An adaptive approach to detection of dermatoglyphic patterns of bangladeshi people with down syndrome using fingerprint classification

Abstract

Introduction: Dermatoglyphics is studying the patterns of the ridged skin of the palms, fingers, soles and toes. The patterns are formed early in the foetus. This study was designed to observe dermatoglyphic changes amongst the Down syndrome patients and compare the change with the typical healthy research participants. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational analytical study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, Chittagong Medical College (CMC), Chattogram, from January 2018 to January 2019. A total of 200 participants were included by convenient sampling according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. One hundred Down syndrome patients were recruited in the study group from different Down syndrome society organisations in Bangladesh. One hundred other medical science and dental background students studying at CMC were selected as controls irrespective of sex. Dermatoglyphic print was taken by the ink and paper method. The detailed dermatoglyphic analysis was done by using a magnifying glass, calculator and scale. A two-sample proportion test has been conducted to compare the proportion of fingerprint patterns of whorls, ulnar loops, radial loops and arches of both hands in the Down syndrome patient and control groups. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the prediction of fingerprint pattern from the presence of Down syndrome and gender. Results: It is observed that the ulnar loop is more prominent in both hands of Down syndrome patients than in the control group irrespective of sex (P < 0.001), while arch and whorl patterns are more prominent in controls than in Down syndrome patients (P < 0.001). Conclusion: It is revealed that there were significant differences in fingertip print patterns between Down syndrome patients and healthy controls. Hence, it can be used as a diagnostic aid for the Down syndrome patient.