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Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Inspection Systems and Equipment for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturers face strict quality and compliance requirements. Variations in formulations, dosage forms, and packaging create risks for foreign contaminants, defective products, and inaccurate weights. Anritsu provides advanced pharmaceutical x ray systems, pharmaceutical metal detectors, and nutraceutical inspection equipment that safeguard product integrity, ensure accurate dosing, and support global regulatory compliance, including 21 CFR Part 11.

X-Ray, Metal Detection, and Checkweighing Systems for Nutraceuticals and Pharmaceutical Industry

Tablets

Tablet Inspection Systems

Even after multiple upstream quality checks, tablets may still face risks at the packaging stage. Blister packs can contain broken, chipped, or missing tablets or fine metal contaminants sealed inside. These issues compromise pharmaceutical quality standards and risk recalls. Anritsu’s tablet inspection systems, including pharmaceutical x-ray inspection equipment and pharmaceutical metal detectors, ensure precise contaminant detection and product integrity.

Typical Challenges

  • Detecting broken, chipped, or missing tablets
  • Finding fine metal contaminants in blister packs
  • Ensuring accurate dosage and presentation

Our Solutions:

Tablet X-Ray Inspection Systems
Pharmaceutical Metal Detector
Capsules

Capsule and Caplet Inspection Systems

Capsules must be inspected individually to confirm both contaminant-free production and accurate fill weight. Even slight deviations in medications such as anticancer drugs or immunosuppressants can affect treatment effectiveness and patient safety. Anritsu’s capsule inspection systems combine checkweighers for pharmaceutical packaging and metal detectors to verify dosage accuracy, detect foreign materials, and ensure compliance.

Typical Challenges

  • Detecting small contaminants inside capsules
  • Verifying weight and fill-level accuracy
  • Preventing dosage deviations in critical medications

Our Solutions:

Capsule Checkweighers
Pharmaceutical Metal Detectors
Cartons and Cases

Carton and Case Inspection Systems

Errors in secondary packaging can create costly supply chain problems. Missing blister packs inside cartons or missing cartons in larger cases often result in distribution errors and consumer complaints. Anritsu’s carton and case inspection systems, including pharmaceutical checkweighers, ensure packaging accuracy and completeness.

Typical Challenges

  • Detecting missing blister packs in cartons
  • Identifying missing cartons in larger cases
  • Preventing distribution errors and complaints

Our Solutions:

SSV-h Series Checkweighers
Case Checkweighers
Sachets and Sticks

Sachet and Stick Pack Inspection Systems

High-volume sachet and stick pack lines require inspection systems that detect fine metal contaminants and ensure precise weights. With challenging foil packaging and fast production speeds, Anritsu’s pharmaceutical x-ray inspection equipment and multi-lane weighing systems deliver high accuracy and reliability.

Typical Challenges

  • Detecting fine contaminants in foil packaging
  • Weighing sachets and sticks at high speed
  • Managing accuracy across large production volumes

Our Solutions:

Built-In Multi-Lane Weighing Systems
X-ray Inspection Systems for Pharmaceutical Products
Pharmaceutical Metal Detectors
Patches

Transdermal Patch Inspection Systems

Transdermal patches are often sealed in opaque aluminum foils, where vision inspection systems cannot detect trapped or defective products. Inconsistent sealing or hidden defects compromise safety and compliance. Anritsu’s pharmaceutical x-ray inspection systems identify trapped patches and seal issues with unmatched accuracy.

Typical Challenges

  • Detecting patches trapped in sealed areas
  • Inspecting through opaque aluminum foils
  • Verifying seal integrity and product quality

Our Solutions:

X-ray Inspection Systems for Pharmaceutical Products
Tubes & Pouches

Tube and Pouch Inspection Systems

Seal integrity and fill accuracy are critical for pharmaceutical tubes and pouch packaging, particularly for ointments, creams, and gels that must meet strict quality standards. Overfills increase production costs, while underfills cause complaints and compliance issues. Anritsu’s tube and pouch inspection systems, including dual-lane checkweighers and x-ray systems for pharmaceutical products, ensure seal reliability and correct fill levels.

Typical Challenges

  • Verifying seal integrity in tubes and pouches
  • Detecting overfilled or underfilled products
  • Ensuring consistency with creams, gels, and ointments

Our Solutions:

Dual-Lane Checkweighers
X-ray Inspection System for Pharmaceutical Products
Bottles & Cans

Bottle and Can Inspection Systems

Lightweight bottles and aerosol cans can cause inspection errors due to orientation shifts during transfer. These issues reduce detection accuracy and risk contamination or fill errors. Anritsu’s pharmaceutical bottle and can inspection systems provide stable handling, accurate weighing, and contaminant detection across packaging formats.

