1. A method for dilating an object within an image, wherein the image is represented using a plurality of image pixels, and wherein the object is represented using a plurality of object pixels that are a subset of the plurality of image pixels, the method comprising: specifying a structuring-element boundary and a structuring-element origin, wherein the structuring-element boundary includes a plurality of structuring-element boundary pixels; overlaying the origin of a copy of the structuring element onto each of the image pixels such that the structuring-element boundaries of the copies intersect to form a dilated image feature having a feature boundary; and identifying the feature boundary.