Project title: H-Unique: In search of uniqueness - harnessing anatomical hand variation
Investigators: Professor Dame Sue Black, Dr Bryan M. Williams, Ricki Boswell-Challand, Dr Hossein Rahmani, Prof Plamen Angelov
Host Institution: Lancaster University
Research Funder: European Research Council
Invitation:
Before you decide if you would like to take part in this research project, it is vital you understand why the research is being undertaken, what it involves and the impact that the results may have. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Any questions may be forwarded to the research team at h-unique-enquiries@lancaster.ac.uk. If you agree to take part in the study, you will be asked to indicate this on a consent form which will be made available to you either online, or in printed format, depending on the Dataset to which you contribute.
Thank you for your willingness to consider helping us in this important research.
Purpose of the research
Variation lies at the heart of human identification (cultural, social, physical and forensic). Our hands and our faces are often the only parts of our body that are visible when we interact with other individuals, so they are important parts of our personal identity. In attempting to obscure our identity, we might try to conceal our faces but, when it comes to our hands, we think only about fingerprints as being identifiable features. This is not so. Research undertaken by our team over the last 10 years has shown that there is a tremendous amount of anatomical information and variability inherent in the backs of our hands. In the past, we have been able to assist the police when comparing images of a criminal's hands with those of a suspect they hold in custody. The vast majority of our work in this regard has related to crimes associated with child abuse. We have been able to help the courts to secure 28 life sentences and over 300 years of prison sentencing against those who choose to abuse our most vulnerable in society. Over 82% of the cases that we take on result in a change of plea by the accused, which is important for both the judicial process and witness protection. Forensic science must be impartial. We have worked both for the prosecution and for the defence, as to wrongly accuse and convict someone of this crime is unacceptable. The role of justice is to put the right people on the right side of prison bars and we believe that our research has helped in this regard.
The process of anatomical comparison is both laborious and time consuming. We have been funded to devise a method of abstracting patterns of hand anatomy from images automatically, using algorithms that we will develop. It is anticipated that these devised algorithms can be used by investigative authorities to interrogate large databases of images that they hold and to be able to compare with known suspects and offenders to establish international movement of perpetrators. It is important to note, however, that the datasets that we are building through public contributions to this study will be kept securely within the University and will not be made available to investigative authorities.
Procedures and data protection:
The success of this research requires us to construct three independent research databases of hand images. If you have enrolled in one dataset you may not be included in any of the others. It is vital that your hand images are located in one dataset only to allow us to assess reliably, variation and hence the uniqueness of the human hand.
Dataset 1:
We aim to collect images from approximately 5,000 individuals through a crowd sourced Citizen Science program. To be included in this dataset, you will be requested to take between three and five photographs of each of your hands using your own mobile phone device via a small web application. This will include a front, back and side view (as if you are holding a pencil). You will be invited to complete a short (optional) questionnaire of additional information. You will also be required to indicate your consent to participate in the research.
To take part in this study, please access the H-Unique Contribution Application using any smart phone with a camera. Contributing to this dataset involves:
1. Completing a consent form online within the application. This is a requirement for your data to be included in the study.
2. Taking 3 images each of your left and right hands in given poses with a mobile phone.
3. Optionally, taking an additional 2 images each of your left and right hands in given poses with a mobile phone.
4. You will be invited to complete our online questionnaire in the application, which is an optional part of the contribution.
Once all photographs have been taken, they and the additional data will be sent to our secure database server at Lancaster University. You will then be given a unique reference number (URN) to confirm successful upload.
After submission, there will be a 14-day "cooling off" period, during which time you can contact the H-Unique Database Manager and ask for your images and information to be removed from the study. You will need your unique reference number (URN) to do this.
The duration of the grant is 5 years (until December 2023). All images and data will be automatically deleted by Lancaster University by December of 2028 to allow for certainty that all research has been completed. A regular update of progress in our research will be advertised on our research website and this will also inform when the data has finally been destroyed. No third party will be given access to your images or your data.
