Fujitsu introduces palm vein security to hospital

has announced that it has applied its PalmSecure biometric palm vein authentication system in a Japanese hospital for access to electronic medical records.

The implementation at the Hospital for Charged Particle Therapy at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences is the first such use of biometric palm vein authentication for electronic medical record access. The system enables users to access electronic medical records through a highly secure and user-friendly log-on procedure, helping to prevent unauthorised access to the hospital's data.

The NIRS hospital, a leader in charged particle therapy in Japan, is involved in a wide range of medical activities based on its radiology examination and care, including radiation diagnoses for cancer, treatment, nuclear medicine, and care for patients who were exposed to atomic bombs.

In addition to increasing efficiency of and further enhancing its medical examinations and research, the hospital aims to increase patient satisfaction by providing patients with examination data and promoting evidence-based medicine (EBM). Furthermore, in view of the rising interest in protecting personal data in recent years, the hospital had been considering a high-security electronic medical record system to prevent identity theft and other forms of unauthorised data access and leakage.

To log into the operating electronic medical record system, the user inserts an integrated circuit (IC) smartcard in which the user's pre-registered palm vein pattern data has been registered, and holds his or her hand over the palm vein authentication sensor. The palm vein pattern obtained from the palm vein authentication sensor is then compared with the data read from the smartcard. Compared with the conventional ID and password input systems, this convenient log-on procedure restricts unauthorised access, reinforcing the security that protects the hospital's confidential data.

Additionally, the new system includes enterprise user authentication (EUA) functions in compliance with Integrating Healthcare Enterprise Information Technology Infrastructure (IHE-ITI) standards, enabling - through single sign-on  - the simultaneous log-on to other systems aside from the electronic medical record system.

PalmSecure has been successfully implemented by Fujitsu in various companies and institutions spanning a wide range of industries worldwide, including banks, corporations, condominiums, universities, schools, municipalities, and libraries.