Medical bracelet recognizes its wearer

A wristwatch-like device that measures a person’s “bioimpedance” helps nurses and doctors
keep patient’s identity straight. Developed by Cory Cornelius, a computer scientist at Dartmouth College, the biometric bracelet measures person’s unique response to a weak electric signal. This could let medical devices such as blood-pressure cuffs automatically identify the wearer and send measurements straight to patient’s electronic medical record. Though security is becoming an issue, as medical instruments and implants become more computerized and connected, the idea of using bioimpedance as a biometric shows more practical benefits. An example of this would be a household sharing an exercise-monitoring device, the identity verification would match household members with their own results. The prototype sensor will be presented at the Usenix Advanced Computing System Association workshop in Bellevue, Washington, August 8-10.