UK-based researchers have unveiled new security technology capable of identifying drug use through fingerprint testing.
Developed by Intelligent Fingerprinting Limited, the technology takes the form of a portable fingerprint reader that can detect recent drug intake.
Intended for use by security forces, the machine picks up on the presence of narcotic materials contained in sweat excretions released through the fingertips. It works by introducing tiny particles of gold to fingerprints. These particles are pre-layered with antibodies and these antibodies adhere to particular drug components exposed when the fingers start to sweat.
These are highlighted by coloured dyes that also form part of the process and while this approach was initially deployed as a means of detecting nicotine, it's been expanded to tackle a wide variety of drugs - cannabis, methadone and cocaine among them.
Intelligent Fingerprinting's fingerprint drug reader has the potential to be able to deliver results in near real-time, and information on it was supplied at the recent UCL [University College London] International Crime Science Conference, which took ‘Security at the Technology Frontier' as its 2011 theme.
A dual benefit attached to this technique is an obvious one, but it also provides a form of identification, too. Therefore, it allows a person's ID to be established and it detects whether they've been using drugs, too.
It's important to stress that actual drugs aren't detected but, rather, the legacy they leave behind.
Intelligence Fingerprinting's technology was provided with a £300,000 financial boost at the start of this year. At the time, both the company's founder and its Chief Executive Officer described the drug use detection device's benefits in detail.
"By simultaneous detection of personal identity and illicit substances, we are able to offer law enforcement agencies the ability to create personal profiles which are otherwise unavailable", Professor David Russell, who established the firm, explained.
"The ability to perform rapid and non-invasive drug tests on-site not only has application in law enforcement and border control but also institutional testing such as in prisons and where safety-related functions need to be performed".
"For the first time, fingerprint imaging and drug detection can be done at the same time with Intelligent Fingerprinting's revolutionary technology", CEO Doctor Jerry Walker added.
"We strongly believe that the Company's technology is highly robust and sensitive, adding versatility and higher quality evidence analysis to crime scene investigations".
Image used for representational purposes only
See also
Companies supplying Fingerprint Recognition Software
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