Mobile Field Lab-3000 (MFL)

Sept. 27, 2012

Centice Corporation enhanced its narcotics identification system, the Mobile Field Lab-3000 (MFL-3000).

The most cost-effective solution of its kind on the market, the MFL-3000 enables narcotic squads and drug task forces to quickly and easily perform drug identification in the field without destroying evidence.  Simply place and cover the unknown material (solid, liquid or powder) on the portable device and Centice’s patented Raman Spectroscopy technology rapidly scans it and creates a unique spectral fingerprint of the substance.  

This “unique chemical fingerprint” is then compared to Centice’s embedded proprietary database of over 3,600 illegal narcotics, cutting agents and controlled prescription drugs to ensure objective and reliable identification.  The Department of Justice and affiliated agencies are familiar with Raman Spectroscopy and consider it a valid science for confirmatory evidence analysis when used in conjunction with a chemical color test.

The Department of Justice and affiliated agencies are familiar with Raman spectroscopy and consider it a valid science for confirmatory evidence analysis.  The Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG) lists Raman spectroscopy as a Category A analytical technique for the analysis of drug samples.

New enhancements to the Mobile Field Lab-3000 include:

Automatic Updates: Law enforcement professionals can quickly and easily install MFL-3000 updates via any Internet connection.  Centice rolls out updates every six to eight weeks and is constantly adding new illicit substances to the database.

Spectra Matching Improvement: Improved matching algorithms strengthen the accuracy and sensitivity of the measurements used in matching sample spectra data to database spectra. This results in greater matches, greater insurance against creating “false positives” and effectively lowers the Limit of Detection (LOD) of the spectrometer.  Software updates also improve the spectrometer’s performance in a wider temperature range improving the machine’s reliability.

Ruggedness Improvements:  The MFL-3000, which is housed in an industrial strength, waterproof, Pelican case with insulated foam, can now withstand 15 G’s of force for over a minute.  Centice engineers demonstrated this in a recent video, which shows the device being shaken at 15 G’s while mounted on a three-axis accelerometer.