Patent ID: 8442277

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for authenticating an identity of an authorized custodian of a dependent individual visiting a facility, the method comprising: providing a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer program code stored thereon, wherein said computer program code is specifically configured to cause one or more computer processing devices to perform one or more of the following operations when performing the computer program code: establishing a first profile comprising an image of the dependent individual and an image of an iris of the dependent individual; establishing a second profile comprising an image of the authorized custodian of the dependent individual and an image of an iris of the authorized custodian, wherein establishing the second profile comprises: accessing an external catalog comprising a plurality of iris images and identifying information about an individual associated with each of the plurality of iris images, wherein the external catalog is maintained by a third party; comparing the image of the iris of the authorized custodian to the plurality of iris images in the external catalog; identifying a match between the image of the iris of the authorized custodian and, at least, one of the plurality of iris images in the external catalog; receiving identifying information associated with the authorized custodian based of the identifying a match; and automatically populating the second profile of the authorized custodian with the identifying information associated with the authorized custodian from the external catalog based at least partially on the receiving identifying information; storing in a database the first profile of the dependent individual and the second profile of the authorized custodian of the dependent individual, where the second profile of the authorized custodian is associated with the first profile in the database; capturing an image of an iris of an individual attempting to accompany the dependent individual when the dependent individual exits the facility; and verifying, prior to allowing the dependent individual to exit the facility, that the individual attempting to accompany the dependent individual is the authorized custodian of the dependent individual, wherein verifying comprises: matching the captured image of the iris of the individual attempting to accompany the dependent individual to an image of an iris stored in the database; locating the second profile of the authorized custodian based at least partially on the matching; and determining whether the located second profile of the authorized custodian is associated with the first profile of the dependent individual in the database.