Patent ID: 8009167

Claim:
A virtual endoscopy method for performing virtual endoscopy on a volumetric image of a lumen, the method comprising: selecting, via a processor, a plurality of different ray casting directions that are concurrently extending from a plurality of different viewpoint axis segments toward a lumen-defining surface of the lumen, wherein at least one of the selected ray casting directions extends orthogonally from a viewpoint axis segment to the lumen-defining surface and at least a different one of the selected ray casting directions extends non-orthogonally from a different one of the viewpoint axis segments to the lumen-defining surface; computing, via the processor, a statistical characteristic of voxels over a preselected distance along each ray casting direction into the lumen-defining structure; defining, via the processor, a pixel value for each ray casting direction based at least on the computed statistical characteristic; and arranging, via the processor, the pixel values into an endoscopic view of the lumen-defining structure, wherein a pixel value defined by the ray casting direction extending non-orthogonally from the viewpoint axis segment to the lumen-defining surface captures information about the lumen that is not captured by a pixel value defined by a ray casting direction extending orthogonally from the same viewpoint axis segment to the lumen-defining surface, wherein the information includes a feature in a fold in the lumen.