The <3,4,5> curvilinear skeleton

A new skeletonization algorithm is presented to compute the curvilinear skeleton of 3D objects. The algorithm is based on the use of the <3,4,5> distance transform, on the detection of suitable anchor points, and on iterated topology preserving voxel removal. The obtained skeleton is topologically correct, is symmetrically placed within the object and its structure reflects the morphology of the represented object.