A comparison of visible wavelength reflectance hyperspectral imaging and Acid Black 1 for the detection and identification of blood stained fingerprints.
Bloodstains are often encountered at scenes of violent crime and have significant forensic value for criminal investigations. Blood is one of the most commonly encountered types of biological evidence and is the most commonly observed fingerprint contaminant. Presumptive tests are used to test blood stain and blood stained fingerprints are targeted with chemical enhancement methods, such as acid stains, including Acid Black 1, Acid Violet 17 or Acid Yellow 7. Although these techniques successfully visualise ridge detail, they are destructive, do not confirm the presence of blood and can have a negative impact on DNA sampling. A novel application of visible wavelength hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is used for the non-contact, non-destructive detection and identification of blood stained fingerprints on white tiles both before and after wet chemical enhancement using Acid Black 1. The identification was obtained in a non-contact and non-destructive manner, based on the unique visible absorption spectrum of haemoglobin between 400 and 500nm. Results from the exploration of the selectivity of the setup to detect blood against ten other non-blood protein contaminants are also presented. A direct comparison of the effectiveness of HSI with chemical enhancement using Acid Black 1 on white tiles is also shown.
School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: cadd.sam@gmail.com.
Samuel
S
Cadd
School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: tianyufang1958@googlemail.com.
Bo
B
Li
School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: p.beveridge@tees.ac.uk.
Peter
P
Beveridge
School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: w.t.ohare@tees.ac.uk.
William T
WT
O Hare
School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.w.campbell@tees.ac.uk.
Andrew
A
Campbell
School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: m.islam@tees.ac.uk.
Meez
M
Islam
D000580:Amido Black; D000818:Animals; D001801:Blood Stains; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D006736:Horses; D023421:Models, Animal; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*
D004396:Coloring Agents; D000580:Amido Black
Acid Black 1; Blood detection; Blood stained fingerprints; Fingerprints; Hyperspectral imaging