The European R&D project Non-tArgeted foRensic multidisCiplinary platfOrm for inveStigatIon of drug-related fatalitieS (NARCOSIS) is co-funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Program, under grant agreement number 101168195.
NARCOSIS will provide a toolkit with a fast, robust and reliable multidisciplinary approach to harmonize DRD (drug-related deaths) investigations and other drug-related law enforcement operations through an updated and updatable detection, classification and identification platform with the following key tools:
1. A suite of selected rapid and portable orthogonal sensors/instruments, operable both in situ and in laboratories (Raman/SERS, IR, HSI), combined with conventional laboratory instruments (HRMS, GC-MS, LC-MS/MS) , to provide better and more effective NSP (new psychoactive substances) drug screening capabilities and their metabolites, aiming to: 1) increase detection confidence and reduce false alarms by evaluating various orthogonal techniques, in order to select the most effective ones depending on the prevailing scenarios; 2) integrate rapid and portable instruments into protocols adopted by laboratories and during on-site/field investigations; 3) improve the analysis of powders and tablets and their wrappers and markings through hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to correlate seizures from detailed chemical and merceological information with compositions or ratios of active ingredients; and 4) feed the NARCOSIS Platform with data obtained through the identification and characterization of NPS metabolites from clinical and forensic toxicology cases.
2. A database of comparable (between instruments) and sharable (between organizations) reference spectra (meta-spectra) to: 1) detect and identify confirmed and suspect substances or their metabolites by applying instrument-independent methods; 2) store identified suspect substances (including metadata) to support further investigations; and 3) enable information exchange and coordination between law enforcement authorities, forensic laboratories, and clinical and forensic toxicologists.
3. An AI-assisted spectrum integration and management system for analytical measurements (sensor-independent and comparable between different instruments) and decision support.
4. ML models to compare, classify and associate suspicious substances based on their spectra.
5. An established digital chain of custody, ensuring data integrity, traceability, accessibility and confidentiality, with only anonymized analytical data being shared at the European level, while classified information remains stored at the national level.
6. Novel tools for researchers (e.g., geo-intelligence, spatio-temporal graphics, logo and packaging similarity search and trend analysis) based on research data and tools collected.
Isdefe will participate in the NARCOSIS project as an “Affiliated Entity” of the National Police (PN), collaborating with them in the definition of the user requirements and the most appropriate scenarios for the use cases, in the field analysis and in the validation and demonstration tasks, as well as in the final evaluation of the results.
The Isdefe team participating in the project is coordinated by Raquel Pastor Pastor of Isdefe’s Defense and Security Technologies Department.
For further information, please contact innovacion@isdefe.es
