Illumination station for use in pharmaceutical identification system and methods therefor
First Claim
1. A method of determining the identity of pharmaceutical tablets contained within a pharmaceutical vial, comprising the steps of:
- obtaining a first image of the vial as it is illuminated with colored light;
obtaining a second image of the vial as it is illuminated with infrared radiation;
processing the first and second images to obtain comprehensive image data;
comparing the comprehensive image data to image data of a known pharmaceutical expected to be contained in the vial; and
determining whether the pharmaceutical in the vial is the expected pharmaceutical based on the comparing step.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of determining the identity of pharmaceutical tablets contained within a pharmaceutical vial includes the steps of: obtaining a first image of the vial as it is illuminated with colored light; obtaining a second image of the vial as it is illuminated with infrared radiation; processing the first and second images to obtain comprehensive image data; comparing the comprehensive image data to image data of a known pharmaceutical expected to be contained in the vial; and determining whether the pharmaceutical in the vial is the expected pharmaceutical based on the comparing step. The use of images obtained under both colored and IR illumination can assist in producing an accurate comprehensive image data.
45 Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A method of determining the identity of pharmaceutical tablets contained within a pharmaceutical vial, comprising the steps of:
-
obtaining a first image of the vial as it is illuminated with colored light; obtaining a second image of the vial as it is illuminated with infrared radiation; processing the first and second images to obtain comprehensive image data; comparing the comprehensive image data to image data of a known pharmaceutical expected to be contained in the vial; and determining whether the pharmaceutical in the vial is the expected pharmaceutical based on the comparing step. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method of determining the identity of pharmaceutical tablets contained within a pharmaceutical vial, comprising the steps of:
-
obtaining a first image of the vial as it is illuminated with colored light; obtaining a second image of the vial as it is illuminated with infrared radiation; obtaining a third image of the vial as it is illuminated with light of a color that is a different color than the light employed in obtaining the first image; processing the first, second and third images to obtain comprehensive image data; comparing the comprehensive image data to image data of a known pharmaceutical expected to be contained in the vial; and determining whether the pharmaceutical in the vial is the expected pharmaceutical based on the comparing step. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method of determining the identity of pharmaceutical tablets contained within a pharmaceutical vial, comprising the steps of:
-
obtaining a first image of the vial as it is illuminated with light selected to identify features of the vial; obtaining a second image of the vial as it is illuminated with light selected to identify regions that contain tablets; obtaining a third image of the vial as it is illuminated with light that is selected to provide color information about the tablets; processing the first, second and third images to obtain comprehensive image data; comparing the comprehensive image data to image data of a known pharmaceutical expected to be contained in the vial; and determining whether the pharmaceutical in the vial is the expected pharmaceutical based on the comparing step.
-
-
13. A method of determining the identity of pharmaceutical tablets contained within a pharmaceutical vial, comprising the steps of:
-
obtaining a first image of the vial as it is illuminated with light selected to identify features of the vial and to provide color information about the tablets; obtaining a second image of the vial as it is illuminated with light selected to identify regions that contain tablets; processing the first and second images to obtain comprehensive image data; comparing the comprehensive image data to image data of a known pharmaceutical expected to be contained in the vial; and determining whether the pharmaceutical in the vial is the expected pharmaceutical based on the comparing step.
-
Specification