Extraction of centre line from curvilinear objects

Abstract

This tutorial paper surveys three methods designed to detect the centre line in curvilinear structures. These are the iterative thinning, Steger's and derivatives' methods. We aim to illustrate the effectivness of the chosen methods for processing laser-trace images and magnetic resonance slices of human head. The essence of each three methods is presented and important parameters are discussed. Experiments have been carried out and results are discussed in the light of the quality of the centre line produced and work time of all three methods. © 2011 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Wien.