Patent ID: 7315634

Claim:
A method for comparing a set of minutiae of a current image with a set of minutiae of a reference image, including the steps of: arranging the minutiae in order of their Cartesian coordinates in an image plane from a predetermined point of origin; searching, in the reference set and in the current set, for a common path of similar minutiae; and considering that there is an identity between the two images if the common path is comprised of a number of segments greater than a first threshold, wherein the step of searching for the common path is performed, segment by segment, by increasing coordinates of the minutiae defining the segments, wherein, when the step of searching for a new segment of the common path is unsuccessful, the step of searching is resumed from a preceding segment, taking no account of the minutia having led to an unsuccessful search, and wherein the number of times when the step of searching is resumed from a preceding segment is compared with a regression threshold beyond which it is considered that there is no identity between the current and reference images.