Mobile Phone Based Child Biometrics for Improved Immunization
This study develops the concept of mobile phone based ear biometrics for young children. An interactive user friendly android based mobile application, named CuteEars, was developed for biometrics identification of young children and for a reliable documentation of the routine immunization events in rural India. This simple easy to use efficient software installed on an android cell phone will be used for maintaining the database of administering of vaccination to a recipient child. Any previous related history, if applicable, of the immunization and other basic details of the recipient child will also be recorded. But the main question arises as to how to track the child's previous history of vaccination in case of future appearance of the same recipient child? The answer lies in linking correctly the data record set of the recipient child's immunization event with the biometric image of the child's ear picture. Once the record data set of a recipient child is linked properly with the correct biometric image of the child's ear in the database, it becomes very easy to check the history of immunization of the recipient child in future by simply comparing subject child's demographical data and biometric image of ear in the database.
To extract the required biometric information from the ear picture of child posed a great challenge. While the standard biometrics techniques typically operate on the pictures taken under controlled conditions, new image processing algorithms were developed capable of performing biometrics even under non-standard conditions such as different light intensities, the presence of unwanted objects (like hair, cloth fabric) in the ear photo, a difference in the angular position of ear, and so on. To meet this challenge, the advanced computational intelligence based signal modeling and analysis techniques have been exploited to develop image processing algorithms meant for a ``robust'' comparison of objects' geometries in images.
The developed intelligent ear biometrics technology has been integrated to function with the android mobile application, ''CuteEars'', by Hanseatic Institute of Technology, Germany. The concept was validated on 750 children by a team formed by Shah Satnamji Green-S Welfare Force Wing, India. The team has studied the survey field area in advance before commencing with the actual data recording in the cell phone software. The team manager has selected the field area and has organized the community workers into five different teams for surveying to locate the children in the age group of 0-6 years. After completion of the survey, the team went door to door for data acquisition. The collected data comprised of children ear picture, mother's face picture, demographical information and previous immunization related data. The mother's photo offers an additional confirmation of the unique identification of the child. The data including the ear picture taken by the android cell phone camera was recorded by the community worker in the software program, CuteEars, installed on the cell phone. The acquired data was then ready to be sent to the remote server. If the cell phone has a good internet connection (which was an issue due to rural area chosen for the study), then the child acquired data in the software program for each individual case was sent real time to the server. Or else the community worker at the end of the day can transfer the data online in one time for the complete set of data acquired during the day. Once the data are available at the server, the reports of the acquired data were available through the in house developed software portal named, "Mobile Vaccination Information Management System (MVIMS)". The automatic generated reports regarding the children's immunization status are then available for feedback and review. The results were used for policy recommendation to local medical officers. Also, the team of community workers provided logistic support for bringing the identified children to the immunization center. The recorded data will be updated during the subsequent immunization sessions.
To extract the required biometric information from the ear picture of child posed a great challenge. While the standard biometrics techniques typically operate on the pictures taken under controlled conditions, new image processing algorithms were developed capable of performing biometrics even under non-standard conditions such as different light intensities, the presence of unwanted objects (like hair, cloth fabric) in the ear photo, a difference in the angular position of ear, and so on. To meet this challenge, the advanced computational intelligence based signal modeling and analysis techniques have been exploited to develop image processing algorithms meant for a ``robust'' comparison of objects' geometries in images.
The developed intelligent ear biometrics technology has been integrated to function with the android mobile application, ''CuteEars'', by Hanseatic Institute of Technology, Germany. The concept was validated on 750 children by a team formed by Shah Satnamji Green-S Welfare Force Wing, India. The team has studied the survey field area in advance before commencing with the actual data recording in the cell phone software. The team manager has selected the field area and has organized the community workers into five different teams for surveying to locate the children in the age group of 0-6 years. After completion of the survey, the team went door to door for data acquisition. The collected data comprised of children ear picture, mother's face picture, demographical information and previous immunization related data. The mother's photo offers an additional confirmation of the unique identification of the child. The data including the ear picture taken by the android cell phone camera was recorded by the community worker in the software program, CuteEars, installed on the cell phone. The acquired data was then ready to be sent to the remote server. If the cell phone has a good internet connection (which was an issue due to rural area chosen for the study), then the child acquired data in the software program for each individual case was sent real time to the server. Or else the community worker at the end of the day can transfer the data online in one time for the complete set of data acquired during the day. Once the data are available at the server, the reports of the acquired data were available through the in house developed software portal named, "Mobile Vaccination Information Management System (MVIMS)". The automatic generated reports regarding the children's immunization status are then available for feedback and review. The results were used for policy recommendation to local medical officers. Also, the team of community workers provided logistic support for bringing the identified children to the immunization center. The recorded data will be updated during the subsequent immunization sessions.