Efficient computation of 3D skeletons by extreme vertex encoding

Abstract

Many skeletonisation algorithms for discrete volumes have been proposed. Despite its simplicity, the one given here still has many theoretically favorable properties. Actually, it provides a connected surface skeleton that allows shapes to be reconstructed with bounded error. It is based on the application of directional erosions, while retaining those voxels that introduce disconnections. This strategy is proved to be specially well-suited for extreme vertex encoded volumes, leading to a fast thinning algorithm.