Forensic Science Infrared Spectroscopy and Spectroscopic

Question: Discuss about the Forensic Science for Infrared Spectroscopy and Spectroscopic. Answer: Introduction: A patient admitted in mental health hospital was under critical care due to psychosis. The attending physician administered medications (clozapine and quetiapine) after psychiatric assessment of the patient. Due to overdose of the medication it caused him hallucinations and delusional ideation. It worsened his symptoms and delayed the discharge. The attending nursing staff raised the issue after checking the vital signs claiming that the patient history notes have been altered. The nurse claimed that the health problem was due to the physicians breach of duty of care. The forensic document services were then notified to undertake the case. The attending physician defended the medical malpractice suit. The physician produced three pages of medical records concerning the patient. The physician claims that the patient was cautioned about the risks involved in the proposed treatment procedure. According to the physician records the second page contains a warning note. After collecting the necessary evidences the records were taken for laboratory examination. The evidences include all the prescriptions since the day of patients admission, diagnostic reports, and medical history. The records for the patients were analysed using infrared spectroscopy techniques. Technique used Infrared light is useful tool in detecting the forgery of document (Lanzarotta, 2016). An advanced light source let say an electron synchrotron can be optimised to produce beam of photons in the infrared spectrum in addition to the generation of ultraviolet rays and x-ray (Bornstein, 2015). The forensic experts for the above case study have used the IR spectromicroscopy as evidence based option to characterise the difference in the inks used on a paper. When the writings are deliberately obliterated on a document, it can be easily read with the help of infrared. For example when the signatures or numbers are raised cleverly using added pen strokes. This method has unprecedented sensitivity (Nunkoo et al., 2016). The combination of microscopy and IR spectroscopy together is a powerful analytic technique. The principle of this technique involves vibration of all the molecules at a characteristic frequency due to nonstop atomic motions. This frequency falls within the infrared spectrum. When an infrared photon is struck by an individual molecule and if the vibrational frequency of both photon and molecule matches it leads to resonance. A variety of spectroscopic techniques can be used to detect the resonating molecule (Ewing Kazarian, 2017). The advantage of using IR light is that it is non-destructive and does not cause any changes in the sample. Further effectiveness of IR spectromicroscopy (synchrotron-based) on inks has been highlighted in the study of Bornstein (2015). The IR data on the ink can detect the origin of document, stamps and currency and if it contains same ink throughout it. It can detect accurately where one ink ended and another began in the same signature or line of print. The ink used during expurgation appears transparent to infrared and the one employed by the author absorbs infrared (Nunkoo et al., 2016). In the above case study, the forensic expert has exposed the document to a specific wavelength. A long pass filter is used with the infrared viewer. In this part of the spectrum some ink absorbs the energy and emits infrared luminescence (Ewing Kazarian, 2017). Outcomes Based on the infrared results it was concluded that the physician has made disputed entries. As per the results the page containing warning note for the patient appearing as page number 3 was indeed page number 2. Other evidences too supported the patients case. It was concluded that the second page now numbered as 2 was inserted after page 3 (now numbered). The number 3 appeared light after infrared reflectance but the shape of 2 was prominent. It thus indicates that number 2 was procrastinated to convert it into 3 with an extra stroke of pen. The given figure below depicts the forgery after investigating through infrared spectroscopy. The image provided has been retrieved from website which pertains to similar case as discussed above. The authentic results of the above case study are not available due to confidentiality and privacy norms. Initially the doctor failed to adequately inform the patient about the potential risks and also did not ensure that the patient has clearly understood the details. Therefore, providing effective treatment mandates the physician to abide by the laws pertaining to informed consent as well as maintain professional competency (Beigi et al., 2015). The cause of detoriation of the patient was administration of antipsychotic drugs clozapine and quetiapine that caused symptoms similar to Parkinsonism and reduced movement (Leigh, 2015). These drugs were responsible for aggravating symptoms of the patient. Further, the physician continued with the level of dopamine that was administered during initial phase of the treatment. Further blood tests revealed high amount of dopamine in the patients body. The dopamine levels were to be reduced as it is effective in reducing the symptoms of hallucinations (Boot et al., 2015). However, the doctor did not postpone the treatment despite the problematic s ymptoms. Consequently the patient could not tolerate the worsening of psychotic symptoms. The physician did not realise the consequences until the patient was severely affected. After noticing this change that the physician altered the medical record claiming that warning note was provided to the patient regarding the medication. It was after the worsening situation of the patient that the doctor carefully insert page 2 (forged) after page 3. The findings were thus sufficient to point out that the attending mental health professional was culprit. Thus, the use of IR spectromicroscopy was useful in resolving the issue. Since, the act of forgery was detected it is convenient for the patient to file a malpractice lawsuit against the attending physician. Altered medical records thus destroy the care of the patient (Bornstein, 2015). In conclusion, forensic analysis is not only restricted to crime scene investigation but also the act of malpractices in any area. However, extra care has to be taken at the time of investigation to eliminate any potential manipulations. References Beigi, M., Asadi, L., Valiani, M., Mardani, F. (2015). Evaluating different types of malpractices in midwifery that were referred to the forensic medicine commission and the medical council between 2006 and 2011 in Isfahan province, 2013.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research,20(4), 426. Boot, E., Butcher, N. J., Vorstman, J. A. S., van Amelsvoort, T. A. M. J., Fung, W. L. A., Bassett, A. S. (2015). Pharmacological Treatment of 22q11. 2 Deletion Syndrome-related Psychoses.Pharmacopsychiatry,25(06), 219-220. Bornstein, M. (2015).U.S. Patent Application No. 14/637,892. Ewing, A. V., Kazarian, S. G. (2017). Infrared spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging in forensic science.Analyst. Lanzarotta, A. (2016). Analysis of forensic casework utilizing infrared spectroscopic imaging.Sensors,16(3), 278. Leigh, H. (2015). Common Reasons for Psychiatric Consultation. InHandbook of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry(pp. 27-38). Springer International Publishing. Nunkoo, M. I., Saib-Sunassy, M. B., Wah, H. L. K., Laulloo, S. J. (2016). Forensic Analysis of Black, Blue, Red, and Green Ballpoint Pen Inks. InCrystallizing IdeasThe Role of Chemistry(pp. 323-339). Springer International Publishing.