Topology and shape preserving parallel thinning for 3D digital images — A new approach

Abstract

This paper is concerned with a new parallel thinning approach for three dimensional (3D) digital images that preserves the topology and maintains their shape. We introduce a new approach of selecting shape points and outer-layer used for erosion during each iteration. The approach produces good skeleton for different types of corners. The concept of using two image versions in thinning is introduced and its necessity in parallel thinning is justified. The robustness of the algorithm under pseudo random noise with respect to shape properties is studied and the results are found to be satisfactory.