Apparatuses, systems and methods for plunger-stopper depth measurement in pre-filled syringes

A method of inspecting a tubular vessel, the method comprising:

• providing a plurality of tubular vessels in a tray;
• providing an intermediate holder;
• aligning the intermediate holder with the tray;
• transferring the plurality of tubular vessels from the tray to the intermediate holder;
• placing the plurality of tubular vessels and the intermediate holder between an image sensor and a backlight;
• and
• acquiring image data from the image sensor while at least a portion of the tubular vessel and at least a portion of a plunger are positioned between the image sensor and the backlight while the backlight emits light, wherein the image data is representative of a silhouette of at least the portion of the tubular vessel and at least a portion of the plunger within the tubular vessel,
• wherein the image data is representative of a plurality of prefilled syringes in the intermediate holder, wherein the intermediate holder includes a plurality of optically unimpeded areas, and wherein each prefilled syringe is aligned with at least one respective optically unimpeded area.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement a tubular vessel inspection post stoppering, wherein at least a portion of the tubular vessel is at least partially transparent, the computer-readable medium comprising:

• a backlight control module that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to cause a backlight to emit light having a predetermined intensity;
• and
• a digital image data acquisition module that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to acquire image data from an image sensor while at least a portion of the tubular vessel and at least a portion of a plunger within the tubular vessel are positioned between the image sensor and the backlight while the backlight emits light, wherein the image data is representative of a silhouette of at least the portion of the tubular vessel and the at least the portion of the plunger,
• wherein the image data is representative of at least a portion of a flange of the tubular vessel, and wherein an integration period of the image sensor is based on a transparency of at least the portion of the flange.

A system for inspecting tubular vessels post stoppering, wherein at least a portion of the tubular vessel is at least partially transparent, the system comprising:

• a digital image data acquisition device having an image sensor and a backlight, wherein the digital image data acquisition device is configured to cause the backlight to emit light having a predetermined intensity, wherein the digital image data acquisition device is configured to acquire image data from the image sensor while at least a portion of the tubular vessel and at least a portion of a plunger are positioned between the image sensor and the backlight while the backlight emits light, wherein the image data is representative of a silhouette of at least the portion of the tubular vessel and at least the portion of the plunger within the tubular vessel;
• and
• one or more processors configured to determine a depth of the plunger within the tubular vessel based on the image data,
• wherein the image data is representative of at least a portion of a flange of the tubular vessel, and wherein the digital image data acquisition device is further configured to control an integration period of the image sensor based on a transparency of at least the portion of the flange.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement a tubular vessel inspection post stoppering, wherein at least a portion of the tubular vessel is at least partially transparent, the computer-readable medium comprising:

• a backlight control module that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to cause a backlight to emit light having a predetermined intensity;
• and
• a digital image data acquisition module that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to acquire image data from an image sensor while at least a portion of the tubular vessel and at least a portion of a plunger within the tubular vessel are positioned between the image sensor and the backlight while the backlight emits light, wherein the image data is representative of a silhouette of at least the portion of the tubular vessel and the at least the portion of the plunger,
• wherein the image data is representative of a plurality of prefilled syringes in an intermediate holder, wherein the intermediate holder includes a plurality of optically unimpeded areas, and wherein each prefilled syringe is aligned with at least one respective optically unimpeded area.