Biometric Data Collection Research Articles

The Informative Contribution of the “Virtual Medical Visit” in a New Heart Failure Telemedicine Integrated System

Telemedicine systems consist of collection, transmission, and analysis of biometric data essentially based on instrumental measures. Our goal was to evaluate if information collected from patients has an incremental informative value in automatically rating the patient's health status. We present preliminary results of a new telemedicine system (ASCOLTA) obtained by observation of 12 heart failure patients (New York Heart Association Class IIb-III). Instrumental data (electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation level, and respiration rate) were wirelessly collected daily together with clinical data (weight, heart rate, and blood pressure values) and patients' information obtained through a Web-based questionnaire, simulating a virtual medical visit. Health status was independently judged by two blinded cardiologists and by the patient's cardiologist on the basis of 348 daily clinical reports. Random forest classification analysis was applied to 240 complete clinical report variables in order to estimate the judged health status. The use of "patient's information" led to a better predictive ability in comparison with using only physiological parameters assessed by instruments. The complete set of variables (Patient+Instrumental) achieved 84% concordance, compared with 72% for the instrumental-only variables and 69% for the patient-only variables. The receiver operator characteristics curves graphically confirmed the described results. Patients have an active role in home monitoring, and their information appears relevant for a new telemedicine approach integrating subjective and objective vital signs. Combining patient information with instrumental parameters, it is possible to achieve a more correct automatic classification of health status of heart failure patients.

Improving HIV testing amongst adolescents through an integrated Youth Centre rewards program: Insights from South Africa

Despite high HIV prevalence the uptake of HIV counseling and testing (HCT) has been low in South African adolescents, in particular among boys. We designed and implemented an integrated Youth Centre (YC), which included a health clinic and a points based rewards program to incentivize YC services, adjacent to a peri-urban community in Cape Town. We compared 12month age and gender specific HCT rates for 12–22year olds between the YC and the single local community clinic in the adjacent community prospectively and for the 12months prior to YC implementation. Local clinic data were collected through the HCT register. At the YC demographic, attendance, incentives and HIV testing data were prospectively collected via a biometric data collection system. 1187 12–22year olds attended the YC in the 12month period. Within the 12–15year old age group, 12.7% more individuals tested at the YC compared to the clinic in 2011–2012; this difference was greater in males than females. In the 16–22year category, significantly more individuals tested at the clinic compared to the YC. The use of the YC reward program was associated with undergoing an HIV test. Understanding the specific programmatic factors that led to increased testing behaviour including the role of incentives at the YC warrants further attention.

Effectiveness of nurse-led preoperative assessment services for elective surgery: a systematic review update protocol

Effectiveness of nurse-led preoperative assessment services for elective surgery: a systematic review update protocol

Distinguishing Friend from Foe: Law and Policy in the Age of Battlefield Biometrics

SummaryIn the space of just over ten years, the collection and use of biometric data in the context of international military operations has gone from being virtually unheard of to being an everyday occurrence. The Canadian and US armed forces operating in Afghanistan, for example, have together collected the digital fingerprints, eye scans, and digital photographs of more than 2.5 million Afghans. The introduction of biometrics technology to warfare has undoubtedly increased the security of the armed forces that use it and made it easier for them to kill or capture their enemies. Its effectiveness, reliability, and convenience have all been praised. Due in part to its novelty, however, law and policy relating to the use of biometrics in conflict situations remain underdeveloped. This underdevelopment poses considerable risks for the already vulnerable populations who are being subjected to these programs, potentially including violations of their right to privacy, misuse of their personal data, or their misidentification as enemies or threats. This article weighs these benefits and risks associated with biometrics technology. It analyzes the extent to which law and policy already govern the collection and use of biometrics by armed forces at both the domestic and international levels. It explores why the United States and Canada — the two states whose armed forces appear to be the most heavily engaged in the collection of biometric data abroad — have adopted such different policies with respect to the use of biometrics. It explains why the current international legal and policy vacuum in relation to battlefield biometrics is unacceptable and concludes that the time to discuss best practices is now. Ten non-legally binding guidelines are proposed for consideration and potential adoption by states.

