Apparatus and method for combining related objects in computed tomography data

An apparatus for processing computed tomography (CT) data for objects in a region comprising:

• means for identifying a plurality of volume elements associated with a plurality of objects in the CT data, each volume element being associated with a density value;
• means for computing a distance between a first object and a second object;
• means for computing a first density associated with the first object and a second density associated with a second object;
• means for computing a difference between the first density and the second density;
• and
• means for combining the first object and the second object into a single object if the difference between the first density and the second density is below a predetermined density difference threshold and the distance between the first object and the second object is below a predetermined distance threshold.

A computed tomography (CT) scanning system for identifying an object in a region comprising:

• means for acquiring CT data for the object;
• means for identifying a plurality of volume elements associated with a plurality of objects in the CT data, each volume element being associated with a density value;
• means for computing a distance between a first object and a second object;
• means for computing a first density associated with the first object and a second density associated with a second object;
• means for computing a difference between the first density and the second density;
• and
• means for combining the first object and the second object into a single object if the difference between the first density and the second density is below a predetermined density difference threshold and the distance between the first object and the second object is below a predetermined distance threshold.