Methods and apparati for nondestructive detection of undissolved particles in a fluid
AssigneeAmgen Inc.
InventorsGraham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
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Abstract
The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
Claims15
An apparatus for nondestructive detection of an undissolved particle in a vessel that is at least partially filled with a fluid, comprising:
- a sensor;
- an imager configured to acquire one or more images of the particle in the fluid, the imager comprising at least one imaging optical element positioned to image the particle onto the sensor;
- and
- an illumination source positioned to illuminate contents of the vessel for imaging by the imager while substantially eliminating a presence of light rays emitted from the illumination source that reflect or refract from a surface of the vessel and are imaged by the at least one optical element onto the sensor.
A method for nondestructive detection of an undissolved particle in a vessel that is at least partially filled with a fluid, comprising:
- using an imager to acquire one or more images of the particle in the fluid, the imager comprising at least one imaging optical element positioned to image the particle onto a sensor;
- and
- illuminating the vessel with an illumination source positioned to illuminate contents of the vessel for imaging by the imager while substantially eliminating a presence of light rays emitted from the illumination source that reflect or refract from a surface of the vessel and are imaged by the at least one optical element onto the sensor.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform nondestructive detection of an undissolved particle in a vessel that is at least partially filled with a fluid by:
- causing an imager to acquire one or more images of the particle in the fluid, the imager comprising at least one imaging optical element positioned to image the particle onto a sensor;
- and
- causing illumination of the vessel via an illumination source positioned to illuminate contents of the vessel for imaging by the imager while substantially eliminating a presence of light rays emitted from the illumination source that reflect or refract from a surface of the vessel and are imaged by the at least one optical element onto the sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.