The advent of biometrics in the mHealth offers tremendous opportunities, from improving data security to providing great healthcare data access housed in remote locations.
Mobile biometrics is an identification system running on a device, such as a smartphone, using sensors or portable hardware such as a USB cable, that taps a biometric point such as facial recognition or fingerprint or a combination of modes, according to Mohamma Shahnewaz, writing at Info Security.
Shahnewaz, a senior executive at MSSYS Technology, says the technology already bodes well for financial and law enforcement environments, but also may be a game changer when it comes to getting healthcare data now housed in remote sites to authorized users.
"This will eventually increase the quality of healthcare service and helps provide security protection and peace of mind to patients that they are the only individuals with access to their medical data," he writes.
Technology is moving quickly past today's wearables, such as fitness trackers, and biometrics may be the next big frontier. Already researchers are working on smart clothing that tracks breathing to pulse rates and laser wands that could replace the standard sugar pinprick for diabetes testing, FierceMobileHealthcare previously reported.
In addition, there are reports indicating today's sophisticated wearables will eventually be eclipsed by highly technical devices serving as mHealth tools. Researchers are working on independent wearable biometric watch devices that both tap changing patterns of scattered light for non-invasive glucose monitoring and pulse tracking.
But Shahnewaz notes, such new technologies come with unique challenges because they can't always be used in controlled environments. But, despite some potential limitations, he says the technology will change how people access data.
"With the technology world rapidly evolving from workstation-based to mobile computing, mobile biometric security is becoming a key consideration for protecting personal, corporate, and financial data. The change might be slow, but eventually mobile biometrics will change the way we identify ourselves and others in many settings," he says.
For more information:
- read the Info Security article
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