Pulmonary organs analysis for differential diagnosis based on thoracic thin-section CT images

The pulmonary organs have a very complicated structure which consists of the bronchus, the pulmonary artery, and the pulmonary vein. So it is difficult for a medical doctor to understand the spatial relationships among a tumor and the pulmonary organs. Here, we present a 3D image analysis method of the pulmonary organs based on thin-section CT images. First, we extract the regions of interest using Gaussian curvature and mean curvature of lung field, then we classify the bronchus and the blood vessels, and we conclude with the identification of the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary vein. We use this method to support a differential diagnosis of lung cancer by making quantitative analysis of abnormal nodules.