Chemical Fingerprint Identification System: Beyond Concept and Towards Applications for Field Expeditionary Military Forensic Analysis

摘要

The U.S. Army Research Development Engineering Command Chemical Biological Center (RDECOM C&B) continues to develop technologies for the forensic detection of energetic materials and illicit drugs of abuse due to their recent confluence in counter terrorism operations. One specific technology developed here is the use of Raman Chemical imaging to detect these substances located concomitant with residual latent fingerprints. This study demonstrates the ability to identify threat materials non-destructively so that the fingerprint remains intact for further biometric analysis. Utilizing Raman spectroscopy. the Generation I Chemical Fingerprint Identification System (CFIS) semi-autonomously locates and identifies particles of interest found on the friction ridge of a given recovered fingerprint with minimal input from the operator. This work presents results from a collaborative effort between the U.S. Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC) and RDECOM C&B in which two prototype CFIS systems were assessed with a variety of samples and examines additional practical considerations leading toward the development of the next generation of expeditionary systems for military forensic analysis.