Medical Device Link.

Originally Published EMDM January/February 2002

PRODUCT UPDATE

Designed to inspect medical and other products, the Vinspec machine vision system from Vitronic GmbH (Wiesbaden, Germany) is well suited for quality control in such applications as injection needles. Both the needle contour and bevel eye are examined to guard against bluntness, deformity, and incorrect positioning. "By using multiple cameras, we're able to inspect several stations simultaneously, at a high speed," says Vitronic sales engineer Martin Schumacher. Vinspec is also used to inspect foil material in needle packaging as it is being coated with adhesive; in this application, the system operates at an image-processing speed of up to 200 m/min.

The company's Vicode, an optical character recognition (OCR) system, is used to read labels on medical products, such as laser-engraved batch markings on bottle caps. A new LED illumination system provides diffuse lighting from above, allowing low-contrast laser writing to be recognized in various orientations. "Lighting for OCR is complicated, but it's an area where we have expertise," says Schumacher. Vicode is also being used to read colour-coded rings on ampoules, at production line speeds of six ampoules per second. Vitronic's identification systems build on the company's long experience with package sorting, Schumacher says, and have been validated by US FDA.

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