OCT technology could help foil forged passports

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OCT technology used in medical and biomedical fields could be utilised to distinguish between legitimate and counterfeit travel documents.

This is the claim of researchers at Kent University who have shown that OCT (optical coherence tomography) can perform quantitative, non-destructive, high-resolution sub-surface analysis of multi-layered identification document, with a high imaging throughput and high-density volume. The technology typically takes less than 10 seconds to detect counterfeit documentation.

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The study, detailed in Science & Justice , was carried out between the University’s Applied Optics Group, and the Forensic Group in the School of Physical Sciences, while working alongside Foster + Freeman, an Evesham-based forensics science technology company.

In their study, the researchers assessed the security features in specimen passports and national ID cards. The OCT technology is said to have exposed the documentation’s translucent structures, non-destructively enabling quantitative visualisation of embedded security features.

“OCT can preserve evidence which may be useful for criminal investigations,” said Foster + Freeman’s Dr Roberto King.

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