Patent ID: 7839402

Claim:
A virtual endoscopy method for performing virtual endoscopy on a volumetric image of a lumen-defining structure having an elongated lumen, the method comprising: determining an unfolding axis substantially within the elongated lumen and generally positioned at a camera position, the unfolding axis being divided into axis segments; selecting ray casting directions extending generally radially from the axis segments of the unfolding axis; tilting, via a processor, at least some of the ray casting directions away from the camera position based on distance between the corresponding axis segment and the camera position; performing, via the processor, ray casting along the tilted ray casting directions to define pixel values; and arranging, via the processor, the pixel values into an unfolded view, wherein a pixel value defined by a tilted ray from a particular axis segment captures information about the lumen that is not captured by a pixel value defined by a non-tilted ray from the same particular axis segment.