A Fast Vessel Centerline Extraction Algorithm for Catheter Simulation

In this paper, we present a fast and robust algorithm for centerline extraction in blood vessels. The algorithm is suitable for catheter simulation in CT data of blood vessels. It creates an initial centerline based on two user-defined points (start- and endpoint). For curved vessel structures, this initial centerline is computed by Dijkstra´s shortest path algorithm. For linear vessel structures, the algorithm directly connects the start- and the endpoint to get the initial centerline. Thereafter, this initial path will be aligned in the blood vessel, resulting in the vessels centerline (i.e. an optimal catheter simulation path). The alignment is done by an active contour model combined with polyhedra placed along it. Results of the proposed centerline algorithm are demonstrated for CTA with variations in anatomy and location of pathology.