Comparison of laser and mercury-arc lamp for the detection of body fluids on different substrates

• Published in: International journal of legal medicine Vol. 122; no. 3; pp. 241 - 244
• Main Authors: Seidl, S., Hausmann, R., Betz, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.05.2008; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Blood; Body fluids; Cotton; Criminal investigations; Forensic Medicine; Forensic Medicine - instrumentation; Humans; Lasers; Light; Male; Medical Law; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mitochondrial DNA; Physics; Power supply; Saliva; Semen; Spectrometry, Fluorescence - instrumentation; Surface Properties; Technical Note; Urine; Germany; Urine; Body fluids; Mercury-arc lamp; Forensic science; Semen; Laser; Saliva; Blood
• ISSN: 0937-9827; 1437-1596
• DOI: 10.1007/s00414-007-0214-2

The performance of two detection techniques for body fluids, the Spectra-Physics® Reveal™ portable forensic laser system and the mercury-arc lamp Lumatec Superlite 400, was evaluated with various biological stains on different substrates. Serial dilutions of neat, 1/10, 1/100 and 1/1,000 using fluid semen, saliva, urine and blood were applied on glazed tiles, glass, PVC, wood, metal, stone, formica, carpet and cotton. Apart from the fact that blood traces were not detectable with the laser, both light sources showed comparable results regarding their detection capability. Clear advantages of the Lumatec Superlite 400, however, are its lower size, weight, purchase costs and the possibility to operate this light source by battery.