A Landscape Study of Computed Tomography Scanners for Postmortem Applications

Date December 2023 Overview Advanced imaging technologies help medicolegal death investigation (MDI) personnel assess cause of death (COD) and manner of death (MOD). The Medical Examiner and Coroner (MEC) community utilize postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) to obtain imaging data to…

Landscape Study of Next Generation Sequencing Technologies for Forensic Applications

Date April 2023 Overview The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ’s) Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE), led by RTI International, provides valuable resources that promote the use of novel and innovative technologies in the forensic community. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)…

2022 Update: 3D Imaging Technologies and Virtual Comparison Microscopy for Firearms Examination, A Landscape Study

Date August 2022 Overview The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE), led by RTI International, provides resources that promote the use of technologies in the forensic community. This report is an update to a 2016…

A Landscape Study Examining Technologies and Automation for Differential Extraction and Sperm Separation for Sexual Assault Investigations

Date May 2022 Overview The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE), led by RTI International, provides valuable resources that promote the use of technologies in the forensic community. Differential extraction is a technique that allows…

A Landscape Study of Electronic Case Management Systems for Medical Examiners and Coroners

Date February 2022 Overview Medical examiner and coroner (ME/C) offices sit at the nexus of forensic sciences and public health. These offices play a key role in the investigation of suspicious, unexplained, or unexpected deaths, dissemination of important data to…

A Landscape Study of Laboratory Information Management Systems for Forensic Crime Laboratories

Date August 2020 Overview As a key stakeholder in the criminal justice system, forensic laboratories must track, analyze, and report on evidence related to each request for service they receive. This is no easy task for laboratories: according to a…

A Landscape Study of SOPs to Collect and Process Arrestee and Convicted Offender DNA Samples

Date September 2018 Overview The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE) is conducting a landscape study and root cause analysis which seeks to (1) identify factors that may result in potential barriers related to the collection, testing, and uploading of…

Landscape Study of Field Portable Devices for Presumptive Drug Testing

Date May 2018 Overview The goal of this report is to inform the forensic community about the current landscape of field portable devices and techniques used for presumptive drug testing. This report also contains a discussion of the benefits, limitations,…

A Landscape Study of Alternate Light Sources

Date January 2018 Overview The goal of this report is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of alternate light sources (ALS), as well as their use, benefits, and limitations. The information contained herein is derived from current literature…

A Landscape Study of Mobile Evidential Breath Alcohol Instruments

Date December 2016 Overview This report provides a landscape of select mobile evidential breath alcohol instruments and factors impacting their implementation and use. Specifically, this report provides decision-makers and potential end users with the following: 1) an overview of the technology…