A survey of fingerprint classification Part I: taxonomies on feature extraction methods and learning models

This paper reviews the fingerprint classification literature looking at the problem from a double perspective. We first deal with feature extraction methods, including the different models considered for singular point detection and for orientation map extraction. Then, we focus on the different learning models considered to build the classifiers used to label new fingerprints. Taxonomies and classifications for the feature extraction, singular point detection, orientation extraction and learning methods are presented. A critical view of the existing literature have led us to present a discussion on the existing methods and their drawbacks such as difficulty in their reimplementation, lack of details or major differences in their evaluations procedures. On this account, an experimental analysis of the most relevant methods is carried out in the second part of this paper, and a new method based on their combination is presented.This work was supported by the Research Projects CAB(CDTI), TIN2011-28488, and TIN2013-40765-P.

A Survey of Fingerprint Classification Part I: Taxonomies on Feature Extraction Methods and Learning Models

This paper reviews the fingerprint classification literature looking at the problem from a double perspective. We first deal with feature extraction methods, including the different models considered for singular point detection and for orientation map extraction. Then, we focus on the different learning models considered to build the classifiers used to label new fingerprints. Taxonomies and classifications for the feature extraction, singular point detection, orientation extraction and learning methods are presented. A critical view of the existing literature have led us to present a discussion on the existing methods and their drawbacks such as difficulty in their reimplementation, lack of details or major differences in their evaluations procedures. On this account, an experimental analysis of the most relevant methods is carried out in the second part of this paper, and a new method based on their combination is presented.Research Projects CAB(CDTI) TIN2011-28488 TIN2013-40765Spanish Government FPU12/0490

A pilot study on discriminative power of features of superficial venous pattern in the hand

The goal of the project is to develop an automatic way to identify, represent the superficial vasculature of the back hand and investigate its discriminative power as biometric feature. A prototype of a system that extracts the superficial venous pattern of infrared images of back hands will be described. Enhancement algorithms are used to solve the lack of contrast of the infrared images. To trace the veins, a vessel tracking technique is applied, obtaining binary masks of the superficial venous tree. Successively, a method to estimate the blood vessels calibre, length, the location and angles of vessel junctions, will be presented. The discriminative power of these features will be studied, independently and simultaneously, considering two features vector. Pattern matching of two vasculature maps will be performed, to investigate the uniqueness of the vessel network / L’obiettivo del progetto è di sviluppare un metodo automatico per identificare e rappresentare la rete vascolare superficiale presente nel dorso della mano ed investigare sul suo potere discriminativo come caratteristica biometrica. Un prototipo di sistema che estrae l’albero superficiale delle vene da immagini infrarosse del dorso della mano sarà descritto. Algoritmi per il miglioramento del contrasto delle immagini infrarosse saranno applicati. Per tracciare le vene, una tecnica di tracking verrà utilizzata per ottenere una maschera binaria della rete vascolare. Successivamente, un metodo per stimare il calibro e la lunghezza dei vasi sanguigni, la posizione e gli angoli delle giunzioni sarà trattato. Il potere discriminativo delle precedenti caratteristiche verrà studiato ed una tecnica di pattern matching di due modelli vascolari sarà presentata per verificare l’unicità di quest

The Development and Application of a Digitized Image Database for the Estimation of Age Based on Bone Histology

In this study, digital image analysis was incorporated into existing regression formulas for age estimation. Previous studies in forensic anthropology have utilized only the manual counting of Basic Structural Units (BSUs) within the bone matrix for age estimation. The integration of an image database with the accepted regression formulas (Kerley 1965 and Kerley and Ubelaker 1978) allows for data to be reexamined without having to be sampled from the original slides. Thus, the data will have a more dynamic nature, where it could be investigated by other researchers from the original readings. In addition, the data can help train future observers and be capable of more efficient communication to other researchers electronically. The sample consisted of thirty (30) femoral thin-section slides from the histological collection in University of Tennessee Forensic Center, which is part of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. The slides were chosen based on their clarity for image analysis. Of the thirty slides, nineteen had known ages, which were indicated in the Forensic Center records. The data was collected according to the prescribed methodology (Kerley 1965 and Kerley and Ubelaker 1978) and the regression equations were generated. The resulting age estimates for eighteen (18) of nineteen (19) slides with known ages were within the standard error of the regression equations. In fourteen (14) of nineteen (19) slides with known ages, the age estimate was within six years of known age. In Case #30 (O82-2), the estimated age was more than ten years from the actual age of 6 to 7 years. As a result, it is believed that the eleven (11) unknown slides will have accurate estimated ages, as long as the slides did not come from young subjects

Accuracy of Mandibular Panoramic Indices in the Assessment of Bone Mineral Density in Comparison with Dexa Scans among Post Menopause Women

