FAQ
What does IDesia’s BioDynamic Signature™ actually measure?
IDesia’s BDS™ system acquires an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal from users’ hands, which merely need touch a conductive surface.
How does one enroll in the system, and how long does the enrollment process take?
The user simply needs to place his or her hands or fingers on the sensors twice. Once for practice, for a few seconds, then a second time for approximately 10 seconds. BDS™ touch sensors require only that simple contact be made, and are not dependent on exact finger placement. BDS™ authentication sensors demonstrate extremely high first attempt success rates, particularly compared to fingerprint readers, which are notorious for their failure-to-enroll.
Does the user feel anything when touching the sensor contacts?
The signals measured are generated by the user’s heart, so that measurement is completely passive. Users therefore do not feel a thing when touching the sensor contacts.
Some people have problems with fingerprint sensors, and have to run their fingers over them over and over again to get them to work. Is the BDS™ sensor difficult to use?
IDesia’s touch sensitive sensors are simple conductive metal surfaces, unlike the complex and expensive optics required for fingerprint reading. A light touch of the fingers is all that is needed.
Can the information measured be used for medical diagnostics or other purposes?
IDesia’s BDS™ system captures Lead I ECG data. Although not currently certified as a medical device, it can acquire and process data that can prove useful in healthcare management. BDS™ measurements can also be used to monitor a user’s emotional state, and to monitor and control his or her stress level (as part of a biofeedback system). It can also serve as part of a program to monitor cardiovascular state prior to and following physical exercise.
If a user happens to be ill and is taking medication or other drugs, will this affect the BDS™ biometric engine’s performance?
The technology is impartial to one’s physiological condition and is therefore generally unaffected by a user’s illness.
Will the BDS™ engine recognize a user 5, 10 or 25 years from now?
As with all biometric technologies, template aging is of importance. IDesia’s BDS™ system features an adaptive module, which tracks and adjusts to changes over time. If not used for an extended period of time, performance may be set back until the adaptive module recalibrates the system.
What types of conductive materials are suitable for implementation of the sensor contacts?
The simplest suitable materials are certain types of stainless steel alloys. Different conductive materials may be used, such as silver or a mixture of silver and silver-chloride – the material of choice in medical monitoring.
Once an individual is enrolled in the system, how long does the BDS™ engine require to verify his or her identity?
Verification normally takes just a few seconds, depending on the required level of security, as well as on the quality of contact made with the sensor. With standard security settings and good contact achieved with the sensors, BDS™ will typically provide identity verification within 2 to 3 seconds.
What are the initial platforms to which IDesia’s BDS™ can be applied?
BDS™ systems can generally be implemented in any portable electronic device, including laptops, keyboards, flash drives, mobile phones, PDAs and even credit cards or smart cards.
How are healthcare and biometrics connected?
IDesia’s technology, which utilizes ECG, can separately or simultaneously acquire and process data appropriate for both biometric and healthcare applications. Biometric security is inherent to the data itself as access to this data is only granted to the user biometrically identified to be its source.
How do biometric applications and healthcare applications interact?
This depends on a particular vendor’s application requirements. In typical IDesia biometric/healthcare applications, biometrics and healthcare interact transparently.
A user will have ECG and heart rate assessed whenever he or she attempts verification. Once verified, this data can be stored and compared with standards for his or her age group and gender, with the user’s historical records, or both. Alerts can be set to activate whenever readings out of normal bounds are encountered. More substantial health information can be acquired using specific healthcare applications, with health-related data only stored and utilized when the user’s identity is verified. Identity verification is performed in the background during the use of healthcare applications, and users are only alerted if and when a potential imposter is detected.
What can one do with IDesia’s healthcare offering?
As IDesia utilizes standard Lead I ECG, much can be derived from the acquired signal. Heart rate is determined directly from the ECG R component and, under controlled conditions, can describe mood and stress level, and be used to calculate a physical health index. Heart rate changes associated with exercise can also index physical fitness. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a relatively new and exciting tool for describing heart and nervous system function, as well as users’ mental state. ECG itself is also obviously useful in characterizing the state of the heart, based on analysis of major components (QRST complex). While the current implementation of the IDesia system is not a registered medical device, the accuracy of its heart rate measurements typically exceeds that of other consumer systems. IDesia’s ECG records are in the process of certification for medical monitoring applications.
Can BDS™ sensors be sterilized?
If necessary, BDS™ touch sensors can be cleaned and sterilized with a light wipe of an alcohol pad.