Typical Challenges

  • Preventing orientation issues during inspection
  • Verifying correct liquid fill levels
  • Detecting contaminants in bottles and cans

Our Solutions:

Checkweighers for Small-Diameter Bottles
Checkweighers for Aerosol Cans
X-Ray Inspection Systems for Pharmaceutical Products
Medical Devices

Medical Device Inspection Systems

Completeness checks are essential for medical devices. Missing needles in syringe packs or absent parts in diagnostic kits can render products unusable and unsafe. Anritsu’s medical device inspection systems, including pharmaceutical x-ray inspection and checkweighers, ensure all components are present before shipping.

Typical Challenges

  • Detecting missing needles or components
  • Verifying completeness of syringe packs and kits
  • Ensuring compliance with medical device standards

Our Solutions:

SSV-h Series Checkweighers
X-Ray Inspection Systems for Pharmaceutical Products
Nutraceuticals

Nutraceutical Inspection Systems

Nutraceutical products must meet the same safety and dosage standards as pharmaceuticals. Contaminants or incorrect dosages of active ingredients can harm consumers and damage brand trust. Anritsu’s nutraceutical inspection systems — including x-ray equipment, metal detectors, and checkweighers — detect even the smallest contaminants and verify dosage accuracy for powders, capsules, and packaged supplements.

Typical Challenges

  • Detecting foreign contaminants in supplements
  • Preventing incorrect ingredient dosages
  • Ensuring consistent packaging and fill weights

Our Solutions:

Nutraceutical X-Ray Inspection Systems
Nutraceutical Metal Detectors
Nutraceutical Checkweighers

21 CFR Part 11 Compliance For the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

All Anritsu solutions comply with 21 CFR Part 11, ensuring that electronic records and signatures carry the same legal weight as paper documentation. This compliance supports secure record-keeping, data integrity, and global regulatory requirements for pharmaceutical and medical product manufacturing.

X-Ray, Metal Detection, and Checkweighing Systems for Pharma and Nutraceuticals

Anritsu inspection equipment for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, including x-ray systems, metal detectors, checkweighers, and combination systems. Each solution is engineered to detect contaminants, verify dosage accuracy, and ensure packaging integrity across tablets, capsules, liquids, medical devices, and supplements. Explore our equipment lines below to see how Anritsu supports quality, compliance, and efficiency in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

X-Ray Systems
Checkweigher
Metal Detector
SSV & M6 Combo Systems
X-Ray

X-Ray Systems

X-Ray

With Anritsu’s X-ray systems it's possible to detect the finest contaminants in products and sealed areas and perform a wide range of quality checks on opaque and thin packaging. All models come with standard HD imaging and safety design features that ensure minimal X-Ray leakage.

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Checkweigher

Metal Detector

Metal Detectors

Metal Detector

Anritsu’s M6 tablet metal detector can detect metal contaminants as small as 0.22 mm in tablets and capsules. In a pharmaceutical production line, they can inspect up to 30,000 items per minute without being affected by vibrations, electromagnetic noise, and static electricity.

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SSV & M6 Combo Systems

SSV & M6 Combo Systems

SSV & M6 Combo Systems

Combination systems consist of a checkweigher and a metal detector united into a single control unit that saves space and reduces total cost of ownership. The option of vertical metal detector heads allows for the inspection of vertical packaging like bottles and stand-up pouches.

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Anritsu Academy

Find and download on-demand resources to learn more about product inspection and detection. Expand your knowledge with sell sheets, presentations, videos, and more. Just a few clicks away.

More Resources

FAQ

The various solutions are applied at multiple points – In tablet and capsule manufacturing In bottle and vial filling Blistering Primary and secondary packaging

Pharmaceutical packages tend to be both small and light in weight. At today’s high production speeds, a highly accurate checkweigher is needed to ensure that packages are complete. For example, ensuring cartons contain product information leaflets and the correct number of blister packs. The Anritsu lineup of SSV Checkweighers are designed specifically to meet the unique requirements of the pharmaceutical industry including FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and machine validation support.

Yes. Our checkweighers can be integrated with other pieces of equipment and software to provide a complete track and trace solution. The Anritsu range of SSV Checkweighers has the flexibility of communications to be successfully integrated into such a system.

Pharmaceutical production environments are necessarily clean and highly regulated but foreign object contamination of the final product can still occur. Potential contamination sources include: raw materials, metal fragments from wearing of machinery such as tablet presses ,objects inside containers before filling

X-ray inspection can be used on packaged pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products as well as empty packages prior to filling. Typical applications include detection and inspection of ampoules, inspection of blister packs for missing or damaged tablets or capsules, seal integrity inspection for blister packs, tubes and transdermal patches. Inspection of powders in metalized foil pouches or large tubs sealed with metalized foil (when traditional metal detector solutions are ineffective).

We offer a variety of options to learn more about our inspection systems and help you determine which one fits your unique production line best. This includes in-person demos at your facility, using your products in our demo van, virtual demos through a full test lab at our US Headquarters in Chicago IL, and our Anritsu Academy (link resource center here) where you can find videos, product sheets, and much more. Should you still have questions, our team of experts will be happy to help you determine the best solution for your production line. Reach out anytime! (link Contact Us page here)

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Interested in learning more about our inspection solutions or other products? Get in touch with us today!