Super continuum light having a continuous spectrum over at least 1100 to 1300 nm is emitted from a pulsed light source, is pulse-stretched by a stretching element such that a relationship between a wavelength and an elapsed time in one pulse is one to one, and is radiated to a product. The light transmitted through the product is received by a light receiver, and output data is input to the determination unit. A quality determination program of the determination unit calculates an absorption spectrum from the output data, quantifies the absorption spectrum by chemometrics, and compares the absorption spectrum with a reference value to determine quality. The product determined to be a defective product is excluded by an exclusion mechanism.

A measurement system is provided with an array of laser diodes with one or more Bragg reflectors. At least a portion of the light generated by the array is configured to penetrate tissue comprising skin. A detection system configured to: measure a phase shift, and a time-of-flight, of at least a portion of the light from the array of laser diodes reflected from the tissue relative to the portion of the light generated by the array; generate one or more images of the tissue; detect oxy- or deoxy-hemoglobin in the tissue; non-invasively measure blood in blood vessels within or below a dermis layer within the skin; measure one or more physiological parameters based at least in part on the non-invasively measured blood; and measure a variation in the blood or physiological parameter over a period of time.

A conveyer mechanism (110) may include one or more composition inspection units provided along the intended product transport path. The product's composition, e.g., it's ink composition, is compared with a predetermined standard, to determine whether the product is acceptable. A bar code (48, 45.1, 47.1, 85) may be provided to an external surface of the article for identification/traceability purposes.

An inspection device includes: an irradiator that irradiates an object with near-infrared light; a spectroscope that has a slit where reflected light enters and that disperses the reflected light into wavelength component lights; an imaging device that comprises an imaging element that takes a spectroscopic image of the wavelength component lights; and a processor that: obtains spectral data based on the spectroscopic image; and detects a type of the object using a predetermined analysis based on the spectral data. Each of the wavelength component lights is a single wavelength light, the inspection device satisfies L≥2P, where L is a width of each of the wavelength component lights in a wavelength dispersion direction on a light receiving surface of the imaging element and P is a width of a pixel in the wavelength dispersion direction on the light receiving surface.

The invention relates to a blister strip inspection device (10) for sensing blister segments (12) of a blister strip (14), having an image acquisition device (16) which is arranged to capture images of the blister strip (14), wherein the image acquisition device (16) comprises a digital camera (18.1), an advance sensing device (24) for continuously sensing an advance (x) of the blister strip (14), and an evaluating unit (40) which is connected to the digital camera (18.1) and to the advance sensing device (24), and which is configured to automatically perform a method having the following steps: (v) sensing the advance of the blister strip (14), (vi) determining a target time (t.sub.i), at least also on the basis of the advance, at which a blister segment (12.i) is completely in the field of view (20.1) of the digital camera, and (vii) acquiring an image with the digital camera (18.1) at said target time (t.sub.i), wherein the digital camera (18.1) is a video camera which has a field of view (20.1, 20.2) and is formed to capture an image sequence consisting of temporally successive images. According to the invention, it is envisaged that the evaluating unit (40) is configured to automatically (i) determine the target time (t) at which a blister segment (12.i) is completely in the field of view (20.1, 20.2), at least also on the basis of the advance (x), (ii) take an image (A.sub.F) from the image sequence such that a monitoring image is generated, (iii) store the monitoring image and (v) repeat steps (i) to (iii) such that a monitoring image sequence is generated, and the evaluating unit (40) is configured to automatically: sense at least one preceding image at a time that lies shortly before the target time (t.sub.1) and/or acquire at least one following image (A) at a time that lies shortly after the target time, determine which of the images sufficiently completely contains the greatest portion of a blister segment (12) by means of image recognition, and store said image (A) as a monitoring image.

The present invention involves both an apparatus and an associated method for confirming the presence or absence of closures in a closure nest inside an aseptic chamber. The apparatus comprises a topographical profiler disposed to monitor the closure nests. Vertical displacements in topographical maps obtained by the profiler are compared with information from a database about the nest and closure combinations. Vertical displacements falling outside predetermined upper and lower bounds are deemed absences of closures. The topographical profiler may be disposed outside the aseptic chamber. The system may be automated via a controller and suitable software. In some embodiments the nests and disposed in the monitored area by robotic articulated arms. In other embodiments the closure nests are moved by vacuum pickup systems. The system and method may also be employed to assess the suitability of a closure nest for closing in an aseptic chamber containers in a container nest.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a system and method for the inspection of products, such as tablets, pills, capsules, caplets, softgels, and other discreet units of consumption that may be ingested by a user. In embodiments, a plurality of cameras are used to capture images of the surface of the product. The images are aggregated to a single file and the imaged product features are analyzed for compliance to a product standard.

The generation device includes: an illuminating unit including light-emitting units simultaneously illuminate a surface of a medicine from irradiation directions different from each other; an imaging unit acquires a plurality of first images of the medicine corresponding to the respective wavelength bands from an imaging element; an image generating unit generates, based on the first images acquired by the imaging unit, a second image to which emphasis processing for emphasizing the engraved mark or the print has been applied; and a processing control unit controls the image generating unit to generate the second image when two or more of output values of the respective first images are equal to or more than a threshold, and controls the image generating unit not to generate the second image when less than two of the output values of the respective first images are equal to or more than the threshold.

A method of producing a tablet in which an uncoated tablet is coated by a coating agent, the method including: a coating process of coating uncoated tablets with a coating agent by spray coating the coating agent onto tablets that are churned and tumbled inside a container, and drying the tablets inside the container by supplying drying air into the container and exhausting air from the container, wherein spray coating conditions, including air supply temperature, air supply rate, and spray speed, are controlled according to the weight of the coating agent with which the uncoated tablets are coated, such that the humidity of air exhausted during spray coating is within a range of from 14% RH to 30% RH.

Methods and apparatus (10) for Raman spectral analysis of a sample (12), such as a pharmaceutical dosage form, are disclosed. Delivery optics (16) are used to deliver probe light to a delivery region (13) on the sample, and collection optics (20) are used to collect, from a collection region (17) on the sample spaced from the delivery region, the probe light following scattering through the sample. Each of a plurality of target Raman spectral features are measured in the collected light, and a spectral distortion of the collected light arising during scattering through the sample is determined. A property of the sample is then quantified using the target Raman spectral features in combination with the determined spectral distortion, such that the quantified property is compensated for the spectral distortion.