Fingerprints and retinal scans are cool and all , but the press clipping boundary of personalized encryption may lie down right between your ribs . Engineers at Binghamton University , State University of New York , have created a way to habituate a patient ’s cardiac rhythm to cypher their medical record . They presented theirideaat the IEEE Global Communications Conference in December .
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included a mandate that hospitals , doc ’ offices , and other medical providers switch from paper to electronic record . In theory , it made a pile of sensation ; paper record are inefficient , bulky , difficult to share among practician , and easy to fall back . But as so many internet users have get word , it ’s unmanageable and expensive to keep digital selective information private .
Zhanpeng Jin search electrical and computer engineering at Binghamton . His team " want to find a unique resolution to protect raw personal health data with something simple , available , and toll - effective , ” hesaidin a affirmation .

Image Credit : Binghamton University
Jin and his colleagues were fascinated by electrocardiograph ( ECG ) readings , which record the regular recurrence of a person ’s instant . electrocardiogram are part of stock patient monitoring frame-up , which mean the data is already being recorded and attached to patient records . And because each person ’s cardiac touch is unique , the research worker realized , ECG readings could dish out almost like very personalized passwords .
It ’s a concept as graceful as it is futurist : re - using survive data to keep that information secure .

" This research will be very helpful and substantial for next - multiplication secure , individualised health care , " he said .
This is not Jin ’s first maraud into biometric security ; his earlier work include using “ brainprints ” as access codes .