Customer Story

How Basler Cameras Enabled Automated Inspection of Vaccine Vials

Basler ace and racer cameras support high throughput and accuracy

Automated pharmaceutical vial inspection systems use high-speed machine vision cameras and AI algorithms to detect defects, verify fill levels, inspect vials for cosmetic defects, and identify contaminants. In this use case, Basler area and line scan cameras enabled Truking Technology to perform high-throughput vaccine vial inspection with the accuracy and reliability required for quality control.

Automated vial inspection with Basler ace U area scan and racer line scan cameras

The drivers for optimized vial inspection

The coronavirus pandemic spurred a global collaboration on vaccine research and distribution that resulted in a vaccine in less than a year. But a vaccine is only effective if people can get it, and supply chains were put under pressure to meet this sudden, unprecedented demand.

Truking Technology, a leading biopharmaceutical equipment supplier with over 20 years of experience in healthcare packaging and various automation systems, needed to provide automated visual inspection systems to seamlessly ensure vaccine safety and product integrity while meeting high-throughput demands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The challenges of vial inspection

During high-volume filling processes for glass vials, filling and sealing defects are inevitable. Various visual inspection procedures are standard practice to ensure that contaminated or defective vials are excluded from the batches.

Typical vial inspection tasks include:

Identifying any foreign bodies, glass particles, fiber-like material, etc.
Validating the presence/absence of vial cap and flip-off seal, cap positioning, and filling level
Detecting cosmetic and functional defects

Key inspection challenges include:

Inspecting many attributes in a very compact space, such as dimensional, physical, and cosmetic features
Detecting defects in transparent cylindrical surfaces and clear liquids, where reflections and air bubbles can challenge traditional vision systems
Maintaining high yield, speed, and accuracy simultaneously

How Basler’s area scan and line scan cameras support automated inspection systems

Truking Technology needed to develop various automatic glass vial inspection systems for different tasks that balanced throughput and accuracy. Basler collaborated with Truking to tailor two hardware combinations, including camera, lens, and cable, optimizing its machine vision systems to the industry’s needs during the pandemic.

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Inspection system with area scan cameras in a multi-camera setup

Main tasks: Vaccine liquid inspection and vial cosmetic inspection

Configuration: 16-20 Basler ace area scan cameras

Multiple high-speed Basler ace cameras were installed in the automated inspection system to acquire image sequences of different parts of vial batches, supporting image analysis across a workflow. The multi-camera system analyzes whether a vial is defective by comparing multiple images using powerful, AI-based software.

AI supports defect detection

AI was integrated into the system to identify fill levels, track the movement of bubbles, and distinguish bubbles from foreign objects, including glass particles, metal grains, fibers, and hair, in the vaccine liquid.

At full resolution, the Basler ace camera captures images at 200 frames per second, reaching even higher acquisition speeds in ROI mode.

Multi-camera system with precise synchronization

Truking's inspection solution uses multiple Basler ace cameras to acquire images from different angles simultaneously, significantly increasing inspection efficiency and accuracy. Basler's market-proven multi-camera setup with USB 3.0 offered high efficiency, perfect synchronization, and high reliability for this system.

Vial inspection results using Basler ace cameras: (1) A good vial, (2) Defective vials, (3) Small glass particles, (4) Large glass particles, (5) Polarized fabric, and (6) Polarized glass.

Inspection system with line scan cameras for moving objects

Main tasks: Vial surface cosmetic inspection

Configuration: 2 Basler racer line scan cameras

The second inspection system was equipped with two high-resolution Basler racer line scan cameras, as well as specially designed lighting arrangements. It inspects cosmetic defects on the cylindrical, transparent surface of the vial, including:

Cracks
Scratches
Refractory Stones
Black Spots

Line scan vision inspection is an ideal choice for imaging cylindrical objects on fast-moving inspection lines. As the vaccine vial rotates, the line scan camera examines and unrolls the entire surface of the vial, line by line, into a 2D flat surface for inspection.

Automation to ensure reliable fault detection at high speeds

Replacing manual visual inspection with automated inspection systems in the biopharmaceutical quality control process is now a necessity for greater efficiency and accuracy.

The key objectives in glass vial inspection for COVID-19 vaccines were to provide reliable quality assurance with speed. Truking's inspection solutions utilize Basler’s cameras, advanced vision algorithms, and AI technology to ensure inspection efficiency and accuracy.

Vial inspection results using Basler race line scan cameras. — Vial inspection results using Basler racer line scan cameras.

Truking is committed to delivering high-performance inspection systems to our customers ahead of schedule. We are racing against time in such crises. The most important reason for us to collaborate with Basler is excellent stability, especially in multiple high-speed cameras with USB3.0 interfaces set-ups. Basler is a market leader and has rich experience in such set-ups. Their expertise helped us to reach our goals. Ease-of-use software is also critical for us to achieve fast development. The pylon Camera Software Suite is easy to adapt to and functions seamlessly, saving us precious development time. Besides, the excellent and timely service and support by the local team makes our partnership a great success.

Truking Technology

Purchasing Manager