Corneal Topography for Biometry: A Unique Method for Authenticating Individuals [50U08UAschw]

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Preliminary studies indicate that corneal shape is a highly unique identifier that is well suited for biometry. In this application, the team will develop on this foundation to a more sophisticated implementation of the technology. This will illustrate its scalability and broad applications. Specifically, this application transitions the corneal geometry comparison algorithms from a simple correlation of shapes to a sophisticated description of unique and readily comparable corneal features. This new technique will allow a compact description of corneal shape, allowing scalable comparisons to large databases of individuals. Furthermore, this application proposes to develop an automated corneal topography measurement system, thus removing the requirement of a trained operator. The new device will be validated against a commercial operator-driven topographer. Finally, the possibility of extending the corneal biometry concept to long-range applications is explored. The culmination of these efforts will demonstrate a flexible biometric system that can be deployed in a variety of security environments. The impact of the proposed technology is an expansion of available technologies for authenticating individuals. All biometric measurement systems have conditions under which they cannot reliably measure an individual. Expanding the available technologies for performing biometry allows security personnel to tailor the technology to the specific environment and application.