1. A method for processing data, comprising: receiving a depth map of a scene containing a human hand, the depth map comprising a matrix of pixels having respective pixel depth values; extracting from the depth map respective descriptors based on the depth values in a plurality of patches distributed in respective positions over the human hand; matching the extracted descriptors to previously-stored descriptors in a database, wherein the previously-stored descriptors in the database are associated with corresponding pointers to respective locations of anatomical landmarks on the human hand; and estimating a pose of the human hand based on stored information associated with the matched descriptors, wherein estimating the pose comprises applying the pointers to the respective positions of the patches from which the matching descriptors were extracted in order to estimate the locations of the landmarks.