NCJ Number
112278
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 50 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1988) Pages: 118,120
Date Published
1988
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Because each individual has a unique pattern of blood vessels in the retina, new high technology eye scanning and recording devices are providing a new method of personal identification.
Abstract
The device scans the retina, digitizes the blood vessel pattern, translates the pattern into an algorithm for computer storage, and makes this information available via a radio data modem. In Cook County, Ill., this system is used in booking suspects and keeping track of inmate movements. The eye signatures are stored in a central computer and can be accessed virtually anywhere in the greater Chicago metropolitan area through the radio data network. The system permits almost unlimited connect time to the network. The network can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from almost any location using a data radio with an internal antenna, computer, and modem. The radio/modem also is compatible with existing telephone company modems. It works through a series of transmitter-receiver base stations placed throughout the metropolitan area. These base stations transmit to a central radio network, which in turn relays information to the user's computer. Photograph and figure.