Curve skeletonization of surface-like objects in 3D images guided by voxel classification

Skeletonization is a way to reduce dimensionality of digital objects. Here, we present an algorithm that computes the curve skeleton of a surface-like object in a 3D image, i.e., an object that in one of the three dimensions is at most two-voxel thick. A surface-like object consists of surfaces and curves crossing each other. Its curve skeleton is a 1D set centred within the surface-like object and with preserved topological properties. It can be useful to achieve a qualitative shape representation of the object with reduced dimensionality. The basic idea behind our algorithm is to detect the curves and the junctions between different surfaces and prevent their removal as they retain the most significant shape representation.