Rapid 3D tube reconstruction from nearby views

We reconstruct a 3D tube (catheter or artery) from nearby X-ray views. Construct 2D skeleton curves from the image edge profiles by wave propagation, thin and smooth them, then reconstruct a 3D curve by epipolar correspondence, resolving side-point singularities by differential-geometric models. The resulting curve is highly accurate on data from a simulated catheter, whose 'true' 3D curve is known. Finding it from edges takes less than a second, sufficient for 'on the spot' reconstruction, and uses only the moving views normally created by the angiographer, rather than constrained and costly arrangements such as biplanar cameras.