Evidence Collection Kit with Color-Changing Substrate for Opioid Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collecting pills or powder-type evidence at crime or accident scenes poses risks due to unknown substances, particularly opioids like fentanyl, carfentanil, or xylazine, which can cause physical distress even through gloves.
Innovation Solution
An evidence collection kit comprising a flexible container with a substrate, such as a wipe, and an evidence bag, where the substrate is designed to change color upon contact with opioids, and the gloves are made from materials resistant to opioids and other hazardous substances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If investigators collect pills or powder evidence using standard gloves and containers, then evidence collection capability is maintained, but investigators face personal safety risks from harmful substances like fentanyl and carfentanil
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is pre-treated with reagents that will react with harmful substances before contact with the evidence. This preliminary preparation allows the substrate to detect and indicate the presence of harmful substances like fentanyl and carfentanil before the investigator is exposed to them, enabling preventive action.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate acts as an intermediary between the investigator and the harmful substances. Instead of the investigator directly handling pills or powders, the substrate contacts the evidence first, transfers relevant information through color change, and allows the investigator to work with the substrate rather than the potentially harmful evidence directly.
2Reliability
If investigators use color-changing substrate to detect harmful substances, then safety awareness is improved, but the complexity of the evidence collection process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate incorporates reagents that produce visible color changes when they come into contact with harmful substances. This visual indication system provides immediate feedback to investigators about the presence of substances like fentanyl and carfentanil, making detection simple and intuitive without requiring complex analytical equipment or procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate performs the detection function autonomously through its chemical reagents. The substrate self-tests for harmful substances upon contact with evidence and provides immediate visual feedback, eliminating the need for investigators to perform separate testing procedures or use additional detection devices.
3Ease of operation
If standard evidence collection materials are used, then procedural simplicity is maintained, but the ability to detect and warn of harmful substances is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate serves multiple functions simultaneously: it collects trace evidence through contact with surfaces, and it detects harmful substances through chemical reactions that produce color changes. This multi-functionality allows a single simple tool to replace both collection and detection functions that would otherwise require separate procedures and materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection capability is merged into the collection substrate itself. Rather than using separate collection tools and separate detection devices, the harmful substance detection reagents are integrated directly into the substrate material, combining two functions into one unified tool that maintains ease of operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The kit allows for safe and effective collection of evidence by indicating the presence of harmful substances through color change and providing protective gloves, thus minimizing risk to investigators.
Implementation Method 1
The substrate is designed to change color upon contact with opioids
Implementation Method 2
the gloves are made from materials resistant to opioids and other hazardous substances
Data Source
AI summary
An evidence kit and method of using the same to collect and preserve evidence taken from a crime or accident scene. The method includes unsealing a container and removing a substrate therefrom. A pair of gloves may also be taken from the container and is donned to handle the substrate during evidence taking. The substrate is brought into contact with a surface such that trace-evidence is transferred to the substrate. An evidence bag is removed from the container, the substrate is placed in the bag, and the bag is sealed. Information regarding the evidence collection is recorded on the bag. The wipe may change color if brought into contact with particular substances at the scene so as to signal the presence of those substances. The material of the gloves is resistant to one or more of opioids, opioid-containing compounds, toxic and/or corrosive chemicals, and bodily fluids.