With the spread of the pandemic COVID-19, we have come to an understanding that maintaining hygiene is the workspace is important for breaking the chain of infection. The contactless biometric solution is replacing all the other biometric modalities to safeguard medical officers and patients from getting infected.
There are different kinds of biometric solutions available in the market for the purpose of attendance keeping and security. With the spread of virus infections and the usage of biometric systems as a healthy authentication process can now be broadly divided into two categories, contact and non-contact type biometric systems. The biometric fingerprint scanner is a contact type device whereas the iris recognition system is a non-contact type authentication device. Fingerprint scanners are not a good choice of practice in a medical institution, hospital or clinics as there is a risk of a person receiving Hospital-acquired condition( known as HAC) if the device is not cleaned properly after every use.
The COVID-19 pandemic which is spreading across the globe is transmitted from one person to another through surfaces already handled by an infected person. Biometric fingerprint technology, therefore, poses a significant threat for passing germs and bacteria from one person to another. Moreover, most cleaning agents don’t kill all kinds of germs and bacteria. The urgency to increase the patient-doctor safety is real and happening right now. Hospitals and healthcare organisations are understanding the need for using biometrics for identification and data storage. Non-contact type and hygiene iris recognition systems have now been implemented across all hospitals. Iris recognition provides non-contact Hygenic personal identification and attendance with the help of Iris recognition system. In most hospitals that are facing emergencies due to the pandemic outbreak, doctors and nurses need to cover their hands and faces, an iris-based attendance system is a preferred method for identifying individuals over other biometric solutions.
In the health care sector, patient and medical officer’s security is the primary concern. Hospitals are obligated to make a safe and hygiene environment for patient care and welfare of doctors. Currently, hospitals across the world are trying to adopt digital methods in securing and safeguarding the medical environment. Biometric systems are so advanced these days that every data entry is made easier for patients as well as medical officers.
In 2015, Terrebonne General Medical centre in the United states used a biometric patient identification method as the new identity management system. Virginia Commonwealth University announced the implementation of iris recognition on their campus dining halls for student identification. It presented a safer and more secure way to identify students and also helped them in identifying if they forget their IDs on the campus. Iris recognition became a more promising way of identifying students and eliminating the problem for the management of creating IDs whenever it was lost. Moreover, the iris recognition system didn’t require physical contact, unlike fingerprint scanners. It provided a hygiene, non-contact solution for identification which was much needed for authentication during the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. It enables the prevention of virus transfer, unlike fingerprint biometric devices.
Hygiene plays a critical role in determining which biometric modality the hospitals could use. Due to the fact that iris recognition does not require physical contact with a biometric device, it presents one of the most hygiene hardware options available, keeping end-users safe from the spread of germs and illness that could otherwise be a risk when using a contact-dependent modality such as fingerprint or palm vein recognition. Adding to that, the iris recognition system can help patients who are handicapped or don’t possess limbs to get access to different rooms in a hospital.
Iris recognition technology is, therefore, the perfect choice for the patient as well as doctor/nurse identification. Hospitals across the globe are now learning the use of biometric iris recognition systems for authentication as a person need not touch the device. This, in turn, will help to increase infection control.
Said all this, patient acceptance to any system is the key to the successful implementation of biometric systems in hospitals. Many feel that iris recognition is too invasive and beams visible light into a patient’s eyes to determine their identity. In reality, iris recognition is often confused with retinal scanning which does use visible light for identification. Iris recognition instead uses camera technology with subtle infrared illumination to acquire images of the detail-rich, intricate structures of the iris. The system also eliminates the creation of duplicate medical records or medical identity thefts for the purpose of acquiring insurance.
Conclusion
Iris recognition system has been proven to be the best biometric system that can be implemented in any hospital. The foremost reason being, it’s contactless and hygiene. With the rise of various virus infections, hygiene has a rising influence in choosing iris technology. The advantages of using iris recognition biometrics have positioned the technology for strong adoption growth in the years to come.