The patented and innovative solution LYO CHECK paves the way to artificial intelligence and was therefore the focus of the Freeze Drying Conference in Vienna.

Antares Vision is a leader in the process of protecting products throughout their lifecycle and offers the most comprehensive and scalable global solution for inspection systems, track & trace and smart data management. Driven by competence, energy and passion, the Italian company enjoys providing innovative technologies and building strong partnerships with customers to create added value together.
Therefore, Antares Vision was part of this year's Freeze Drying Conference in Vienna, an event for industry leaders to discuss process innovations and technical aspects of lyophilisation for the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries. The focus will be on practical considerations for freeze dried formulation development, process optimization, validation and control. The importance of liquid pharmaceuticals, in the form of infusions or injections, is increasing. Freeze drying is used to extend the shelf life of these often very expensive products.
"We are proud to participate in the summit for freeze drying technology and to underline our presence in a challenging market: Here we have drawn attention to our multi-technological approach to visual inspection and integrity testing of container closures for freeze-dried pharmaceutical products" says Carlo Marconi, General Manager BU Inspection Machines of Antares Vision. The LYO-CHECK system, a fully automated industrial inspection system for lyophilisates developed in the EU research project "Horizon 2020", was thus the focus of the event. A technology that was developed to check freeze-dried products for foreign particles contained or adhering to them and also to inspect product containers for cosmetic and functional defects.
The patented solution has two inspection carousels: In the first carousel, the Top-Grip technology not only inspects for deposits on the floor, but also checks the edges of containers. Then the side inspection is performed to detect deformations and foreign particles. The most demanding and image-analytically most difficult inspection is the Upper Inspection, where the lyophilisate cake is visually inspected. In addition, the tightness of the containers can be checked using head space gas analysis by examining the vessel volume above the lyophilisate for the presence of oxygen molecules. The machine can check up to 600 containers per minute and is based on the "fail-safe" system. Finally, before the vial leaves the first carousel, the stopper check is performed. In the second carousel, the vials are placed on small turntables and the container lids are checked for mechanical defects and correct printing. This not only ensures 100% inspection and thus minimizes risk, but also saves time and money thanks to easy format changeovers and fast cleaning and maintenance.
The many advantages of lyophilisates can best be exploited when there is a quality inspection system for this special type of pharmaceutical that is as safe, fast and reliable as there is for liquid preparations. The LYO-CHECK project has successfully demonstrated that innovative technical solutions allow a significant improvement and increase in performance of automated testing systems. Thus, Antares Vision will continue to contribute to the technological development of fully automated quality control. First results for the extension with artificial intelligence (AI) based software are expected soon.
www.antaresvision.com