RICHFIELD, Ohio – One year ago, Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) began using robotic equipment to increase and enhance DNA testing.
On Wednesday, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said the results have been “astounding.”
Cordray also announced two new sets of robots will be purchased through an $831,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Some of the robots are located in the BCI lab in Richfield.
The Tecan 150 acts as a head-hunter for DNA.
“That robot extracts the DNA, so it removes the DNA from the cells,” said Stacy Violi, a BCI forensic scientist.
A second piece of robotic equipment takes copied DNA and puts it on a tray, which is then examined by a third robot, called the genetic analyzer. The genetic analyzer gives the DNA profile.
Since October 2009, the robots have tested 218 blood samples. In 154 of the cases, the robots pointed to known suspects or linked the DNA to other unsolved crimes.
“That means the robotic DNA testing aided the investigation an astounding 71 percent of the time,” Cordray said.
