InteliSpark client, SupreMEtric, LLC, wins a Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation, via the STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) program, to develop a novel technology for body fluid identification for forensic purposes.
Bodily fluids found at crime scenes contain valuable DNA evidence that may aid crime scene investigators and forensic scientists in identifying suspects and victims as well as in vindicating innocent individuals. Currently, crime investigation labs rely on single body fluid-specific chemical tests, that are often inaccurate and destructive in nature. Testing each bodily fluid separately is time consuming and has contributed to the backlog of unprocessed DNA samples in crime labs across the U.S.
SupreMEtric, LLC, a startup spun out of the University of Albany, SUNY, will develop the first universal method for rapid, accurate, and nondestructive identification of all main bodily fluids in biological stains at a crime scene. Dr. Igor Lednev, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at University of Albany and Co-founder of SupreMEtric, will lead a team of researchers in optimizing a Raman spectroscopy method, a technique that utilizes the interaction of light with matter to discern a material’s characteristics, for a desktop instrument. They will also further develop a novel software that is capable of positively identifying all bodily fluids.
This innovative technology has the potential to significantly improve crime scene analysis in 600+ crime investigation labs across the US and be utilized by the 19,000+ crime scene investigators within the US. Department of Justice.