[Insight-users] itkConfidenceConnectedImageFilter / Patented (part of the FuzzyConnectednessFilter) or not ?

[Flo]

Dear all,

As part of my PhD I'm writting a software and partially using ITK/VTK  
functions. Although Copyright and Law infringement are not my  
specialties, I must be careful when writing an open software for the  
university I'm in (Sherbrooke, Canada) so that I can tell my  
Supervisor he can do what he wants with the code.

Thus, Does itkConfidenceConnectedImageFilter fall under any Patent,  
especially that of Punam SAHA and UDUPA in which he detailled the  
FuzzyConnectedFilter: Relative Fuzzy Connectedness and Object  
Definition: Theory, Algorithms, and Applications in Image  
Segmentation”, Nov. 2002. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and  
Machine Intelligence. vol. 24, No. 11. p. 1485-1500.

To me, itkConfidenceConnectedImageFilter derives from the concept of   
Fuzzy Connectedness, as there is only one step from confidence to  
fuzzy ... namely the Membership Function and the determination of the  
"shortest weighted path" amongst every element to the seed point. Is  
it this Path Search that actually separate the Patent from any other  
confidence Filter ?

regards,

Flo.