The machine vision system is one example of many automated systems witnessing advancement in the pharma industry. Automatic systems are creating new horizons in the life science industry and proving themselves to be a symbol of efficiency and quality in many areas of pharmaceuticals.
The main benefit of the machine vision system, among many, is that it minimizes the human error related to the personnel working in the process. Examples of machine vision where it is being applied include manufacturing, quality, and packaging, where they assist humans in performing the tasks.
Machine vision inspection technology is implemented in various stages of Pharma process manufacturing to increase efficiency, reduce error, and increase output, which are critical to the success of a pharma manufacturing process.
What is Machine Vision Inspection?
Machine vision inspection is an automatic system to perform vision-related applications. It consists of a sensing device and a software system. The sensing device detects the particular region of interest in the given sample, and the software performs the desired analysis or function on the image received from the sensing device.
The software system applies various algorithms to obtain a final decision based on user preferences set by the operator or production personnel.
Machine vision systems also consist of a display device, usually a monitor or something like that displays the current status of software. The object being inspected is displayed on the monitor with several tags indicating the status of the object being studied. Commonly, an object with a red tag is rejected, and an object with a green tag is accepted. Other color tags can also be used to indicate different statuses.
After processing the image from the software, the output ( in the form controller readable format) is sent to the central controller to activate the particular function in the machine. This is done so that a rejected object does not go into the accepted object and vice versa.
Vision inspection in Pharma
In the pharma industry, machine vision is used to detect the presence or absence of a specific object, such as
The presence of a tablet inside the blister cavity to mark it reject or pass, used in blister packaging machines
Presence of impurities in filled ampoule by detecting particles inside it, used inspection system for ampoule in the injectable department
Read the barcode or print on a finished package to verify the accurate and satisfactory printing, which is used to serve many purposes, such as product identification and track & trace system
Components
The machine vision system comprises multiple components that perform the required tasks, which are briefed below.
Lighting
Lighting is used to illuminate the target object to provide complete visibility to the object when the camera processes it. This is necessary to provide the required exposure to the sensing device to get a clear picture of the object.
Commonly, there are two configurations of lighting: continuous and intermittent.
The light is continuously lit in a continuous configuration, providing continuous illumination throughout the process.
In the intermediate configuration, the lighting operates an intermittent mechanism, i.e., lighting is ON when the camera processes the object, while lighting is OFF when the camera is not processing.
Imagine detector
The image detector consists of a camera and its various components. One of them is the camera's image lens, which converts the captured image into a form readable by the software. The camera captures the image and adjusts the essential parameters, such as noise and brightness.
Communication
The communication wires are used to connect different components of the vision system. It is critical because information carried out by other parts of the vision system is susceptible and can be lost with slight damage to the communication wire.
Software system
Software system is the heart of vision system, and different algorithms in a software system extract the relevant information from the data coming from multiple components. These algorithms are created to perform specific functions that depend on the user setting.
The software system requires teaching from the operator or user to create a benchmark image. The software then compares the image captured by the image sensor with the benchmark image. If the current image equals the benchmark image, the product is accepted. Otherwise, It is failed and rejected.
Advantages of machine vision
Let's discuss some common advantages of machine vision and see why it is capturing the attention of pharma machine manufacturers.
Less human involvement
The machine vision system minimizes human involvement during inspection, and a software system carries out the procedures. The inspection system can also generate a report of the inspection process with in-depth details, such as several inspected, rejected, and accepted containers.
A manual inspection system is always prone to mistakes and errors due to the limitations in the capabilities of humans. Increased working hours, mood deviations, and environmental conditions can also affect the manual inspection system.
One of the significant factors is the employee experience because, in the beginning, new employees may find it hard to perform this process and can also take time to learn the process, which may also affect the inspection process. On the other hand, machine inspection is free from these errors, takes less time to train, and cannot be affected by human limitations.
Increases Quality in the process
Machine vision systems increase the quality of output products, because, they can detect minor faults, such as cracks and clips, which are difficult to detect by the human eye. It makes the product defect free, thereby increasing the product quality.
Increased throughput
Using machine vision inspection, the production process increases a particular product's output rate. Because these vision systems can be inspected at higher rates than manual systems, simultaneously with enhanced efficiency and performance, this increases product quality and enables pharma manufacturers to achieve market demand. It also increases the cost-effectiveness of a particular product by detecting defects at early stages, effectively preventing the manufacture of a product at initial stages or a possible recall of the product.
Compliance
Machine vision can also be used as a compliance tool for a relevant product. Because a product free from major and minor defects is the sole purpose of any regulatory body, and the vision system helps achieve this requirement.
Machine vision can also be a compliance tool for accurate and up-to-date production records and documentation. It provides the record of the production process and also provides the latest necessary functionalities, such as electronic records for effective record-keeping
Flexibility
Machine vision systems can be employed for various products and defects, making them an ideal choice for pharmaceutical manufacturing. It can be used for multiple Pharma products, such as solids and liquids, and can be programmed for various defects. Machine vision systems can also be used in numerous life science industries, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices.
Electronic records
Electronic records are the latest regulatory requirement of the FDA. Its main features are safety and security, which are ensured by implementing various controls, such as restricting unauthorized access and audit trails. The machine vision system depends on an automation system that can quickly implement electronic record regulations, and the software system can keep track of all records, such as
When a particle record is created
Who created the records
Who changes the records, if any
process or product related to a particular record
It is also difficult to erase or delete these records, and records can be satisfactorily presented to regulatory bodies during their inspection.
Types of products that can be used with machine vision
The types of products that can be used with machine vision include the following.
Ampoule and vials
Machine vision can be used on ampoules and vials to inspect and reject faults. The inspection is based on user preference and can be easily applied to product, container, and physical appearance.
Liquid
Machine vision can inspect liquids against different defects, such as particles and volume.
For particles, it can detect different particles and related impurities and reject the vials or ampoules in which the vision system finds any of them.
Volume
Machine vision can measure the accurate volume of the filled liquid inside a container. It rejects the container if it is filled with less volume.
Container physical appearance
The machine vision can also detect the physical appearance of the ampoules or vials. This is especially necessary for ampoules where there can be defects or irregular shapes on the ampoule during the sealing process.
Solids
Machine vision is commonly used in blister packaging machines to analyze products. In this application, the machine vision can inspect product and packaging material.
Types of defects a machine vision can detect include.
Any colored product, such as
For packaging material, it can effectively detect defects such as pinholes in the package and print on the material. Machine vision can be used for any material, such as
About the Author
Muhammad Asim Niazi
Muhammad Asim Niazi has a vast experience of about 11 years in a Pharmaceutical company. During his tenure he worked in their different departments and had been part of many initiatives within the company. He now uses his experience and skill to write interested content for audiences at PharmaSources.com.
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