Quantitative analysis of three-dimensional tubular tree structures

Quantitative assessment of tree structures is very important for evaluation of airway or vascular tree morphology and its associated function. Our skeletonization and branch-point identification method provides a basis for tree quantification or tree matching, tree-branch diameter measurement in any orientation, and labeling individual branch segments. All main components of our method were specifically developed to deal with imaging artifacts typically present in volumetric medical image data. The proposed method has been tested in a computer phantom subjected to changes of its orientation as well as in a repeatedly CT-scanned rigid plastic phantom. In all cases, our method produced reliable and well positioned centerlines and branch-points.