Aspectos éticos del uso de identificadores biométricos / Bioethical aspects of the use of biometric identifiers / Aspectos éticos do uso de identificadores biométricos

La biometría ha tenido una rápida expansión como tecnología, siendo cada vez más accesible para el público general, prestando utilidad a los gobiernos y a la sociedad en el manejo de la seguridad ciudadana. Se aplica para la verificación o la identificación de la identidad de un individuo y, desde un punto de vista puramente técnico, constituye un problema de reconocimiento de patrones. En Chile, el marco legal acerca del manejo de datos personales no incluye específicamente a la biometría. A la fecha, se encuentra en trámite un nuevo proyecto de ley que considera tanto los datos biométricos como los perfiles biológicos. En otros países, los informes de las últimas dos décadas, que analizan el uso de biometría, plantean como principal foco de preocupación, desde el punto de vista ético, el derecho a la privacidad de los individuos, entregándose orientaciones prácticas acerca de la aplicación apropiada de estas tecnologías. Finalmente, desde un breve análisis de la biopolítica, se contextualiza el papel que cumple la biometría y los requerimientos éticos básicos para su desarrollo en dicho marco.

Biometrics has had a rapid expansion as a technology, being increasingly accessible to the public, and lending utility to governments and society in the management of citizen security. It is applied either for verification or for identification of an individual's identity and technically constitutes a problem of pattern recognition. In Chile, the existing legal framework regarding the handling of personal data does not include specific biometrics in its regulation. A new bill that considers both biometric data and Biological profiles is in process. In addition, we revised the international reports of the last two decades that analyze the use of biometrics. The primary focus of concern of these documents, from the ethical point of view, is the right to privacy of individuals, giving practical guidance and discussion regarding the elements necessary for the application of these novel technologies in an appropriate ethically manner. Finally, we contextualize from a brief analysis of biopolitics the role of biometrics and the basic ethical requirements for its development in that framework.

A biometria teve uma rápida expansão como tecnologia, sendo cada vez mais acessível para o público geral, sendo de utilidade para os governos e à sociedade no manejo da segurança cidadã. Ela pode ser aplicada para a verificação ou estabelecimento da identidade de um indivíduo e, desde um ponto de vista puramente técnico, constitui um problema de reconhecimento de padrões. No Chile, o contexto legal acerca do manejo de dados pessoais não inclui especificamente a biometria. Atualmente, encontra-se tramitando um novo projeto de lei que considera tanto os dados biométricos como os perfis biológicos. Em outros países, os informes das últimas duas décadas que analisam o uso da biometria, propõem como principal foco de preocupação, do ponto de vista ético, o direito à privacidade dos indivíduos, entregando-se orientações práticas acerca da aplicação apropriada destas tecnologias. Finalmente, desde uma breve análise da bio-política, contextualiza-se o papel que cumpre a biometria e os requerimentos éticos básicos para seu desenvolvimento em tal contexto legal.

Ethical challenges of digital health technologies: Aadhaar, India.

PROBLEM: The proliferation of information and communication technologies in India has enabled the emergence of health-related digital applications, from which important ethical issues arise. APPROACH: The Aadhaar identification system provides each resident in India with a 12-digit unique identification number, linked to demographic and biometric data. Identification by Aadhaar in welfare programmes has the important advantage of ensuring targeted benefits reach the intended recipients. LOCAL SETTING: Some of the major issues faced by the public health sector in India are inadequate funding and inefficient utilization of the funds allocated. The enhancement of currently available digital health records will greatly increase the efficiency of the health care services. RELEVANT CHANGES: The Aadhaar identification system has been linked to several health programmes since 2013. Success was achieved in a programme encouraging pregnant women to undergo delivery at a health facility, as use of Aadhaar number ensured that cash incentives reached the correct recipient. However, interruptions in the treatment of patients with tuberculosis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome have been reported in other health programmes, due to patients fearing a breach of their confidentiality. LESSONS LEARNT: Although the proposed merging of the Aadhaar identification system with digital health care records could enable greater efficiency in monitoring public health and welfare programmes, important ethical issues of privacy and data ownership and use must be considered. In joining the digital revolution, low- and middle-income countries must also develop strict legal regulation to protect data and avoid information technology companies exploiting such databases for profit.

Standardization, ethics and biometric indicators in scientific publication: integrative review / Estándares, ética e indicadores bibliométricos en la difusión científica: revisión integrativa / Normatização, ética e indicadores bibliométricos em divulgação científica: revisão integrativa

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze scientific evidence available in health literature on ethics, standardization and biometric indicators. Method: an integrative review carried out in August 2016, on the databases: National Library of Medicine, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Latin-American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences), and on the library Scientific Electronic Library Online. The review included primary articles on: ethics, standardization and biometric indicators, in Portuguese, English, or Spanish; and excluded studies that were not found as full texts, as well as opinions, commentary, reviews, theses, and dissertations. For the evaluation of the articles, it was used evidence levels from one to five. Results: eight articles were included, with scientific evidence levels 4 and 5: scientific productivism, production evaluation systems, internationalization, impact factor, classification of journals, and adequate and inadequate practices for publication. Conclusion: it was verified the need for publications with higher evidence levels so that Brazilian journals can follow international standards dealing with research ethics.