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is one of the major health hazards in postmenopausal women in India, and approximately 46 billion women are with osteoporosis, mainly attributed to different levels of fracture. Vitamin D deficiency along with low calcium intake, early menopause, genetic predisposition, poor knowledge of bone health and lack of diagnostic facilities attributes to increased prevalence of osteoporosis. Diagnosis of osteoporosis is done by dual energy X- ray absorptiometry (DEXA), which is considered as a gold standard procedure by WHO. Data suggests that in India, there is approximately 0.26 DXA machine per million Indian populations. In recent years emphasis has been placed on detecting postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density using panoramic radiographs and predicting these radiographs as screening tools for osteoporosis. The present study was conducted to study the role of dentist as a potentially valuable resource to identify patients with asymptomatic low bone density and to guide the dentist in proper case selection of postmenopausal patients for implant placement. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the accuracy of mandibular panoramic indices in assessing bone mineral density among postmenopausal women and compare with DXA scan. To evaluate the effectiveness of mandibular panoramic indices as a guide in case selection for implant placement in elderly patients. METHODOLOGY: The study consists of 20 patients. The patients included in this study were subjected to DEXA scan and digital OPG. Mandibular cortical index (MCI) and mental index (MI) were used to measure the quantity and quality of mandibular cortex in the Digital panoramic radiograph. All the data were entered in Microsoft excel sheets and Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software. RESULTS: The result showed that there was a significant accuracy of mandibular panoramic indices in assessing bone mineral density among postmenopausal women, compared with DXA scan with a statistically significant p valve of P < 0.001. Thus, mandibular panoramic indices can be used as a guide in case selection for implant placement in postmenopausal and elderly patients seeking dental rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: Mandibular panoramic indices are effective in identifying post-menopausal women with low bone mineral density and can be used as a valuable guide in case selection for implant placement in elderly patients

The Conservation, Excavation, and Analysis of Ancient Human Remains: A Bioarchaeological Case Study of Prehistoric Reburials from Nevis, West Indies

In the summer of 2015, the cranium of what seemed to be an indigenous Caribbean individual was discovered partially exposed on White’s Bay Beach, Nevis. The following year, upon excavation of two known burial sites, a test pit brought forth an additional burial of two individuals dating about 1025-1275 AD. Currently, there is very little known about this period causing confusion about the migration and settlement patterns of the Caribbean people during this time. Additionally, the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society is experiencing rising concerns of the demolition and utilization of their historical land and beaches for infrastructural development. As the tourist economy and access to the internet have increased, economic development has become far more important to developers and landowners than land preservation. As a result, this has caused an increase in beach erosion and historically documented and undocumented lands are being developed, erasing the cultures and histories present on this land. This thesis argues that a case study of prehistoric human remains found on White’s Bay Beach can be used to describe and better understand the culture, customs, and heritage, of both the current and indigenous population on Nevis. It can also help educate and inform the current Nevisian residents on the importance of decreasing construction and preserving these lands. Traditional excavation methods and a combination of visual and metric observations were used to collect skeletal data. The results of this case study found that these burials belonged to the Taíno people, providing valuable information that will allow a better understanding of the Caribbean people during the end of the Ostionoid period (600-1500 CE)

APPLICATION OF PHOTOGRAMMETRIC TECHNIQUES IN PALAEOODONTOLOGICAL STUDIES TROUGH AUTOMATED DIGITAL SHAPE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN TEETH

Odontological studies, which constitute a considerable part of anthropological research, have been predominantly based on visual, or odontoscopic, examination of teeth. The most studied parts are coronal parts of teeth in terms of their relief features, and, in reference to the current study, tooth cusp relief eminence, sharpness of cusp tips and degree of tooth outer slope inclination are of interest. Traditional odontological methods, in addition to visual, suggest measurement techniques for coronal parts in mesio-distal and vestibular-oral dimensions, which actually do not possess methodological potential for reasonable angular measurements. However, the suggested automated digital odontometric method, being largely based on photogrammetric techniques applied to 3D images of teeth, has showed its usability for such assessments. Tooth shape analysis is provided through software, being permanently elaborated in terms of automation degree for measurement objectivity and precision increase, as well as in expansions of parameters variety. Odontological samples from Upper Palaeolithic archaeological site of Sungir are picked for measurements in the current study due to their presumably archaic relief of molars, described for this unique finding by prominent odontologist A.A Zubov. This research includes comparisons with odontological material, which historically refers to significantly later periods (Early Bronze and Modern Era). The applied digital method has showed its effectiveness in estimation of parameters of demand in anthropological studies, and evaluations of visual studies and measurements are suggested in the article