Prophecy Surge: The Barcode In Your Hand
Pastor Dale Morgan
Prophecy Surge: The Barcode In Your Hand*
Apr 5th, 2007 7:48 AM
Through the Looking Glass
VeinViewer technology becomes foolproof identification method
AMY O. WILLIAMS | The Daily News
Imagine just waving your hand over a screen to pay the check at a
restaurant.
It might sound like something from a "Star Trek" episode, but
researchers at Snowflake Technologies in Memphis are well on their way
to making it happen.
Using technology developed by their parent company, Luminetx Corp.,
Snowflake personnel are in the process of developing a device that can
identify a person by the patterns of veins in his or her hand.
"We read your veins like barcodes - and no two are alike," said Jim
Phillips, president and chief executive officer of Memphis-based Luminetx.
Better than a driver's license
Luminetx is the company behind the VeinViewer, a medical device that
promises to revolutionize the way people have blood drawn by projecting
an image of a person's veins right onto their skin using infrared light
and a computer.
Using that same technology, Snowflake is developing a device designed on
the concept of biometrics, which are automated methods of identifying,
or authenticating, the identity of a living person based on a unique
physiological or behavioral characteristic.
In this case, the unique characteristic is a pattern of veins on any
part of human anatomy, from the foot to the forehead. The technology
works because every person has a unique vein pattern, even identical twins.
Other forms of biometric IDs include fingerprinting and iris scans, but
Phillips said the device Snowflake is developing beats the others hands
down. Fingerprints, he said, can be left behind on a surface and easily
lifted. Irises can be altered with contact lenses.
Also, for a fingerprint to be used, individuals must touch a surface.
"It is inevitable that all forms of ID will move to biometrics," he said.
A golden standard
With the vein scanning device, no touching is required, which makes it
much more hygienic than prints or iris scans. Phillips envisions people
one day using the vein scan in place of a key to enter their homes or
offices.
"You just have to hold up your hand," he said.
And there is no way to beat the technology, Phillips said. For an
identity to be recognized and the veins to be detected, blood must be
flowing through the veins.
Phillips was in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss the technology of
the vein scan and VeinViewer with a group of congressional aides.
Phillips said he believes the vein-scanning device will be on the market
some time in 2008. The technology eventually could be marketed to
government and law enforcement entities, as well as financial and retail
industries. And life could change dramatically for people who travel for
a living.
"It could be a real key in bringing convenience back to airline travel,"
said Phil Trenary, president and chief executive officer of
Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines Corp., a regional carrier of Northwest
Airlines. "One of the prices we have had to pay for security - which is
absolutely necessary - is that it is less convenient now. And what this
technology does is allow the government, in a very non-invasive way, to
positively ID a customer in record time.
Compared to other types of biometric identification, such as
fingerprints and iris scans, the new technology is more accurate, said
Trenary, who also sits on the board of directors for Snowflake Technologies.
"For airline travel, the key is to develop a standard," he said. "And in
our opinion, this is the best standard."
High-tech aspirations
Among its many other potential applications, the Snowflake technology
also might be developed into the Veincell, which would allow a cell
phone user to ensure the security of his or her mobile devices. The
Veincell only would be activated when it recognized the pattern of veins
in the owner's hand.
The technology one day even could replace wallets, Phillips said.
Instead of pulling out a wallet and a credit card that potentially could
be stolen, people would just swipe their hands across a surface and
reveal their account information. It also would make it much more
difficult for thieves to steal someone's identity if it was connected to
their vein pattern and not a plastic card.
"In the future, vascular identification will become commonplace,"
Phillips said. "What could be easier? It will be as common as an ID card."
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