Developed by Telstar, the Intelligent Vial Rejection Module (IVRM) is an Inline Manipulation System which has been designed for detection and treatment of vials during freeze-drying process.

IVRM, a very compact inline quality control unit, can be fully integrated in automatic loading and unloading systems in order to automatically manage the paths of vials during the loading and/or the unloading of freeze dryers.

The IVRM has been designed to provide two main functions: the detection and the subsequent management of a specific vial in the process line. The module is able to identify and separate a specific vial according to different parameters (stopper position, missing stopper, color variation, and so on) and after identification it is capable of performing several tasks: rejection of the vial to a rejection container, separation of vial for sampling, separation of one vial for a specific function, introduction of a pre-prepared vial or re-introduction of a vial subsequent to removal.

The innovative Intelligent Vial Rejection Module represents a compact and versatile solution for inline vial management at high speeds, ensuring appropriate processing of lyophilized products as well as reducing the risk of batch contamination, spoilage and the time of operator intervention.

An operating unit of IVRM physically integrated into an automatic loading and unloading system will be displayed at Achema 2015.

Telstar has developed a new generation of vial loading and unloading systems that can be integrated with freeze dryers and which offer greater robustness, efficiency, reliability and accuracy in the vial transport and transfer process, in addition to easier cleaning and simplified maintenance. The improvements are mainly concentrated in the transport conveyor transition modules and in vial alignment systems which offer increased security of vial transport in loading and unloading processes, resulting in elimination of breakage and significant reduction in rejects. The improvements include new vial descrambling modules that are suitable for unloading processes up to 400 vials per minute with a typical rejection rate of 0.01%. Telstar has also introduced an ultra-compact loading mechanism that results in a 40 per cent reduction in the space required in the clean room.

Telstar originally developed the industry’s most compact unloading pusher, patented in 2006, facilitating easy integration into freeze-drying equipment. In 2011, the company introduced a new compact drive system featuring flexible steel bands for vial loading and unloading systems, designed particularly for operating under aseptic conditions and within barrier isolators. This system, also patented by Telstar, can unload freeze dryers configured in ‘pass-through’ mode and can also be used to load and unload in single-sided configuration when layout conditions restrict application of other technologies.