Re-TOF: Reconstructing Torn Offline Fingerprint

Offline fingerprints find immense application in the fields of user authentication and criminal identification. But if an insider or a criminal gets unauthorized access to the printed database of fingerprints at a criminology department, then he might tamper or tear them. This may lead to loss of evidence, which could have been useful at the time of post-detection. We feel that no work has been carried out in stitching those torn off images without loss of any fingerprint features. To advocate this need, we introduce Re-TOF (reconstructing torn offline fingerprint), a novel technique of stitching such images which are cut portions of a fingerprint and do not have any overlap. Re-TOF exploits the similar features of the ridges that get cut while tearing off a fingerprint. Experimental evaluation on FVC 2002 database using FAR and FRR verifies the proposed Re-TOF technique.