Does Cataract Surgery Influence Iris-Based Biometric Authentication?

This study investigates the impact of cataract surgery on the reliability and accuracy of iris recognition systems used for biometric identification.

We carried out a prospective observational study on patients undergoing cataract surgery via phacoemulsification. The study comprised 100 participants who underwent cataract surgery. We recorded preoperative iris scans using a standard biometric device (iris camera) and rescanned the same patients after surgery. Matching scores before and after surgery were analyzed to detect discrepancies. We examined the Hamming distance to evaluate changes in the iris pattern.

The mean age of the study population was 64 ± 6.2 years (range, 52-74 years). The study population comprised 62 males and 38 females. Out of the total cases, 72 involved the right eye and 28 involved the left eye. The majority of patients presented within the current study presented with visual acuity between 6/18 and 3/60. We performed phacoemulsification and implanted foldable intraocular lenses in all cases. The study found no notable changes in iris pattern matching accuracy following uncomplicated cataract surgery. Postoperative images were matched with preoperative images in 95 patients, demonstrating that the surgery did not affect biometric reliability. The mean Hamming distance before and after surgery remained within the acceptable threshold for authentication, with 99% of cases successfully matched.

The study supports the robustness of iris-based biometric systems under routine ophthalmic surgical conditions. This system's resilience to variations caused by cataract surgery demonstrates its robustness in practical sessions.

Cataract surgery, when performed without complications, does not impair the accuracy of iris-based biometric identification. These findings underscore the feasibility of using iris recognition systems in healthcare and security, even among patients undergoing ocular procedures.