Minimizing Error

One of many areas where machine vision systems are proving their worth is in publishing information and inserts as well as labels for various products and strengths of medication, in different languages and following different regulatory guidelines for markets all over the world. Managing any pharma labeling and information publishing is a bit like running a miniature publishing business. The potential for error is high. As technology has become more readily available to help pharmaceutical companies with this task, more drug companies are automating portions of the process to ensure quality of product literature and inserts. Companies including Cognex, Optel, Complete Inspection Systems and Global Vision offer automated, machine vision-based systems that can help streamline and decrease the pain threshold for this tedious operation. However, machine vision systems are establishing their worth in many other areas as well. Below is a sampling of some recent product introductions focused on pharmaceutical industry applications. The Slat Filler Inspection System offers high-performance vision inspection capabilities provides slat fillers with guaranteed accurate product counts and additional tablet and capsule inspections and verifications. The optical setup and vision analysis algorithms of the Optel Vision Slat Filler Inspector allow for precise tablet and capsule counts in addition to simultaneous verification of tablets’ and capsules’ colors, detection of foreign materials, and detection of defects, which includes broken, chipped, undersized and oversized tablets and capsules. The system also offers verification of product presence in slats after bottle filling. The system can be easily retrofitted onto slats ranging from 16” to 40” with 6 to 20 funnels that have 1 to 30 cavities per funnel. This allows for real-time inspection speeds of up to 420 slats per min. Optel Vision, Quebec City, Canada, Docu-Proof automatically compares files for textual differences and is well suited for the inspection of contracts, publications,