Biometric Identification Based on Frequency Analysis of Cardiac Sounds

The performance of traditional biometric identification systems is, as yet, unsatisfactory in certain applications. For this reason, other physiological or behavioral characteristics have recently been considered, using new electrical or physical signals linked to a person´s vital signs. This paper examines the biometric characteristics of phonocardiogram (PCG) signals from cardiac auscultation. The idea is that PCG signals have specific individual characteristics that can be taken into consideration as a physiological sign used in a biometric system. More specifically, the paper proposes a preliminary study related to the identification of individuals via frequency analysis of cardiac sounds. The results, obtained using a database containing several heart sound recordings from 20 different people, confirm the biometric properties of PCG signals, which can thus be included among the physiological signs used by an automatic identification system.