Towards Quality Control in Pharmaceutical Packaging: Screening Folded Boxes for Package Inserts

Abstract

We applied a recently developed, ultrafast terahertz measurement technique to screen folded cardboard boxes for package inserts. The presence or absence of an enclosed leaflet could be detected unambiguously in samples moving at velocities up to 21 m/s and, depending on the sample, up to an area overlap of 50-60%. The simple, robust measurement setup may pave the way to new applications of terahertz technology for quality control in pharmaceutical packaging.

An efficient Terahertz rectifier on the graphene/SiC materials platform

“…They find applications in the field of THz imaging and THz spectroscopy which proved to be useful methods for the detection of drugs 35 and explosives 36 . Furthermore, THz systems are used for industrial quality control 37,38 . Here, the THz range is advantageous compared to X-rays as it is non-destructive and non-ionizing.…”

Industrial Applications of Terahertz Sensing: State of Play

“…In a paper-related industrial demonstration, Brinkmann et al used TDS for quality control of cardboard boxes as used in pharmaceutical packaging [198]. Their setup combined a pulsed THz emitter with a high-bandwidth Schottky receiver and accomplished THz intensity measurements with an effective time resolution of 6.4 µs.…”

“…The graph depicts the transmitted THz intensity with the boxes moving at 21 m/s. Adapted from [198].…”

Fast FMCW Terahertz Imaging for In-Process Defect Detection in Press Sleeves for the Paper Industry and Image Evaluation with a Machine Learning Approach

“…Terahertz waves offer a number of characteristic properties especially interesting for the NDT investigation of nonconducting materials and industrial components or products made from these materials. First, terahertz radiation can penetrate many common production materials at low absorption rates and good penetration depths, in particular plastics and polymer compounds [ 4 ], glass fiber-reinforced (GFR) composite materials [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], wood [ 10 , 11 ], paper [ 12 ] and cardboard [ 13 ], dry and wet paint layers or other coatings [ 4 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], and many more. At the same time, the small terahertz wavelengths of few millimeters down to several tens of micrometers constitute an ideal premise for imaging techniques [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ] with image resolutions on the order of typical, relevant defect sizes in components produced from the above materials.…”