Fast visualization of plane-like structures in voxel data

We present a robust, noise-resistant criterion characterizing plane-like skeletons in binary voxel objects. It is based on a distance map and the geodesic distance along the object's boundary. A parameter allows us to control the noise sensitivity. If needed, homotopy with the original object might be reconstructed in a second step, using an improved distance ordered thinning algorithm. The skeleton is analyzed to create a geometric representation for rendering. Plane-like parts are transformed into an triangulated surface not enclosing a volume by a suitable triangulation scheme. The resulting surfaces have lower triangle count than those created with standard methods and tend to maintain the original geometry, even after simplification with a high decimation rate. Our algorithm allows us to interactively render expressive images of complex 3D structures, emphasizing independently plane-like and rod-like structures. The methods are applied for visualization of the microstructure of bone biopsies.