Select Science: Revolutionary Fingertip Drug Test Aids Forensic Toxicology

08.14.2017

Fingertip drug testing reader for coroners

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Select Science reports on the announcement by Intelligent Fingerprinting that its new fingertip drug test is now available to order, following successful trials with UK Coroner services.  The article explains that the company’s revolutionary technology detects drug use by analysing the sweat on the tip of a finger that forms a fingerprint, and its non-invasive approach provides a rapid and convenient way for Coroners to screen the deceased for recent drug use.

Toxicology tests are an important tool within post mortem examinations and are often used by the Coroner to investigate drug use that might have contributed to the cause of death. Conventional toxicology tests require the collection of invasive body fluid samples, usually taken as part of the post-mortem examination. These are then typically sent away for analysis by external testing laboratories.

With Intelligent Fingerprinting’s new Drug Screening System, tests can be carried out within the mortuary from non-invasive fingertip sweat samples that are collected immediately as required outside a full post-mortem examination. Sample collection takes just seconds and the system screens for multiple drugs of abuse in under 10 minutes. This provides very early intelligence on drug use that can be used by the Coroner to help prioritise when a full post-mortem is needed, and – potentially – enables earlier release of the deceased back to their families.

Read the article (on www.selectscience.net)

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