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A comparison of visible wavelength reflectance hyperspectral imaging and Acid Black 1 for the detection and identification of blood stained fingerprints

Cadd, Samuel; Li, Bo; Beveridge, Peter; O?Hare, William T.; Campbell, Andrew; Islam, Meez

Authors

Samuel Cadd

Bo Li

Peter Beveridge

William T. O?Hare

Andrew Campbell

Meez Islam



Abstract

© 2016 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. 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 500 nm. 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.

Citation

Cadd, S., Li, B., Beveridge, P., O′Hare, W. T., Campbell, A., & Islam, M. (2016). A comparison of visible wavelength reflectance hyperspectral imaging and Acid Black 1 for the detection and identification of blood stained fingerprints. Science and Justice, 56(4), 247-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2015.12.007

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 30, 2015
Online Publication Date Jan 11, 2016
Publication Date Jul 1, 2016
Deposit Date Mar 3, 2020
Journal Science and Justice
Print ISSN 1355-0306
Electronic ISSN 1876-4452
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 56
Issue 4
Pages 247-255
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2015.12.007
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5595736
Additional Information This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: A comparison of visible wavelength reflectance hyperspectral imaging and Acid Black 1 for the detection and identification of blood stained fingerprints; Journal Title: Science & Justice; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2015.12.007; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2016 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.