An improved Framework for Biometric Database’s privacy

Security and privacy are huge challenges in biometric systems. Biometrics are sensitive data that should be protected from any attacker and especially attackers targeting the confidentiality and integrity of biometric data. In this paper an extensive review of different physiological biometric techniques is provided. A comparative analysis of the various sus mentioned biometrics, including characteristics and properties is conducted. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the most relevant physiological biometrics is achieved. Furthermore, we propose a new framework for biometric database privacy. Our approach is based on the use of the promising fully homomorphic encryption technology. As a proof of concept, we establish an initial implementation of our security module using JAVA programming language

Waves on Reissner's membrane: a mechanism for the propagation of otoacoustic emissions from the cochlea

Sound is detected and converted into electrical signals within the ear. The cochlea not only acts as a passive detector of sound, however, but can also produce tones itself. These otoacoustic emissions are a striking manifestation of the cochlea's mechanical active process. A controversy remains of how these mechanical signals propagate back to the middle ear, from which they are emitted as sound. Here we combine theoretical and experimental studies to show that mechanical signals can be transmitted by waves on Reissner's membrane, an elastic structure within the cochea. We develop a theory for wave propagation on Reissner's membrane and its role in otoacoustic emissions. Employing a scanning laser interferometer, we measure traveling waves on Reissner's membrane in the gerbil, guinea pig, and chinchilla. The results accord with the theory and thus support a role for Reissner's membrane in otoacoustic emissions.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures, and Supplemental informatio

Non-Intrusive Subscriber Authentication for Next Generation Mobile Communication Systems

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/753 on 14.03.2017 by CS (TIS)The last decade has witnessed massive growth in both the technological development, and the consumer adoption of mobile devices such as mobile handsets and PDAs. The recent introduction of wideband mobile networks has enabled the deployment of new services with access to traditionally well protected personal data, such as banking details or medical records. Secure user access to this data has however remained a function of the mobile device's authentication system, which is only protected from masquerade abuse by the traditional PIN, originally designed to protect against telephony abuse. This thesis presents novel research in relation to advanced subscriber authentication for mobile devices. The research began by assessing the threat of masquerade attacks on such devices by way of a survey of end users. This revealed that the current methods of mobile authentication remain extensively unused, leaving terminals highly vulnerable to masquerade attack. Further investigation revealed that, in the context of the more advanced wideband enabled services, users are receptive to many advanced authentication techniques and principles, including the discipline of biometrics which naturally lends itself to the area of advanced subscriber based authentication. To address the requirement for a more personal authentication capable of being applied in a continuous context, a novel non-intrusive biometric authentication technique was conceived, drawn from the discrete disciplines of biometrics and Auditory Evoked Responses. The technique forms a hybrid multi-modal biometric where variations in the behavioural stimulus of the human voice (due to the propagation effects of acoustic waves within the human head), are used to verify the identity o f a user. The resulting approach is known as the Head Authentication Technique (HAT). Evaluation of the HAT authentication process is realised in two stages. Firstly, the generic authentication procedures of registration and verification are automated within a prototype implementation. Secondly, a HAT demonstrator is used to evaluate the authentication process through a series of experimental trials involving a representative user community. The results from the trials confirm that multiple HAT samples from the same user exhibit a high degree of correlation, yet samples between users exhibit a high degree of discrepancy. Statistical analysis of the prototypes performance realised early system error rates of; FNMR = 6% and FMR = 0.025%. The results clearly demonstrate the authentication capabilities of this novel biometric approach and the contribution this new work can make to the protection of subscriber data in next generation mobile networks.Orange Personal Communication Services Lt

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions as a health surveillance technique for hearing screening in workers in the steel manufacturing industry

BACKGROUND : Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are a promising screening technique for the early detection of subtle noise-induced cochlear function changes. OBJECTIVES : To determine the applicability of DPOAEs as a health surveillance technique for the early detection of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in workers at a steel manufacturing industry. METHODS : DPOAE measurements were recorded in 20 participants with no history of occupational noise exposure and 20 participants exposed to noise in the steel manufacturing industry. Participants were not exposed to noise for at least 48 hours prior to testing. All participants were male, with normal audiometric thresholds of ≤15 dB HL. The DPOAE presence and response levels for different frequencies were compared between the two groups. The study further evaluated the shortterm test-retest repeatability of DPOAE measurements. RESULTS : The noise-exposed group had significantly lower DPOAE response amplitudes than the control group for all the tested frequencies: p<0.001 at 2002 to 4004 Hz; p=0.01 and p=0.001 at 6348 and 7996 Hz, respectively, suggesting early outer hair cell damage in the noise-exposed group. DPOAEs showed good reproducibility. CONCLUSION : DPOAEs appear to be a sensitive technique for detecting noise-induced subtle cochlear function changes. DPOAEs could be used as a health surveillance technique in conjunction with pure tone audiometry for the early detection of NIHL in the steel manufacturing industry.http://www.occhealth.co.zaam2018Speech-Language Pathology and Audiolog

