Patent Document ID: 7949162
Application ID: 11836991
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for segmenting a solid component (SC) in a ground glass nodule (GGN), the method comprising the steps of: providing a digitized image that includes a segmented GGN, said image comprising a plurality of intensities corresponding to a 3-dimensional grid of points; computing an intensity threshold that distinguishes a high intensity solid component of said GGN from a low intensity non-solid component, and applying said intensity threshold to identify a SC of said GGN and to identify regions of interest around the GGN; detecting whether or not a region of interest is a vessel; calculating a model for a detected vessel based on a radius and orientation of said vessel, and removing from said GGN segmentation all points that belong to both the model and said SC inside said GGN; and verifying whether a structure resulting from excluding said points qualifies as an SC.