PalmScanning
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Fujitsu dabbles in palm reading, hopes to bring biometric sensors to tablets
When you think about it, there's no reason that biometric recognition can't provide security on tablets -- well, aside from the need for a sensor thin enough to fit on a slate. Fujitsu has been on the job, making significant progress since showing off its clunky palm vein reader. The company's latest development on the biometric front is an authentication sensor that measures a minuscule 5mm thick, which is slight enough for use in tablets. Fujitsu employed its PalmSecure technology for reading users' palm vein patterns without requiring physical contact with the sensor. This super-thin module is still in the thick of research and development, but it's likely destined for your tablet someday down the line.
NYU medical center goes sci-fi, scans patients' palms
NYU's Langone Medical Center is getting a jump on that whole 21st-century medical care thing by ditching the clipboards and paperwork for palm scans and digital databases. On June 5th the hospital threw the switch on an electronic patient-tracking program from Epic Systems and paired it with biometric identification technology from PatientSecure, which scans the veins in persons hands using near-infrared light. Instead of being forced to fill out forms with your insurance info and social security number every time you visit, you simply place your hand on a scanner and -- ta-da! -- your records come right up. By combining the vasculature scans (which are even more unique than fingerprints) with patient photos, NYU should be able to minimize misidentification and cut down on duplicate records. Rather than go out on some cheesy pun about palm reading, we'll leave the predictable word play to the folks at ABC news -- check out their coverage after the break alongside PR from the Langone Medical Center.
