Systems, methods and devices for anonymously collecting personal data using a mobile device

• US 9,501,618 B1
• Filed: 02/01/2010
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brooke Erin Wurst
• Original Assignee: Brooke Erin Wurst
• Inventors: Wurst, Brooke Erin
• Primary Examiner(s): Edun, Muhammad N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tun, Nay
• Application Number:
  US12/698,000
• Time in Patent Office: 2,486 Days
• Field of Search: 340 581- 584, 382115-127, 726 27- 28, 705 2- 4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

One embodiment of the invention relates to methods and systems for using secure biometric parameters to remotely access electronic databases while rendering the underlying user data, such as patient data, anonymous. Thus, a member of a population, such as person suffering with a disease or infection, can anonymously enroll for treatment or research using a biometric identifier as the sole method of tracking such an anonymous member of a population of interest. The actual research data collected, albeit anonymously, can be acquired at remote locations where the disease is spreading and analyzed at a facility remote from the population of interest. In part, one embodiment of the invention relates to a biometrically secure method of accessing a remote electronic database transmits electronic records using unique biometric features to ensure security.

Claims

1. A method of remote data collection and remote user identification comprising the steps of:

providing a mobile device comprising a biometric scanner, memory, a display, and a processor;

identifying a plurality of members of a population of interest based upon a characteristic;

acquiring a biometric identifier from a member of the population of interest using the biometric scanner at a first location that lacks internet connectivity;

converting the biometric identifier to a template;

anonymously collecting personal data relating to a sensitive condition from the member of the population of interest at the first location;

storing the template and the personal data locally on the mobile device when internet connectivity or cellular telephone signal is unavailable;

transmitting the locally stored template and personal data using the mobile device to a server located at a second location with respect to which the first location is remotely located when a cellular telephone signal or internet connectivity is available;

automatically deleting the locally stored template and personal data from the mobile device after transmitting the locally stored template and personal data;

storing the personal data such that the personal data is indexed only using the biometric identifier; and

automatically generating a report relating to the sensitive condition, the characteristic, and the first location based on anonymously collected personal data of a plurality of members of the population of interest at the first location.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile device is selected from the group consisting of a laptop, a personal digital assistant, a smart phone, and a messaging device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the biometric identifier is selected from the group consisting of a fingerprint, a retinal scan, and other personal identifier suitable for scanning and electronic transmission and storage.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensitive condition is a disease state and the first location is a rural location or a location without electricity.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of anonymously enrolling the plurality of members of the population of interest in a population study using the biometric identifier acquired for each member of the population of interest.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of searching a database that comprises anonymous personal data associated with enrolled members of the population of interest only in response to transmission of a vectored template of a fingerprint of an enrolled member and tracking changes in the population of interest over time by updating each member'"'"'s personal data using data collected after identifying a member using their biometric identifier.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of generating a report relative to an anonymous population of interest, each anonymous member of the population of interest having a data file and biometric identifier stored in a database, wherein the stored biometric identifier comprises one or more relationships between reference points and paths connecting the reference points, wherein the reference points are generated from a scan of a fingerprint.

8. A mobile device-based individual data collection and transfer system comprising:

a data entry interface of a mobile device, the mobile device comprising a transmitter, a receiver, and a processor, the data entry interface configured to collect anonymous personal data comprising a sensitive condition;

a biometric scanner in electronic communication with the data entry interface of the mobile device, the processor for receiving biometric data from the biometric scanner, the processor receiving the anonymous personal data generated using the data entry interface;

wherein a biometric identifier is generated using the biometric scanner and is paired with the anonymous personal data using the mobile device such that the anonymous personal data can be stored anonymously at a remote location;

an electronic memory device, wherein the memory device comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

store the anonymous personal data locally in the electronic memory when internet connectivity or cellular telephone signal is unavailable and delete the personal data after it has been transmitted to the remote location;

a server comprising software that enrolls members of a population of interest in a study in response to the biometric identifier received from the mobile device, the server located at the remote location; and

a database configured to store a plurality of member files comprising anonymous personal data, each member file associated with a unique biometric identifier for that member, the database accessible using the biometric scanner and the data entry interface such that enrolled members of the population of interest can be identified and data entry be performed with respect to such members at a location remote from the server.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a diagnostic test kit for generating test results such that the test results comprise an element in the anonymous personal data, wherein the location remote from the server is a rural location or a location without electricity.

10. The system of claim 8 further comprising an anonymizing module that executes using the processor that processes user data and restricts the transmission of personal identifiable information.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the server comprising software that enrolls members of the population of interest in response to a biometric identifier received from the mobile device.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the database is searchable using biometric identifier templates of anonymous members of the population of interest.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein the data entry interface is programmed to display fields and receive inputs specific to a data collection scheme, the data collection scheme selected from a group consisting of baseline education surveys, user registration, concert admission, medical data collection, census data collection, HIV screening, user enrollment, and data collection relating to a population of interest with sensitive information that requires confidential storage.

14. A method for anonymously collecting information from a member of a population of interest, the method comprising the steps of:

surveying a population of interest with regard to a sensitive condition at a remote location that lacks internet connectivity;

acquiring a biometric identifier from each member of a plurality of members of the population of interest using a biometric scanner at the remote location;

anonymously enrolling members of the population of interest having the sensitive condition at the remote location using their respective biometric identifier;

anonymously collecting personal data from the enrolled member during a data collection session, the personal data relating to the sensitive condition;

generating a time stamp for the data collection session;

associating the member'"'"'s biometric identifier with the member'"'"'s personal data;

anonymously transmitting the personal data to a database using a cellular telephone signal at the remote location; and

storing the personal data in the database such that the personal data is indexed only using the biometric identifier such that the personal data remains anonymous.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the biometric identifier is acquired as a vectored template comprising one or more relationships between a plurality of points and paths connecting the plurality of points.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of searching the database to locate the personal data in response to transmission of a vectored template corresponding to the biometric identifier of the enrolled member;

and tracking members of the population of interest over time by periodically collecting data and associating such data with the vectored template.

17. A computer system for anonymously collecting information from a member of a population of interest at a remote location, the computer system comprising:

an electronic memory device; and

an electronic processor in communication with the memory device, wherein the memory device comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

anonymously enroll a member of the population of interest in a study by acquiring a biometric identifier from the member at the remote location that lacks internet connectivity;

convert the biometric identifier acquired from a member of a population of interest into a vectored template;

associate the vectored template with anonymous personal data collected from the member, the anonymous personal data relating to a sensitive condition, wherein the vectored template comprises one or more relationships between a plurality of points and a plurality of paths connecting the plurality of points, the plurality of points obtained from a scan of a biometric identifier; and

transmit the anonymous personal data to the electronic memory device using a cellular telephone signal.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the memory device comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to execute an anonymizing module that processes user data and restricts the transmission of personal identifiable information.

19. The system of claim 17 comprising a server and a database, the server comprising software that anonymously enrolls members of the population of interest in response to the vectored template received from the electronic memory device, the database storing a plurality of member files, each member file associated with a unique biometric identifier, wherein the server and database are located at one or more locations with respect to which the population of interest is remotely located.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the database is searchable using biometric identifier templates of anonymous members of the population of interest and further comprising report generating software configured to automatically generate a report relating to the sensitive condition.

21. One or more non-transitory tangible computer readable media encoded with software, the software comprising computer-readable instructions operable, when executed, to cause one or more processors to:

anonymously enroll a member of a population of interest at a remote location that lacks internet connectivity using a biometric identifier;

collect personal data relating to a sensitive condition of the member of the population of interest at the remote location;

time stamp each data collection session at the remote location;

convert the biometric identifier acquired from the member of the population of interest into a vectored template;

associate the vectored template with personal data collected from the member of the population of interest;

the personal data being anonymized such that the member'"'"'s identity is not transmitted with the personal data;

transmit the personal data at the remote location using a cellular telephone signal to an electronic memory device comprising a database to store the personal data, the electronic memory device located at a facility with respect to which the population of interest is remotely located; and

perform statistical analysis relative to an anonymous data set of personal data collected from a plurality of members of the population of interest to generate one or more of a treatment report or a disease trajectory report for the population of interest; and

display one or more of the treatment report or disease trajectory report.

22. The tangible media of claim 21 wherein the software comprises computer-readable instructions operable, when executed, to cause one or more processors to retrieve the personal data only in response to the biometric identifier being scanned during a subsequent data collection.