ECG to identify individuals

The electrocardiogam (ECG also called EKG) trace expresses cardiac features that are unique to an individual. The ECG processing followed a logical series of experiments with quantifiable metrics. Data filters were designed based upon the observed noise sources. Fiducial points were identified on the filtered data and extracted digitally for each heartbeat. From the fiducial points. stable features were computed that characterize the uniqueness of an individual. The tests show that the extracted features are independent of sensor location, invariant to the individual's state of anxiety, and unique to an individual. (C) 2004 Pattern Recognition Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.