Ultrasound of the Fingers for Human Identification Using Biometrics

Narayanasamy, Ganesh; Fowlkes, J. Brian; Kripfgans, Oliver D.; Jacobson, Jon A.; De Maeseneer, Michel; Schmitt, Rainer M.; Carson, Paul L.

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2007.08.003

« Previous Next »Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Volume 34, Issue 3 , Pages 392-399, March 2008

Ultrasound of the Fingers for Human Identification Using Biometrics

Ganesh Narayanasamy
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Applied Physics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Address correspondence to: Ganesh Narayanasamy, 200 Zina Pitcher Place, 3316 Kresge-III, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
J. Brian Fowlkes
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Applied Physics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Oliver D. Kripfgans
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Applied Physics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Jon A. Jacobson
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Michel De Maeseneer
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Rainer M. Schmitt
- Cross Match Technologies Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA
Paul L. Carson
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Applied Physics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Received 26 March 2007; received in revised form 29 June 2007; accepted 2 August 2007. published online 12 November 2007.

Abstract

It was hypothesized that the use of internal finger structure as imaged using commercially available ultrasound (US) scanners could act as a supplement to standard methods of biometric identification, as well as a means of assessing physiological and cardiovascular status. Anatomical structures in the finger including bone contour, tendon and features along the interphalangeal joint were investigated as potential biometric identifiers. Thirty-six pairs of three-dimensional (3D) gray-scale images of second to fourth finger (index, middle and ring) data taken from 20 individuals were spatially registered using MIAMI-Fuse^© software developed at our institution and also visually matched by four readers. The image-based registration met the criteria for matching successfully in 14 out of 15 image pairs on the same individual and did not meet criteria for matching in any of the 12 image pairs from different subjects, providing a sensitivity and specificity of 0.93 and 1.00, respectively. Visual matching of all image pairs by four readers yielded 96% successful match. Power Doppler imaging was performed to calculate the change in color pixel density due to physical exercise as a surrogate of stress level and to provide basic physiological information. (E-mail: gnarayan@umich.edu)

Key Words: Identification, Biometrics, Finger imaging, Finger anatomy, Doppler study, Pulse transit time, Image registration