FingerprintingAussie students develop new fingerprint technology
Current methods for visualizing fingerprints on paper are labor-intensive and time-consuming, using toxic dyes and chemicals to stain the fingerprints or make them fluorescent; two students at the University of Technology-Sydney developed a new technology — Thermal Fingerprint Developer — which, as the name suggests, uses heat to develop the fingerprint in a matter of seconds
Ground-breaking fingerprint detection technology discovered by two University of Technology-Sydney (UTS) honors students was demonstrated at the 20th International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences in Sydney recently.
Current methods for visualizing fingerprints on paper are labor-intensive and time-consuming, using toxic dyes and chemicals to stain the fingerprints or make them fluorescent. The Thermal Fingerprint Developer, as the name suggests, uses heat to develop the fingerprint in a matter of seconds. “This technology has the potential to be used right there at the crime scene, saving critical time as well as resources,” said UniQuest’s UTS-based Manager of Innovation and Commercial Development, Dr. Michael Manion.
“It could also be developed into high-throughput models for the rapid analysis of large sample numbers, such as volumes of documents, to help investigators working on ‘white-collar’ crimes like fraud and embezzlement.”
The Thermal Fingerprint Developer is a simpler, safer and more economical method for developing fingerprint images. Discovered by UTS students Adam Brown and Daniel Sommerville, the technology was further developed by Dr. Brian Reedy and his team at UTS’s Centre for Forensic Science.
Other advantages of this innovation are that sensitive evidence need not be destroyed in the thermal stage of the process, and it supports existing techniques for fingerprint development, such as the use of ninhydrin subsequent to the thermal development process. A prototype has been developed with U.K.-based Foster & Freeman Ltd, which supplies scientific instruments to police and forensic laboratories internationally. UTS research commercialization partner, UniQuest, facilitated a patent application and the license agreement.
UniQuest has fielded enquiries from a range of interested parties, including law enforcement departments in Australia and the United States, traditional forensic laboratories, defense services, and homeland security agencies. Organizations involved with clandestine forensics such as the FBI, ASIO and CIA have also expressed interest and are among the potential customers.
