Patent ID: 7450741

Claim:
A method for comparing a first print image having a first set of minutiae to a second print image having a second set of minutiae, wherein at least a second subset of minutiae from the second set is mated to a first subset of minutiae from the first set, the method comprising the steps of: selecting a first pair of minutiae from the first subset and a second pair of corresponding mated minutiae from the second subset; generating a first segment by connecting the first pair of minutiae, wherein the first pair of minutiae are endpoints to the first segment and a second segment by connecting the second pair of minutiae, wherein the second pair of minutiae are endpoints to the second segment; extending the first segment or the second segment so that one segment is longer than the other segment; generating a first cross-section waveform profile based on the first segment and a second cross-section waveform profile based on the second segment, wherein the extended segment is used to generate a corresponding extended cross-section waveform profile that is longer that the other cross-section waveform profile by a predetermined number of samples; computing at least one similarity measure that is indicative of the similarity between the first cross-section waveform profile and the second cross-section waveform profile by correlating the shorter cross-section waveform profile against the extended cross-section waveform profile; and calculating a metric based on the at least one computed similarity measure which indicates similarity between the first print image and the second print image.