Canadian TV Network News

Dr. Farwell: This headband will pick up the electrical signals from the brain

Reporter: Lawrence Farwell is a brain scientist, not a detective. But his latest invention could radically change the way crimes are solved. He's developed a system called the Truth Detector to measure the brain activity of suspected criminals.

Dr. Farwell: Every time a crime is committed, the best record of that is stored in the brain of the perpetrator.

Reporter: To determine if a person is guilty, words or pictures are flashed on a screen, some related to the actually crime scene which would only be familiar to the person who committed it. If the images are familiar, the brainwave would immediately indicate the suspect is guilty. If there is no response the person would be considered innocent.

Dr. Farwell: We can tell from the brain response whether the information is stored in that particular brain or not. From that we know if that person committed that specific crime or not.

Reporter: The technology is far different from the conventional polygraph which measures stress when a person lies. Police still use the lie detector, but there are doubts about its accuracy and the results are not admissible in court. The FBI is interested in the new technology hoping it will be more accurate and acceptable.

Ron Fergerson, FBI Section Chief: When you're looking at brain waves, essentially you're getting closer to the source.

Reporter: The FBI says it is cautiously optimistic the truth detector will stand up in court. The highly secretive CIA is also intrigued, and is funding some of the research. Farwell says his truth detector has been 100% accurate so far. It's all based on the simple theory that even if people chose to lie, the brain always tells the truth.

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