System and method for detecting objects with differential operators

A system for distinguishing a specific object from other objects residing within an enclosed container, comprising:

• an acquisition subsystem for acquiring information pertaining to a specific object, wherein the acquisition subsystem comprises a computed tomography machine;
• a reconstruction subsystem for reconstructing acquired information pertaining to the specific object into image data;
• and
• a computer-aided detection subsystem adapted for identifying the specific object through differential operators, wherein the computer-aided detection subsystem comprises more than one stage.

A system for identifying a specific object from other objects resident within an enclosed container, comprising:

• an acquisition subsystem for acquiring information pertaining to a specific object;
• a reconstruction subsystem for reconstructing acquired information pertaining to the specific object into image data;
• and
• a means for identifying the specific object through the use of differential operators, wherein vectors derived from the differential operators are used in the identification of the specific object.

A method for distinguishing a specific object from other objects within an enclosed container, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining image data of a specific object;
• computing a differential operator for each voxel of the image data;
• computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors for each of the voxels;
• and
• computing a scalar function of the eigenvalues to ascertain whether each of the voxels represents a portion of the specific object.

A method for distinguishing one locally sheet-like object from other objects within an enclosed container, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining image data of a locally sheet-like object;
• computing a differential operator for each voxel of the image data with at least one stage of a computer-aided detection subsystem;
• computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors for each of the voxels;
• and
• computing a scalar function of the eigenvalues to ascertain whether each of the voxels represents a portion of the locally sheet-like object;
• wherein the scalar function responds to a greater degree to locally sheet-like materials than to materials having other geometries.