SPINE HYPO Automatic Visual Inspection and Sorting of Highly Potent Tablets & Capsules

Sensum has been shortlisted at 2021 CPHI Awards.

Pharmaceutical bottle filling technology must meet two chief requirements: high accuracy filling and the quality of filled products. The two technologies used in most pharmaceutical packaging facilities, slat fillers and electronic counters pose different challenges. Slat fillers are an older technology based on the mechanical counting using format parts with cavities with disadvantages around cost, flexibility and lack of quality control by design. Meanwhile, electronic counters can have issues with the accuracy of filling and handling of products with defects. In addition, the design with flaps can lead to miscounts even after the product has been accurately counted. This whitepaper from Sensum weighs up the challenges and risks of the two technologies and explores how visual inspection systems can eliminate the problem of miscounts due to technology and due to product quality.

Sensum SPINE FIBO automatically inspects the entire surface of products with 6 visual systems at high speed. The inspected products with defects are removed before bottle filling. The good products are counted and filled into bottles. Miscounted bottles are automatically rejected from the packaging line. 

Sensum SPINE FIBO machines automatically inspect the entire surface of products with 6 imaging systems at high speed. The inspected products with defects are removed before bottle filling. The good products are counted and filled into bottles. Miscounted bottles are automatically rejected from the packaging line.

Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly investing in automated visual inspection and sorting machines in order to replace subjective and costly manual sorting. These machines need to efficiently replace human hands by automatic mechanical manipulators, human eyes by digital video cameras, and most importantly and challenging, human brain by artificial intelligence, i.e. by complex software for image processing, analysis, understanding and decision making. Such technology is not easily understood, and it may not be 100% reliable when inspecting demanding products and/or specific defects, which significantly increases risks when considering investments in inspection technology. 
This document provides a brief and objective overview on how to choose the optimal inspection equipment by following the steps below:
1. Carefully consider all of the costs, risks and performances, which define your return on investment.
2. Try before you buy.
3. Select the solution with the lowest risk and best price/performance ratio.

Sensum SPINE automatically inspects the entire surface of tablets, capsules and softgels at the speed of up to 630.000 products/hour. The products are held in reproducible position by a vacuum system and inspected by six colour cameras. The machine is controlled via a user-friendly graphical interface, providing simple operation and training for the inspection of new products. The active sorting system with sorting verification for both good and defective products ensures fail-safe and reliable operation.

PATVIS APA, a Process Analytical Technology Visual Inspection System for Automated Particle Analysis is the core of Sensum machine vision PAT solutions for the pharmaceutical process development, scale-up, transfer and production. 

Precise pellet coating thickness estimation together with early agglomeration detection with visual confirmation of agglomerates ensures a controlled process and product.

STREAM Core is automated and autonomous machine for colour visual inspection and sorting of capsules. STREAM automatically inspects the entire circumference of each capsule at the speed of up to 120.000 capsules per hour.

Machine for vertical lifting, dedusting and polishing of tablets, capsules and softgels of various shapes and sizes. The products are conveyed in gentle manner to different heights at adjustable speed,controlled via user friendly graphical interface. Compact, mobile and modular design makes HELIX CORE ready to use in a wide variety of production and packaging processes (e.g. tablet pressing or coating, capsule filling or weighting, metal checking, blistering, bottle filling) with simple cleaning and low maintenance.