Wiltshire Police is using Syncroscopy Auto-Montage software to produce entire fingerprint images from three-dimensional surfaces, something that is extremely difficult to do with photography alone
Syncroscopy's Auto-Montage software is being used to combine the most in-focus regions, from a series of partially focused digital fingerprint images photographed by a Mason Vactron DCS-121 digital workstation.
These images, taken from a number of areas on objects such as car doors, are imported into Auto-Montage, which uses algorithms to automatically create a focused whole fingerprint impression that can be used as evidence.
Esther Neate, senior fingerprint development officer at Wiltshire Constabulary, said: "With Auto-Montage software we no longer have to spend valuable time overlaying fingerprint photographs to get a complete fingerprint mark from a curved surface.
One of the great benefits of Auto-Montage for our fingerprint work is that we can use it to enhance images to see fine detail such as ridges or loops.
These are often crucial for making fingerprint matches but it is something that most imaging software is not capable of doing." Bob Town, Syncroscopy's general sales manager added: "The results being obtained by the Wiltshire Fingerprint Laboratory are outstanding.
We are convinced that Auto-Montage technology could become a world-wide standard in forensic laboratories because it can produce accurate and indisputable fingerprint evidence, which can be presented in any court."
