tree or part of the tree; identifying branches of the tree or part of the tree; dividing each branch into one or more regions, said regions being of two different types including a single vessel region type and a splitting region type, wherein said splitting regions exist at a part of a branch selected from the group consisting of the proximal side of said branch and the distal side of said branch, wherein said single vessel regions and said splitting regions are defined by cross-section surfaces that intersect the 3D centerlines, and wherein said cross-section surfaces are determined by computing surface areas of cross-sections that intersect a number of locations of the 3D centerlines; and identifying N-furcations of the tree or part of the tree, each N-furcation being a part of the tree where a proximal tubular organ branches into N distal tubular organs with N≧2, wherein each N-furcation comprises the distal splitting region of a branch and the proximal splitting regions of the N branches directly distal to said branch.