This study examined whether iris recognition systems would fail if people were to develop sudden eye disease.

Our results showed that iris recognition was actually very reliable with most eye disease. However, there were problems in some patients with acute inflammation of the iris (iritis).

This disease could happen to people suddenly and without notice and may cause current iris recognition systems to fail. Thus, although the systems used generally performed well, there were still potential problems that demand more research before more widespread implementation of this technology in worldwide security applications.

Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Journal of the Royal Society Interface is the Society's cross-disciplinary publication promoting research at the interface between the physical and life sciences. It offers rapidity, visibility and high-quality peer review and is ranked fifth in JCR's multidisciplinary category. The journal also incorporates Interface Focus , a peer-reviewed, themed supplement, each issue of which concentrates on a specific cross-disciplinary subject.

Journal of the Royal Society Interface