1. A method for generating a bone mask, comprising the steps of: acquiring an image data set; pre-processing the image data set to automatically calculate at least one or more seed points and one or more structure edges; generating a preliminary bone mask to differentiate bone and vascular structures from the image data set, wherein the preliminary bone mask is generated for a plurality of sub-volumes comprising the image data set, each of the sub-volumes is identified based upon the degree of spatial separation between the bone and the vascular structures in the sub-volume, and wherein differential processing to segment the bone and vascular structures is employed within each sub-volume is based upon the spatial relationship between the bone and the vascular structures in the sub-volume; automatically determining the vascular structure using the one or more seed points, the one or more structure edges, and the image data; and subtracting the vascular structure from the preliminary bone mask to generate a bone mask.