Patent ID: 7684602

Claim:
A method for a computer processor to visualize a tubular object in a digital medical image, said method performed by said processor comprising the steps of: presenting an image with a plurality of intensities corresponding to a domain of points in a D-dimensional space; selecting a point in a object of interest in said image; estimating a gradient of the image in a region about the selected point, wherein estimating said gradient comprises using only those gradients that either lie in or near a maximal star-convex subset of the image that has the selected point as a center; calculating a structure tensor from the image gradient; analyzing said structure tensor to determine a main orientation of said object of interest; and presenting a visualization of said object of interest based on said main orientation of said object of interest, wherein said steps of presenting an image, selecting a point, estimating a gradient, calculating a structure tensor, analyzing said structure tensor, and presenting a visualization are performed by a computer processor.