CINCINNATI (WKRC) – A new tool being used in several emergency rooms, including Bethesda North and Good Samaritan, is helping break the pattern of physical and mental abuse.
The tool uses what’s called ‘forensic photography’ to provide critical evidence for victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, or sexual assault.
Once medically stable, it allows a patient in the emergency room to see on screen what potential damages are on their face or other parts of their body. It does this in several ways, one of them is by adding color, or what’s called a contrast filter.
It’s all made possible by using a Cortexflo camera. Forensic Nurse Examiner Christine Hassert-Blomer of TriHealth affectionately calls her “Flo.”
“She has a really high-resolution camera with a built-in light. She also has a built-in black light, where we can also take pictures of blood, urine or semen, which we couldn’t do before,” Hassert-Blomer said.
The camera records how an injury may have happened. It will contrast what looks like light bruising and even show hard to see areas of injury.
Hassert-Blomer said these images produced are powerful tools to potentially help turn around patterns of abuse.
“You know, most people, they say they leave seven or eight times before they leave for good, and I just wonder is this when it’s set in motion because now it’s real for you. You’ve been seen and you’ve been heard, and you’ve been validated with these pictures,” she said.
Each of these systems costs about $20,000. Hassert-Blomer said the value is priceless if just one of these domestic violence or sexual assault cases goes to court.
