SKELETONIZATION IN 3D DISCRETE BINARY IMAGES

Skeletonization is a way to reduce dimensionality of digital objects. Here, we present in detail an algorithm that computes the curve skeleton of a solid object, i.e., an object without cavities, in a 3D binary image. The algorithm consists of three main steps. During the first step, the surface skeleton is detected, by directly marking in the distance transform of the object the voxels that should be assigned to the surface skeleton. The curve skeleton is then computed by iteratively thinning the surface skeleton, during the second step. Finally, the third step is performed to reduce the curve skeleton to unit width and to prune, in a controlled manner, some of its peripheral branches.