Patent registered for heart rhythms as biometric ID; researchers work on security

Japanese researchers say they have registered for a United States patent on using electrocardiogram waveforms as a biometric identifier, but at almost the same time, a South Korea-U.S. research team is warning that “incautious” ECG system design can leak personal data.

The Korean and U.S. scientists have written a paper explaining an ECG authentication method that they say preserves privacy.

Patent registration is the first of many steps inventors take to protect their intellectual property. A patent award, if one is made, occurs many months or years after registration.

Simplex Quantum has completed its patent registration (11,500,975 B2) to protect a way to accurately authenticate a person’s electrocardiogram biometrics. Simplex Quantum worked with the Public University Corp. of the University of Aizu.

(The company raised 550 million yen (US$4 million) in a series A round December 5. Simplex Holdings, Technology Ventures No. 5 and Itochu Corp. made the investment.)

Simplex Quantum previously had registered a U.S. patent for an algorithm that spotted the heart-failure stage using ECG waveforms.

This fall, the journal Security and Communication Networks published work by scientists from Korea University; the University of California, Berkeley; and Kwangwoon University noting security vulnerabilities in using the data for authentication and proposing a solution.

They propose using a genetic algorithm that classifies points of privacy sensitivity – suggesting age, gender and heart disease – and other ECG-related points that are not privacy-sensitive. The latter, according to the paper, can be used with “high accuracy” without divulging identifiers.

In fact, the researchers say their method is at least 85 percent accurate.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  ECG  |  heartbeat biometrics  |  patents  |  research and development