Australian fingerprint technology aids forensic investigators

Groundbreaking fingerprint detection technology originating from the University of Technology Sydney offers a simpler, safer and more economical method for developing fingerprint images. This rapid technique can develop ‘invisible’ fingerprints on porous surfaces such as paper, cloth and wood more efficiently.

The Thermal Fingerprint Developer, a simpler, safer and more economical method for developing fingerprint images, was discovered by UTS Honours students Adam Brown and Daniel Sommerville, and further developed by Dr Brian Reedy and his team at UTS’s Centre for Forensic Science.

A prototype has been developed with UK-based Foster & Freeman Ltd, which supplies scientific instruments to police and forensic laboratories internationally. UTS research commercialisation partner UniQuest facilitated a patent application and the licence agreement.

Current methods for visualising fingerprints on paper are labour-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.”

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.

UniQuest Managing Director David Henderson said showcasing the prototype at the ANZFSS marked a significant milestone along the commercialisation pathway UniQuest had planned for taking the technology to the global market.

“Licensing the Thermal Fingerprint Developer intellectual property to Foster & Freeman was one of the first deals we initiated following the commercialisation collaboration between UniQuest and UTS, which was formalised in 2008,” Henderson said.

“An international symposium presents an ideal opportunity for the researchers to engage with industry and for industry to learn more about the exciting, commercially viable research and creative thinking at Australian universities like UTS.”

UniQuest has fielded enquiries from a range of interested parties, including law enforcement departments in Australia and the US, traditional forensic laboratories, defence services and homeland security agencies.

“Undetonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) often have a wooden top, and because the Thermal Fingerprint Developer can lift prints from these surfaces, potential applications in the field of terrorism investigation look promising. Training manuals left behind usually have fingerprints on them too, so both the high-throughput and the portable models of this technology could prove invaluable,” said Dr Manion.

Organisations involved with clandestine forensics - FBI, ASIO, CIA for example - have also expressed interest.