Fingerprint enhancement by directional Fourier filtering

Author

Sherlock, B.G. ; Monro, D.M. ; Millard, K.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Parks Coll. of St. Louis Univ., Cahokia, IL, USA

Volume

141

Issue

2

fYear

1994

fDate

4/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

87

Lastpage

94

Abstract

A new method of enhancing fingerprint images is described, based upon nonstationary directional Fourier domain filtering. Fingerprints are first smoothed using a directional filter whose orientation is everywhere matched to the local ridge orientation. Thresholding then yields the enhanced image. Various simplifications lead to efficient implementation on general-purpose digital computers. Results of enhancement are presented for fingerprints of various pattern classifications. A comparison is made with the enhancement used within the automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) developed by the UK Home Office. Use of the proposed enhancement method leads to significant improvements in the speed and accuracy of the AFIS

Keywords

Fourier transforms; filtering and prediction theory; image processing; AFIS; UK Home Office; accuracy; automated fingerprint identification system; directional Fourier filtering; directional filter; fingerprint image enhancement; general-purpose digital computers; local ridge orientation; nonstationary filtering; pattern classification; speed; thresholding;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Vision, Image and Signal Processing, IEE Proceedings -

Publisher

iet

ISSN

1350-245X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1049/ip-vis:19949924

Filename

285836