Vascular Patterns Biometrics : Reading vein patterns for identification

Basics of Vascular Patterns Biometrics: Vascular pattern biometrics technology involves meausing the characteristics related to the veins in a person's hand or face. The thickness and location of these veins are believed to be unique enough to an individual to be used to verify a person's identity.

Vascular Patterns Biometrics - The Process:

The most common form of vascular patterns readers are hand-based, requiring the user to place their hand on a curved reader that takes an infrared scan. This scan creates a picture that can then be compared to a database to verify the user's stated identity.


Use of vascular patterns biometrics systems:

Vascular patterns biometrics technology is still fairly new and there are few published details about it, indicating its use. Though minimally used at the moment, vascular patterns scanners can be found in testing at major military installations and is being considered by some established companies in the security industry and multi-outlet retailers. Currently it is still building acceptance.


Evaluation of vascular pattern biometrics systems:

Too new to have much data, vascular patterns technology does seem to have a few advantages over its counterparts, including the great difficulty in emulating another person's vein structure, and not having to worry about rain, glasses, or external injuries. But, effects of aging, heart attacks, and medical problems with one's arteries on the scans has yet to be determined fully. It also requires a large amount of space to mount the device si that the entire hand can be scanned which may restrict its usability.