System and method to count pills

A pill counting device, comprising:

• a step feeder comprising a set of movable slats interleaved with a set of fixed slats, wherein a top platform of each of the set of movable slats are vertically offset from adjacent ones of the set of movable slats, wherein (i) the top platform of one of the set of movable slats is configured to move vertically from a top platform of a first fixed slat of the set of fixed slats to a top platform of a second a second fixed slat of the set of fixed slats to carry a plurality of pills from the first fixed slat to the second fixed slat and (ii) a top movable slat of the set of movable slats is configured to orient a subset of the plurality of pills into a row of pills and to feed one or more individual pills of the row of pills out of the step feeder;
• a count chamber comprising (i) a tube configured to receive the one or more individual pills of the row of pills from the step feeder and (ii) a camera configured to capture an image of an individual pill of the one or more individual pills as the individual pill falls through the tube;
• and
• a control system configured to control movement of the set of movable slats of the step feeder and to control capturing of images by the camera, wherein the control system is further configured to:
• (i) calculate a characteristic of the individual pill from the image and to increment a pill counter in response to the characteristic of the individual pill meeting predefined criteria and (ii) determine whether a pill quota has been met based on the pill counter.