Antares Vision Group, working to bring safety and transparency to the vaccine distribution chain, has designed and installed on the lines of several pharmaceutical companies’ solutions for visual inspection and serialization of the vials. In integrated mode, the first is designed to eliminate human error in quality control for high volumes of inspected vials (up to 400 pieces/min), the second allows traceability at a global level, reducing interruptions in the supply chain and making the supply chain transparent.

In particular, the latest solution is equipped with technologies to allow accurate visual inspection for liquids and/or lyophilized products, a Container Closure Integrity Testing and, in integrated mode, the unique serialization of the single dose (in-line printing and control of data matrix code with visible or UV-visible ink, to share information with health authorities and throughout the supply chain).

The machine is able to perform a wide range of checks: presence of particles inside the product, inspection of foreign bodies, filling level checks, detection of cosmetic and functional defects of the container, application and verification of the label. Visual inspection is performed wth high-resolution cameras programmed with algorithms enabling to recognize specific defects of both container and content. Equipped with image processing hardware, the inspection machine provides advanced statistical analyses that help identifying root causes of rejection. With the application of dedicated and advanced technologies, freeze-dried products can also be inspected. The use of lyophilized products is in effect expected to be adopted in the production of Covid-19 vaccines soon.

“The pandemic has accelerated the use and experience of new technologies,” said Emidio Zorzella, President and CEO of Antares Vision. “It is very important that people’s safety is addressed. Now more than ever, therefore, technology must help to reduce the emergency situation and our contributions aid in vaccine integrity and distribution transparency. With this in mind, we are exploring with IBM and the Linux Foundation, how blockchain technology may further secure along the vaccine supply chain.”