From Fingerprints to DNA: Biometric Data Collection in U.S. Immigrant Communities and Beyond

The collection of biometrics — such as fingerprints, DNA, and face recognition-ready photographs — is becoming more and more a part of the society in which we live, no less so for immigrants within the United States. State and local law enforcement agencies are quickly adopting mobile biometrics scanners that can collect and identify fingerprints and even iris prints and face images taken from several inches to several feet away. Both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are in the process of expanding their biometrics databases to collect much more information, including face prints and iris scans. As of January 2012, the FBI has been working with several states to collect face recognition‐ready photographs of all suspects arrested and booked. Once these federal biometrics systems are fully deployed, and once each of their approximately 100 million records also includes photographs, it may become trivially easy to find and track people within the United States. Undocumented people living within the United States, as well as immigrant communities more broadly, are facing these issues more immediately than the rest of society and are uniquely affected by the expansion of biometrics collection programs. Under DHS’s Secure Communities program, states are required to share their fingerprint data — via the FBI — with DHS, thus subjecting undocumented and even documented immigrants in the United States to heightened fears of deportation should they have any interaction with law enforcement. Further, under data-sharing agreements between the United States and other nations, refugees’ biometric data may end up in the hands of the same repressive government they fled. Should they ever be deported or repatriated, they could face heightened risks from discrimination or even ethnic cleansing within their former home countries. This paper addresses these issues. It discusses the state of biometrics in the United States today and its planned expansion in the future. It provides background information on biometrics and applicable laws and how biometrics and immigration issues intersect. It discusses concerns within the privacy advocacy community about biometrics, data sharing, and databases — and applies those concerns to immigration issues. Finally, it concludes with some proposals for change.

Indian authorities unite on biometric enrolment

A truce appears to have been called on the Indian Government's squabbles over the collection of biometric data, which appeared to threaten the progress of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) plans to enrol 600m Indian residents by March 2014. It has already issued 120m numbers.

Comparing the Comfort and Potential Military Performance Restriction of Neck Collars From the Body Armor of Six Different Countries

The aim of this trial was to undertake an assessment of ballistic neck collars to assess comfort and potential military performance restriction. Neck collars from six different countries were procured with 71 U.K. servicemen assessing two randomly allocated collars to rate one against the other. 58% of participants had worn UK neck collars previously on exercise, but only 6% had used them on operational tours. Body armor with shorter and thinner collars was rated the most comfortable, despite lying close to the neck. It was easier to aim a rifle wearing collars with overlapping segments, especially when in the prone position. Although higher and more rigid collars fared worse overall, this could potentially be offset by the higher levels of ballistic protection they provide. There is a need to evaluate other methods of protecting the neck such as nape protectors and ballistic scarves in combination with the use of backpacks and biometric data collection. Currently, there exists no agreed method of performing ergonomic (or human factor) assessments of the varying components of military body armor systems. Published standards for the minimum military performance requirements of the various components of body armor, including neck collars, need to be established.

Implementing lifestyle medicine with medication therapy management services to improve patient-centered health care

To describe a patient-centered medication therapy management (MTM) program that focuses on lifestyle medicine. Community pharmacy in Omaha, NE, from August 2008 to September 2010. Traditional MTM services are combined with lifestyle medicine interventions for employees of a self-insured organization who have dyslipidemia, hypertension, and/or diabetes. Program participants meet one-on-one with a pharmacist 12 times during the first year of the program to ensure proper drug therapy and modify lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, nutrition, weight control, sleep, stress, and alcohol and tobacco use) through individualized programming. Several patient-centered activities have been developed for the program with an emphasis on modifying lifestyle behaviors in conjunction with medications to manage participants' chronic condition. In addition, a new specialty position in health care is being developed (the ambulatist) that focuses on maintaining the ambulatory status of individuals with chronic medical conditions through appropriate drug therapy, lifestyle medicine, and care coordination. Biometric data collection and participant survey data at baseline and after 12 months. Pilot data for 15 participants showed improvements in all measurements, including blood cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood glucose, body weight, physical activity level, fruit and vegetable intake, risk for myocardial infarction, risk for any cardiovascular disease event, self-reported unhealthy days, and qualitative survey data. Pharmacists are in an ideal position to implement lifestyle medicine strategies in combination with MTM services to enhance patient-centered health care in a community pharmacy setting.