In-ear EEG biometrics for feasible and readily collectable real-world person authentication

The use of EEG as a biometrics modality has been investigated for about a decade, however its feasibility in real-world applications is not yet conclusively established, mainly due to the issues with collectability and reproducibility. To this end, we propose a readily deployable EEG biometrics system based on a `one-fits-all' viscoelastic generic in-ear EEG sensor (collectability), which does not require skilled assistance or cumbersome preparation. Unlike most existing studies, we consider data recorded over multiple recording days and for multiple subjects (reproducibility) while, for rigour, the training and test segments are not taken from the same recording days. A robust approach is considered based on the resting state with eyes closed paradigm, the use of both parametric (autoregressive model) and non-parametric (spectral) features, and supported by simple and fast cosine distance, linear discriminant analysis and support vector machine classifiers. Both the verification and identification forensics scenarios are considered and the achieved results are on par with the studies based on impractical on-scalp recordings. Comprehensive analysis over a number of subjects, setups, and analysis features demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed ear-EEG biometrics, and its potential in resolving the critical collectability, robustness, and reproducibility issues associated with current EEG biometrics

Involvement of auditory pathway in migrainous vertigo among those visiting the audio-vestibular clinic in a tertiary care hospital.

Migrainous vertigo is a vestibular syndrome which is caused by migraine and is characterised by short spells of spontaneous or positional vertigo which can lasts from only a few seconds to weeks. There are no established diagnostic criteria for migrainous vertigo as it is not included presently in the International Headache Society classification of migraine . Neuhauser however proposed a diagnostic criterion for the entity and that has been widely accepted. Migrainous vertigo was a poorly known entity till 1980s. Migrainous vertigo associated with problems in auditory pathway is even less well-known or documented. There are only a few numbers of studies addressing this issue. Migraine and migrainous vertigo are considered to be a result of chemical abnormalities in the Serotonin pathway. Aims and Objectives 1. Review data of all patients with vertigo to assess the frequency of migrainous Vertigo among patients attending the Audio vestibular clinic of CMC over a 6 month period prior to start of a prospective evaluation. 2. Determine the frequency of auditory dysfunction among patients with migrainous vertigo compared to the normal. 3. Evaluate the auditory status of patients with migrainous vertigo Limitations of the study This study was not powered to bring out differences between cases and controls for the various tests performed. A larger sample size may have provided results that were different. One reason for this smaller sample was the cost involved in recruiting more normal controls. The sample size is smaller than required. This was because of the cost factor involved in recruiting more normal controls. The matching of patients could have been closer than what was done. Often the recruitment had to depend on the availability of cases that fulfilled selection criteria and time. Conclusions The frequency of migrainous vertigo in a tertiary care specialised audiovestibular clinic was 22%. The largest age group attending tertiary care for this problem were in age group 31-40 (58%), The male: female ratio was 1:1.2. The frequency of hearing loss was 34% among 400 charts screened retrospectively. Symptoms pointing to posterior circulation territory involvement were present as an aura in all patients. 33% percent of patients had documented bilateral mild sensory hearing loss. Tympanometry and stapedial reflex were normal in all patients There was significant difference between cases and control in the presence of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in both ears as well as in the absolute latency of wave V signifying the involvement of auditory pathway in migrainous vertigo

The influence of acoustic and biological noise on signal quality measurements of otoacoustic emissions

