How does the Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening System work?

Back to News & Resources

The Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening System consists of a small, tamper-evident Drug Screening Cartridge (for sample collection) and the portable DSR-Plus, which reads the Cartridge to provide the drug screening results.

How the fingerprint drug screening test is carried out

First, ten fingerprint sweat samples (one from each finger) are collected onto the Drug Screening Cartridge sample application pad, in a process which takes less than a minute.

“The Cartridge uses lateral flow assay technology and fluorescence-labelled antibodies to selectively detect specific drugs and drug metabolites in the eccrine sweat collected from fingerprints. Metabolites are chemicals produced by the body’s metabolic processes when a substance is ingested or injected. Detection of specific metabolites in body fluids such as fingertip sweat can indicate recent drug use.”

After sample collection, the tester slides the Cartridge’s protective cover across the pad, and it locks into place to prevent tampering or contamination.

Next, the Cartridge is activated by depressing the buffer clip. This releases buffer solution into the Cartridge which contains reagents that have been configured to detect the presence of drugs (and/or their metabolites) within the collected fingerprint sweat sample. The fingerprints are dissolved during this process.

The Cartridge is inserted into the DSR-Plus Reader

“The portable DSR-Plus is a highly sensitive, robust and effective fluorescence measurement instrument which is used to read the Cartridge, providing a positive or negative drug screening result for multiple drugs of abuse simultaneously.”

The tester follows the simple touch-screen instructions and analysis begins.

In 10 minutes, the test results are displayed on the DSR-Plus touchscreen, providing a positive or negative indicator for each of the drug groups in the screening panel.

The screening results can be printed using a separate portable label printer (available as an accessory) to provide a permanent record. Anonymised details of the sample donor are entered into the DSR-Plus as part of the analysis procedure and this information, along with the time and date, is recorded on the results print-out, which is important where evidence continuity is required.

To find out more about the benefits of fingerprint drug screening please either schedule a no obligation online demo with one of our team to see the system in action, read through our case studies to see how the system has helped others in your industry, or contact us directly if you have any further questions.

Schedule a Demo | Read Case Studies | Contact Us