Currently, visualizing fingerprints is a time consuming, inefficient process, which uses dyes and chemicals to stain them or make them fluorescent. Two UTS students have recently developed the Thermal Fingerprint Developer, which uses heat to develop fingerprints in mere seconds. Dr. Michael Manion of UniQuest explained that “the technology has the potential to be used at he crime scene, saving critical time and resources. 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.”
Another advantage is that sensitive and important evidence will not be destroyed or tampered with during an ongoing investigation. The Thermal Fingerprint Developer is certainly a simple, safe, and economical technique for developing fingerprint images.