Biološka osnova nastanka signala otoakusticke emisije (OAE), akusticka priroda njegovog nastanka i izuzetna maskiranost raznim oblicima smetnji jesu polazna osnova razvoja raznih metoda detekcije, obrade i interpretacije signala OAE, odnosno samog efekta otoakusticke emisije u svetlu karakterizacije funkcionisanja kohlee. Metode merenja OAE se razlikuju po nacinu generisanja stimulusa, mehanizmima generisanja odziva kao i po nacinima obrade signala i statistickog tumacenja dobijenih rezultata. Postojece metode merenja i obrade signala OAE jesu osnova savremenih sistema za merenje OAE, koji su našli široku primenu u klinickoj praksi. Meutim, nisu iscrpljene sve mogucnosti, pre svega teorijske a zatim i metodološke prirode, prvenstveno u domenu ekstrakcije signala OAE iz šuma. Poboljšanjem uslova merenja smanjuje se uticaj spoljašnje buke (šumova) na mogucnost ekstrakcije signala otoakusticke emisije i biološki šum postaje dominantan izvor smetnji. Istraživanje karakteristika bioloških šumova je jedan od preduslova za uspešno rešavanje problema detekcije OAE u prisustvu biološkog šuma. Na pažljivo odabranom uzorku, u skladu sa potrebama istraživanja, analizirani su biološki šumovi snimljeni u ušnom kanalu. Pokazalo se da postoji znacajna korelacija bioloških šumova u levom i desnom uhu i da koeficijent korelacije raste sa porastom intenziteta bioloških šumova. Ovakvo ponašanje bioloških šumova predstavlja povoljnu okolnost sa stanovišta primene adaptivnih metoda filtriranja i adaptivnih metoda potiskivanja šuma. U disertaciji su analizirane karakteristike najznacajnijih bioloških smetnji koje su prisutne kod merenja signala OAE. Ova saznanja su omogucila izbor optimalane adaptivne metode za detekciju TEOAE u prisustvu biološkog šuma. Osnovna ideja za potiskivanje biološkog šuma sastojala se u korišcenju biološkog šuma iz drugog ušnog c kanala za adaptivno potiskivanje biološkog šuma u ušnom kanalu u kome se meri OAE signal. Pošto je signal OAE duboko uronjen u šum, neophodno je bilo kombinovati nekoliko postupaka u toku predobrade signala kako bi se postiglo dobro potiskivanje šuma. Primenjeni su postupci adaptivnog filtriranja, ponderisanog usrednjavanja i oduzimanja procenjene vrednosti signala OAE od signala odziva snimljenog u ušnom kanalu...Biological basis of the otoacoustic emission signal (OAE), acoustic nature of its generation and exceptional masking with various forms of interference are the starting point for the development of various methods of detection, signal processing and interpretation of OAE signal, or the effect of otoacoustic emission in light of the characterization of the cochlea functioning. OAE measurement methods differ in the way of stimulus generation, response generation mechanisms and the methods of signal processing and statistical interpretation of results. Existing methods of measurement and OAE signal processing are the basis of modern systems for OAE measurement, which have found wide application in clinical practice. However, all possibilities are not exhausted, especially the theoretical and methodological nature aproaches, primarily in the field of OAE signal extraction from the noise. Improvement of the measuring conditions reduces the influence of external noise on the possibility of extraction of otoacoustic emissions, and biological noise becomes the dominant source of interference. The study of characteristics of biological noise is one of the prerequisites for successful troubleshooting OAE detection in the presence of biological noise. In carefully selected sample, in accordance with the needs of research, we analyzed the biological noise recorded in the ear canal. It turned out that there was a significant correlation of biological noise in the left and right ear and the correlation coefficient increases with the intensity of biological noise. This behavior of biological noise is a favorable circumstance from the point of application of adaptive filtering methods and adaptive noise suppression method. The dissertation analyzes the characteristics of the most important form of biological interference that are present during OAE measurement. These findings have enabled the selection of optimal adaptive methods for the detection of TEOAE in the presence of biological noise. The basic idea of suppressing biological noise consisted in e the use of biological noise from the other ear canal for adaptive suppression of biological noise in the ear canal in which OAE signal is measured. Since the OAE signal is deeply immersed in the noise it was necessary to combine several steps during preprocessing the signal to achieve good noise suppression. The applied methods are adaptive filtering, weighted averaging and estimated value of OAE signal subtraction from the signal response recorded in the ear canal..

Epidemiological and Evolutionary study of Vestibular Schwannoma after different types of treatment

Over the last couple of decades, the increased availability of magnetic resonance imaging dramatically influenced to the therapeutic approach of vestibular schwannomas (VSs). However, there are few reports about the course of VS patients following conservative management (CM) compared with gamma knife radiosurgery (GKR). In the current study, we present data of 106 unilateral and one bilateral (due to NF2) VS patient controlled CM (67), GKRS (27) and conventional neurosurgery (13). Objectives The main aim of our study was to compare CM and/or the natural course of VS growth with the effects following GKR along with additional treatment and symptom development during the follow-up. We also aimed to evaluate the utility of diagnostic tests and efficiency of CM in case of small VSs