RESUMEN Objetivo: analizar las evidencias científicas disponibles en la literatura del área de la salud sobre ética, estándares e indicadores bibliométricos. Método: revisión integrativa realizada en agosto de 2016, en las bases de datos National Library of Medicine y Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe en Ciencias de la Salud, y en la biblioteca Scientific Electronic Library Online. Se incluyeron artículos primarios sobre ética, estándares e indicadores bibliométricos, en portugués, inglés o español; y se excluyeron estudios que no se encontraron en su totalidad, opiniones, notas, revisiones, tesis y disertaciones. Se utilizaron los niveles de evidencia de uno a cinco en la evaluación de los artículos. Resultados: se incluyeron ocho artículos con nivel de evidencia científica 4 y 5: el productivismo científico, los sistemas de evaluación de la producción, la internacionalización, el factor de impacto, la clasificación de periódicos y las prácticas adecuadas e inadecuadas para la publicación. Conclusión: se observó la necesidad de publicaciones con mayores niveles de evidencia y atención para que las revistas nacionales sigan los estándares internacionales que aborden la ética en investigación.

RESUMO Objetivo: analisar evidências científicas disponíveis na literatura da área da saúde sobre ética, normatização e indicadores bibliométricos. Método: revisão integrativa realizada em agosto de 2016, nas bases de dados: National Library of Medicine, Literatura Latino-Ameticana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde e a biblioteca Scientific Electronic Library Online. Foram incluídos artigos primários sobre: ética, normatização e indicadores bibliométricos, em português, inglês ou espanhol, e excluídos estudos que não foram encontrados na íntegra, opiniões, comentários, revisões, teses e dissertações. Foram utilizados níveis de evidência de um a cinco para avaliação dos artigos. Resultados: foram incluídos oito artigos com nível de evidência científica 4 e 5: produtivismo científico, sistemas de avaliação da produção, internacionalização, fator de impacto, classificação de periódicos e práticas adequadas e inadequadas para publicação. Conclusão: Observou-se a necessidade de publicações com maiores níveis de evidência e atenção para que os periódicos nacionais sigam padrões internacionais que abordem ética em pesquisa.

Standardization, ethics and biometric indicators in scientific publication: integrative review.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze scientific evidence available in health literature on ethics, standardization and biometric indicators. METHOD: an integrative review carried out in August 2016, on the databases: National Library of Medicine, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Latin-American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences), and on the library Scientific Electronic Library Online. The review included primary articles on: ethics, standardization and biometric indicators, in Portuguese, English, or Spanish; and excluded studies that were not found as full texts, as well as opinions, commentary, reviews, theses, and dissertations. For the evaluation of the articles, it was used evidence levels from one to five. RESULTS: eight articles were included, with scientific evidence levels 4 and 5: scientific productivism, production evaluation systems, internationalization, impact factor, classification of journals, and adequate and inadequate practices for publication. CONCLUSION: it was verified the need for publications with higher evidence levels so that Brazilian journals can follow international standards dealing with research ethics.

Societal and ethical implications of anti-spoofing technologies in biometrics.

Biometric identification is thought to be less vulnerable to fraud and forgery than are traditional forms of identification. However biometric identification is not without vulnerabilities. In a 'spoofing attack' an artificial replica of an individual's biometric trait is used to induce a system to falsely infer that individual's presence. Techniques such as liveness-detection and multi-modality, as well as the development of new and emerging modalities, are intended to secure biometric identification systems against such threats. Unlike biometrics in general, the societal and ethical issues raised by spoofing and anti-spoofing techniques have not received much attention. This paper examines these issues.

Obscuring surface anatomy in volumetric imaging data.

The identifying or sensitive anatomical features in MR and CT images used in research raise patient privacy concerns when such data are shared. In order to protect human subject privacy, we developed a method of anatomical surface modification and investigated the effects of such modification on image statistics and common neuroimaging processing tools. Common approaches to obscuring facial features typically remove large portions of the voxels. The approach described here focuses on blurring the anatomical surface instead, to avoid impinging on areas of interest and hard edges that can confuse processing tools. The algorithm proceeds by extracting a thin boundary layer containing surface anatomy from a region of interest. This layer is then "stretched" and "flattened" to fit into a thin "box" volume. After smoothing along a plane roughly parallel to anatomy surface, this volume is transformed back onto the boundary layer of the original data. The above method, named normalized anterior filtering, was coded in MATLAB and applied on a number of high resolution MR and CT scans. To test its effect on automated tools, we compared the output of selected common skull stripping and MR gain field correction methods used on unmodified and obscured data. With this paper, we hope to improve the understanding of the effect of surface deformation approaches on the quality of de-identified data and to provide a useful de-identification tool for MR and CT acquisitions.

[System of biometric identification: by the way of control]. / Sistemas de identificação biométrica: a propósito do controlo.

The ethics and morals make the line between lawful to unlawful, the right and wrong, acceptable from the unacceptable. Furthermore the purpose of ethics in the field of profesional practice is, in particular the application of moral standards based on honesty, courtesy and honour. But they are not the only ones. Confidentiality should be the first of duties the professional has no right to disclose information that was only reported in their work and because it was necessary to run it. This requirement aims to protect the recipient of the service and avoid damage to society. The professional should also encourage members of his team, because solidarity is a very effective way to improve the intellectual and moral qualities of work partners and ensure their involvement. When you have an honest professional conduct within and outside of professional practice, you attract confidence and prestige, which is an incentive to drive, with safety, the proper course of his career. The purpose of the biometric control based on the need to expedite the fulfilment of a goal whose integration is recognized by law under the control of the employer's: the setting of working hours, monitoring the attendance and registration of working time. This record is also the accounting and control of additional work. To consider the biometric control as an appropriate mean to ensure a «legitimate purpose¼, the Law 67/98 requires the National Commission for Data Protection, in each case, to ascertain whether the prevailing interests the rights and freedoms guarantees data subjects on the interest for the treatment of data relied upon by the employer. This procedure seems to be the best fit to the principle of proportionality and therefore the processing of data should be refused where it appears unjustified, inappropriate and excessive, or when, by their lack of reliability, it undermines the purpose of determining it.