Leak Testing Of Pharmaceutical Packaging: Laser Based Technology vs. Conventional Blue Dye

By Dr Dorian Dixon, Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Institute, University of Ulster

A whitepaper by a leading packaging expert from the University of Ulster, Dr. Dorian Dixon, explores the integrity or pharmaceutical packaging and how existing methods for testing the seal integrity of blister packs are not as accurate as newer, technology-based test equipment.

In particular Dr Dixon found that the laser based Blisterscan, manufactured in the UK by Sepha, was capable of detecting 15% more product defects than traditional blue dye test methods used by the majority of the pharmaceutical market. In a global market valued at over $40B per annum, where quality control is of paramount importance, a 15% difference in the ability to detect if a product is sealed correctly or not is significant.