Handheld iris imaging apparatus and method
AssigneeIridian Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJames Timothy McHugh, James Henry Lee, Cletus Bonaventure Kuhla
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compact, handheld imaging apparatus which can be used to capture high-quality iris images for identification of a person. The handheld iris imager is non-invasive and non-contacting and comprises a camera, a cold mirror, a lens, and an illuminator. The imager has sensors and indicators which assist a user in aligning and focusing the device. The imager also automatically captures the image when proper positioning is achieved. A template representative of the iris features is extracted and then compared to a database of previously stored templates to identify the person.
Claims25
A handheld iris imaging apparatus for obtaining an image of an iris of an eye, comprising:
- iris acquisition means having a front surface;
- a lens having an image plane disposed in front of said front surface of said iris acquisition means;
- a concave cold mirror disposed on a side of said lens opposite said iris acquisition means;
- and
- an illuminator disposed along a side of said mirror.
A method of obtaining an iris image of a subject, comprising the steps of:
- (a) illuminating an iris of the subject;
- (b) forming an approximately centered image of said iris at an image plane of a camera using a concave cold mirror;
- (c) storing said image in a memory;
- (d) determining if said image is an image having a focus quality greater than or approximately equal to a predetermined threshold;
- and
- (e) repeating steps (a) through (d) until said image having a focus quality greater than or approximately equal to the predetermined threshold is obtained.
A method of identification of a person, comprising the steps of:
- (a) storing image information of the iris of at least one person's eye;
- (b) illuminating an eye of an unidentified person having an iris;
- (c) obtaining an image of said iris of said unidentified person using a concave cold mirror;
- (d) storing said image in a memory;
- (e) determining if said image is an image having a focus quality greater than or approximately equal to a predetermined threshold for a step (g) of comparing;
- (f) repeating steps (b) through (e) until said image having a focus quality greater than or approximately equal to the predetermined threshold is obtained;
- and
- (g) comparing a template of said obtained image with said stored image information to identify said unidentified person.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.