COMPACT BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED METHODOLOGY OF IMAGING AND DETECTING LIVING-TISSUE PATTERNS

• US 20120148143A1
• Filed: 01/17/2012
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: TAKIGUCHI, Kiyoaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,811,680 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/134
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/49 within a body or fluid
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30088 Skin; Dermal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30101 Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/42 using transform domain methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1341 Sensing with light passing through the finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1347 Preprocessing; Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1365 Matching; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1388 using image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1394 using acquisition arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/14 Vascular patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/145 Sensors therefor

Abstract

The apparatus enables biometric authentication without the risk of forgery or the like and enables living-tissue discrimination. The roughness distribution pattern of deep-layer tissue of the skin covered with epidermal tissue is detected, thereby extracting a unique pattern of the living tissue. Biometric authentication is performed based upon the detected pattern. The roughness distribution pattern of the deep-layer tissue of the skin is optically detected using difference in optical properties between the epidermal tissue and the deep-layer tissue of the skin. Long-wavelength light, e.g., near-infrared light, is used as illumination light cast onto the skin tissue. A fork structure of a subcutaneous blood vessel is used as the portion which is to be detected, for example. The portion which is to be detected is determined based upon the structure of the fork structure. The living-tissue discrimination may be made using the subcutaneous blood vessel.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a light emitting section configured to emit near-infrared source light toward biological tissue; and

a detecting unit that detects a change in absorbance of the source light in blood in the tissue,

wherein the change in the absorbance of the source light in the blood corresponds to a heart beat.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit determines whether there is an absence of blood flow based on the detected change in the absorbance of the source light in the blood.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the absorbance of the source light in the blood is detected at a wavelength of 940 nm.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the absorbance of the source light in the blood is detected at a wavelength of 660 nm.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an

imaging optical system including

an imaging device that receives light, and

an imaging lens set,

wherein the source light is cast at a slant toward the tissue.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit detects the change in the absorbance of the source light in the blood in a blood vessel.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the change in absorbance of the source light in blood in the tissue is determined by a pulse wave.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the change in absorbance of the source light in blood in the tissue is determined by an oxygen saturation level.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit detects change in the absorbance of the source light in hemoglobin in the blood.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the detecting unit determines whether the hemoglobin is oxidized or deoxidized.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit further detects a hemoglobin ratio in the blood.

12. An apparatus, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer executable instructions, where the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to emit near-infrared source light toward biological tissue, and to detect a change in absorbance of the source light in blood in the tissue,

wherein the change in the absorbance of the source light in the blood corresponds to a heart beat.

13. A method comprising:

emitting near-infrared source light toward biological tissue;

detecting a change in absorbance of the source light in blood in the tissue; and

corresponding the change in the absorbance of the source light in the blood to a heart beat.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining whether there is an absence of blood flow based on the detected change in the absorbance of the source light in the blood.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting the change in the absorbance of the source light in the blood is detected in a blood vessel.