Norwich-based technology company Intelligent Fingerprinting was one of a small selection of UK organisations invited to present at the Applications of Forensic Science R&D Technology Showcase in London earlier this week.
The event enabled innovators to showcase their new technologies to the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST), the Police and the broader forensic science community.
Supported by the Technology Strategy Board (the government-funded UK innovation agency), the event was attended by several hundred people and provided an unrivalled opportunity for Intelligent Fingerprinting to brief delegates about its revolutionary drug screening technology, which tests for multiple drugs in less than ten minutes by analysing an individual’s fingerprint sweat.
Dr Paul Yates, Business Development Manager at Intelligent Fingerprinting, said: “There was keen interest in our technology from nationwide police representatives, security agencies and potential distribution partners. The event was especially useful in putting us in direct contact with government agencies with a specialist interest in science and technology innovations. These bodies can be difficult to reach through normal channels.”
The company generated several export leads from European and Middle Eastern forensic security distributors interested in distributing the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug screening device in their territories once it becomes available.
The event included opening presentations from Rob Coleman, Director of CAST, and Richard Small of the West Midlands Police, both of whom discussed how companies can work with Home Office and Police scientists and gave advice on the pitfalls to avoid in applying technologies to the forensic sciences. Specialists from CAST were also available on the day to discuss individual technologies.
About Intelligent Fingerprinting
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s unique fingerprint-based portable Drug Screening System is set to revolutionise the way drug screening is carried out across a range of sectors. The distinctive Intelligent Fingerprinting technology, which works by analysing the sweat from a fingerprint sample, enables non-invasive, cost-effective screening for multiple drug groups in less than 10 minutes.
Intelligent Fingerprinting has attracted worldwide interest in its technology from a wide range of drug-screening markets including the criminal justice arena, drug rehabilitation centres, prisons and occupational health services. The technique has potential for many other uses including healthcare diagnostics and homeland security applications.
The company’s ground-breaking technology detects drug use by analysing chemicals, known as metabolites, contained in the minute traces of sweat found in a fingerprint. (Metabolites are chemicals produced by the body as a result of normal metabolic processes.) The Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening System looks for the presence of specific drugs or drug metabolites in the test subject’s fingerprint sweat sample and, if detected, identifies which drugs have been consumed.
Since 2012 Intelligent Fingerprinting has raised £11.23m in funding from a consortium of private UK and US-based investors, as well as government funding for pilot studies within the UK’s National Health Service and coroners’ services.
Founded in 2007, Intelligent Fingerprinting is a spin-out company from the University of East Anglia (UEA). The company is based in Cambridge, England and currently employs 26 people.
