A push is underway toward a new method of identifying bodies after natural disasters and people with dementia who stray and cannot give their names.
The system uses data taken from scans of the soles of the feet in the same manner as fingerprints. Protected by shoes, victims' feet are often more likely to be intact after a disaster than their fingers.
The move is led by former members of the Metropolitan Police Department, who argue that skin ridge patterns of the feet, which do not change over a lifetime, can function like fingerprints because they are unique to individuals.