Embracing broadscale applications of biometric technologies in hospitality and tourism

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review viable biometric technologies and examine their applicability in the hospitality and tourism businesses.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the different types of biometrics in the market with their advantages and disadvantages are reviewed, followed by a discussion of current applications within the hospitality and tourism sector.FindingsPotential business impacts of biometrics are identified such as increased consumer convenience, operational efficiency, and security. Meanwhile, despite its great benefits, consumers' privacy concerns that are raised during biometric data collection and management processes may keep the technology from realizing its full potential.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper only presents a glimpse of what may be done with the technology, as the potential extent of its usage is bound only by management's imagination while the possibilities that the technology brings to industry may be numerous.Practical implicationsHospitality and tourism companies must have clear goals and logical approaches for usage and implementation of biometric technologies. They also need to be acutely aware of any privacy, guest perceptions, attitude towards, and trust factors that may surround the usage of biometric technologies. Moreover, corporate responsibility and ethical usage of the information obtained from biometrics may influence guest willingness to use the technology.Originality/valueThe paper has value in that there has been a lack of research on the impact of biometrics on the service industry, as well as user concerns towards the technology, rather than system development.

Effectiveness of nurse-led preoperative assessment services

Effectiveness of nurse-led preoperative assessment services

A New Method for the Synthesis of Signature Data With Natural Variability

The collection of human biometric test data for system development and evaluation within any chosen modality generally requires significant time and effort if data are to be obtained in workable quantities. To overcome this problem, techniques to generate synthetic data have been developed. This paper describes a novel technique for the automatic synthesis of human handwritten-signature images, which introduces modeled variability within the generated output based on positional variation that is naturally found within genuine source data. The synthesized data were found to generate similar verification rates to those obtained using genuine data with the use of a commercial verification engine, thereby indicating the suitability of the data synthesized by using this method for a wide range of application scenarios.

Counter-Terrorism and the EU Strategy for Border Security: Framing Suspects with Biometric Documents and Databases

AbstractThis article examines the way in which the EU amd its Member States have approached border security issues since the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001. A key aspect of this approach has been to tighten control of borders and the safety of documents by the use of biometric systems. The new policies on border security and document security are resulting in the mass collection and storage of biometric data in relation to third-country nationals seeking entry into the territory of EU Member States, and in relation to EU nationals within the context of travel and identity documents. These developments are significant as the Union is considering the potential offered by biometrics not only for the effective management of borders but also for the prevention and combating of crime.

Suspicious Activity Reporting and Casinos: The Life and Death of Nevada's Regulation of Casino Suspicious Activity Reporting

Gaming Law ReviewVol. 7, No. 6 Original PapersSuspicious Activity Reporting and Casinos: The Life and Death of Nevada's Regulation of Casino Suspicious Activity ReportingEdward MagawEdward MagawSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:6 Jul 2004https://doi.org/10.1089/109218803322656914AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byCasino money laundering regulations – Macao and USAJournal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 20, No. 1Policing Terrorists in the CommunitySSRN Electronic Journal, Vol. 1201From Fingerprints to DNA: Biometric Data Collection in U.S. Immigrant Communities and BeyondSSRN Electronic Journal Volume 7Issue 6Dec 2003 To cite this article:Edward Magaw.Suspicious Activity Reporting and Casinos: The Life and Death of Nevada's Regulation of Casino Suspicious Activity Reporting.Gaming Law Review.Dec 2003.427-443.http://doi.org/10.1089/109218803322656914Published in Volume: 7 Issue 6: July 6, 2004PDF download