To take part in this study you should access the H-unique Contribution Application using any smart phone with a camera
Dataset 2:
This dataset will involve approximately 500 participants and cannot include any person who has submitted their images at any time to Dataset 1. A set of five photographs will be taken of each of your hands in various poses by a trained examiner using high quality photographic equipment and a mobile phone. Involvement in this part of the study will be possible on the Lancaster University campus and at pop-up research salons at specified venues, such as trade shows and scientific conferences.
Taking part in this study involves:
1. Completing a printed consent form. This is a requirement for your data to be included in the study.
2. Having images of your left and right hands taken by high quality photographic equipment.
3. Having images of your left and right hands taken on a mobile phone.
4. You will be invited to complete our printed questionnaire, which is an optional part of the contribution.
Once all photographs have been taken, they and the questionnaire data will be transferred to our secure database server at Lancaster University. You will be given a unique reference number (URN).
After submission, there will be a 14-day "cooling off" period, during which time you can contact the H-Unique Database Manager and ask for your images and information to be removed from the study. You will need your unique reference number (URN) to do this.
The duration of the grant is 5 years (until December 2023). All images and data will be securely deleted by Lancaster University by December 2028 to allow for certainty that all research has been completed. A regular update of progress in our research will be advertised on our research website. This will also inform when the data has finally been destroyed. No third party will be given access to your images or your data.
Dataset 3:
This dataset is being recorded by our research partner at the University of Dundee, led by Professor Chris Rowland. This dataset will comprise 50 individuals. You will have been contacted by the team and invited to attend for your hands to be 3d scanned. The aim of this part of the research is to determine how much anatomical information can be predicted when the hand is presented in different anatomical poses or when moving in video capture. Participants in this study must attend Prof Rowland’s laboratory for scanning, must complete the consent form and may also choose to complete the optional form for additional data. This dataset will not be available to the Lancaster Unviersity research team and will remain within the protection of the Dundee University research team only but will operate under the governance set by the Principal Investigator for this research grant and the rules and regulations at Lancaster University.
14-Day Cooling Off Period:
After a submission is made, there will be a 14-day "cooling off" period. During this time, the research team will have no access to your data and you can contact the H-Unique Database Manager to ask for your images and information to be removed from the study. You will need your unique reference number (URN) to do this. This cooling off period and allows you, without prejudice, to change your mind about your images and information being included in the study. During this time, no research access to your data will be made.
After the cooling off period, submissions will be made available to the Lancaster University Team (for Datasets 1 and 2) or the University of Dundee Team (for Dataset 3) for research purposes. Requests for removal of contributed data may still be made after this time. However, it may not be possible to remove derived data that may have been generated by the research team.
All contributions and data are fully anonymous. At no point during the contribution process do we collect any identifying information such as names or e-mail addresses. As such, if you do not retain your URN it will be impossible for us to identify your contribution.
Risks:
There are no foreseeable risks or hazards that you will encounter as a participant in this research project.
Cost, reimbursement and compensation:
You will not receive any payment for participation in this study. Your participation is on a voluntary basis.
Anonymity:
All data is provided anonymously and. Your images and any associated data will be stored securely on a University of Lancaster database server for datasets 1 and 2 and on those of the University of Dundee for dataset 3. These images and data will only be accessed by the research team and will not be made available to any third party. All data will be erased by 10 years after commencement of the project. Only anonymised images where permission has been granted for such use (as indicated in the consent process) may be utilised for the purpose of inclusion in educational and/or scientific research publications.
There will be an option to consent to your images being used anonymously for inclusion in educational and/or scientific research publications. This consent is optional and is not required for you to participate in this research. Only images where the relevant permission has been granted will be used for this purpose.
Further information:
If you have any questions/concerns, during or after the investigation, or wish to contact an independent person to whom any questions may be directed or further information may be sought, please contact: h-unique-enquiries@lancaster.ac.uk
Please ensure that you read this link regarding privacy and participation in research at Lancaster University
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/research/participate-in-research/data-protection-for-research-participants/