A path between specified start and end voxels along a biological object
with a lumen, such as a vessel, within a patient image three-dimensional
volume data set comprising an array of voxels of varying value is
identified using an algorithm that works outwards from the start voxel to
identify paths of low cost via intermediate voxels. The intermediate
voxels are queued for further expansion of the path using a priority
function comprising the sum of the cost of the path already found from
the start voxel to the intermediate voxel and the Euclidean distance from
the intermediate voxel to the end voxel. A cost function that depends on
the voxel density is used to bias the algorithm towards paths inside the
object. The number of iterations of the voxel required to find a path
from the start to the end voxel, and hence the time taken, can be
significantly reduced by scaling the Euclidean distance by a constant.
Usefully, the constant is greater than 1, such as between 1.5 and 2.