VACCINES: ANTARES VISION TECHNOLOGY TO ENSURE SAFETY AND TRANSPARENCY. VISUAL INSPECTION AND SERIALIZATION FOR THE INTEGRITY AND TRACEABILITY OF THE SINGLE DOSE
Emidio Zorzella, President and CEO of the Group: “The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of new technologies”.
Travagliato (Brescia), May 03, 2021 – Guaranteeing the integrity of vaccines and tracing each dose through visual inspection and serialization processes of the single vial. This is the commitment of Antares Vision Group to bring safety and transparency to the vaccine distribution chain and guarantee fairness and correctness. The Italian multinational has in fact designed and already installed on the lines of several pharmaceutical companies solutions for visual inspection and serialization of the vials, also in integrated mode: the first allows to eliminate human error in quality control, guaranteeing extremely 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, a fundamental aspect in this phase of the vaccine campaign.
In particular, the latest solution of Antares Vision, belonging to the panel of patented applications for visual inspection, is equipped with innovative 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, in fact, 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 thanks to state-of-the-art vision systems. Each high-resolution camera is programmed with algorithms enabling to recognize specific defects of both container and content. Equipped with proprietary 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 – commented Emidio Zorzella, President and CEO of Antares Vision – and 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.”
Greater transparency that helps increase trust in safe and equitably distributed vaccines around the world, as evidenced by the latest global surveys. According to World Economic Forum research conducted in 27 countries around the world, only 74% of people say they are willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, with a significant 26% saying they are “not safe.” The U.S. Pew Research Center, on the other hand, found that 77% of U.S. citizens are concerned about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.