Abstract
The ability to detect the presence of body fluids is a crucial first step in documenting and processing forensic evidence. The Rapid Stain IDentification (RSID™) tests for blood, saliva, semen and urine are lateral flow immunochromatographic strip tests specifically designed for forensic use. Like most lateral flow strips, the membrane components of the test are enclosed in a molded plastic cassette with a sample well and an observation window. No specialized equipment is required to use these tests or to score the results seen in the observation window; however, the utility of these tests can be enhanced if an electronic record of the test results can be obtained, preferably by a small hand-held device that could be used in the field under low light conditions. Such a device should also be able to read the lateral flow strips and accurately record the results of the test as either positive, i.e., the body fluid was detected, or negative, i.e., the body fluid was not detected. Here we describe the RSID™ Reader System—a ruggedized strip test reader unit that allows analysis and documentation of RSID™ lateral flow strip tests using pre-configured settings, and show that the RSID™ Reader can accurately and reproducibly report and record correct results from RSID™ blood, saliva, semen, and urine tests.
Highlights
The Rapid Stain IDentification (RSIDTM) Blood, Saliva, Semen and Urine Kits (IndependentForensics, Lombard, IL, USA) are lateral flow immunochromatographic strip tests designed for identifying one of four body fluids from biological residue on forensic evidence recovered from crime scenes [1,2,3,4,5]
The test data, including reader ID, test name, sample ID, date and time of the test, results of the analysis and digital images of control and test lines of RSIDTM strips are automatically recorded by, and stored in, the RSIDTM Reader memory; these data can be downloaded through a USB cable to a computer and are displayed in the format shown (Figure 1B)
The unit features a touch screen based on Palm Pilot technology and charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging system for analyzing RSIDTM cassettes
Summary
The Rapid Stain IDentification (RSIDTM) Blood, Saliva, Semen and Urine Kits Like the majority of lateral flow strip tests, RSIDTM tests are qualitative and results are recorded as either positive or negative based on the presence or absence of a visible single red or blue line at the “Test” position on the strip, 10, or 15 min following addition of the sample to the sample well (saliva, semen, blood and urine, respectively). The Rapid Stain IDentification (RSIDTM) Reader System (Independent Forensics, Lombard, IL, USA) is a ruggedized, hand-held strip test reader unit that allows analysis and documentation of RSIDTM lateral flow strip tests using pre-configured settings. The test data, including reader ID, test name, sample ID, date and time of the test, results of the analysis and digital images of control and test lines of RSIDTM strips are automatically recorded by, and stored in, the RSIDTM Reader memory; these data can be downloaded through a USB cable to a computer and are displayed in the format shown (Figure 1B). In this study we tested the accuracy and reproducibility of the RSIDTM Reader using image detection parameters and thresholds that were set during developmental validation of this device
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