System and method for variational ball skinning for geometric modeling of ordered balls
US7961944B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 1, 2007 |
| Grant date | Jun 14, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 28, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T17/10
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for modeling a 2-dimensional tubular structure in a digitized image includes providing a digitized image of a tubular structure containing a plurality of 2D balls of differing radii, initializing a plurality of connected spline segments that form an envelope surrounding the plurality of 2D balls, each the spline segment Si being parameterized by positions of the ith and i+1th balls and contact angles αi, αi+1 from the center of each respective ball to a point on the perimeter of each the ball contacting the spline segment Si, each the αi affecting spline segment Si and Si−1, and updating the angles by minimizing an energy that is a functional of the angles, where the updating is repeated until the energy is minimized subject to a constraint that the envelope is tangent to each ball at each point of contact, where the envelope is represented by the contact angles.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.