Patent No. 4048986 Individual identification and diagnosis using wave polarization

 

Patent No. 4048986  Individual identification and diagnosis using wave polarization (Ott, Sep 20, 1977)

Abstract

An apparatus for use in the medical diagnosis of human and other bodies and also for use in the automatic machine interrogation of individuals for identifying persons such as those seeking credit or admittance to a security area. Oscillatory wave energy, preferably a sonic signal, is applied with a selected polarization to a first part of a body. The polarization of the wave energy transmitted through a portion of the body is detected at a second part of the body. Data representing the shift in polarization is stored for subsequent comparison to a polarization shift which is subsequently measured by the same steps. Comparison of the data representing the two polarization shifts can be used for quantitative and qualitative medical diagnosis as well as for an automatic machine decision whether the polarization shifts are sufficiently similar that they were derived from the same individual. The use of multiple frequencies permits the derivation of a polarization shift characteristic over a range of frequencies. Apparatus is disclosed comprising a wave generating transducer and a plurality of receiving transducers mounted in side-by-side arcuate arrangement for at least partially surrounding the second body part.

 

Notes:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to machine analysis, diagnosis and identification of persons and more particularly relates to the use of metering and computing circuitry for detecting and processing data which represents the polarization shift effected by a portion of a body.

Substantial research and development is currently being done in interfacing human beings and electronic circuitry. For example, in bioengineering work is being done in the harnessing of electronic technology for diagnosing and treating disease. In the area of electronic computers used for business data processing, systems are being sought for the rapid, accurate and automatic machine identification of persons.

In the medical field, circuits have been disclosed for measuring the electrical impedance of portions of the human body. Such circuits are disclosed for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,085,566 and 3,340,867.

Still other circuits, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,334,622, operate on a sonic radar principle utilizing the receipt of echoes to detect the position of organs and other anatomical features of the human body. Another system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,373 applies a sharp blow to a human tooth and records its subsequent oscillation to provide a graph which can be subjectively analyzed by a medical professional to give an indication of peridontal health.

Computer aided identification of persons provides for rapid and automatic determination of the identity of a person prior to admitting that person to a security area or to giving that person access to sensitive data stored in a computer memory. Similarly, such machine identification may be used in credit transactions. A person seeking credit would not only present his credit card to a clerk but in addition would be subjected to machine interrogation and identification to confirm that this person is actually the one who owns the card being presented and is approved for the extension of credit.

Previous attempts to design a computer identification system have been directed toward such things as voice print identification, finger print identification or automatic signature identification. U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,905 discloses an automatic identification system which measures the electrical resistance of the skin surface and additionally measures both the shadow of the human hand and the pulsations of surface reflections from the fingers of the hand.

I have discovered an apparatus for use in both the identification of individuals and the diagnosis of the health or disease condition of a portion of a human body.

The use of embodiments of my invention will be helpful in determining, by way of example, the condition of a fractured bone and its healing progression and possibly the condition of arterial disease, tumor growth, bone aging or deterioration. Other uses such as those suggested in my U.S. Pat. 3,872,443 also have potential with embodiments of the present invention.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of distinguishing unique characteristics of different bodies and for displaying these characteristics as an aid in identifying persons and in diagnosing their health.

The invention includes an apparatus for determining a body part characteristic by measuring the polarization shift effected by said body part upon wave energy transmitted through the body part. The invention further encompasses a wave energy transducer for applying the wave energy to a first body part at a selected polarization and a circuit means connected to the wave generating transducer for energizing it. The apparatus further comprises a plurality of receiving transducers mounted in side by side arcuate arrangement for at least partially surrounding a second body part for receiving wave energy transmitted through a portion of said body. A second circuit means is connected to each of the plurality of receiving transducers for detecting the magnitude of the wave energy received by each.

Further objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention.