BASIC HAIR SCREENING

The FTS Basic Hair Screening proficiency test is designed to challenge forensic biologists or trace evidence examiners who perform limited microscopic hair examinations and do not compare and exclude human hairs from subsequent DNA analysis due to microscopic characteristics in relation to a known source. Analysts are asked to determine if a hair is human, the somatic origin of the hair and whether the hair may be suitable for subsequent nuclear DNA analysis. Microscopic quality control work is performed on each distributed test by two court-qualified hair examiners at the FTS laboratory facility. These hair examiners are subcontracted by FTS and we are responsible for their work.