A method and apparatus for
drug product tracking (or other pharmaceutical, health care or
cosmetics products, and / or the packages or containers they are supplied with) using
diffraction grating-based encoded
optical identification elements 8 includes an optical substrate 10 having at least one
diffraction grating 12 disposed therein. The
grating 12 has one or more colocated pitches Λ which represent a unique identification digital code that is detected when illuminated by incident light 24. The incident light 24 may be directed transversely from the side of the substrate 10 (or from an end) with a
narrow band (single
wavelength) or multiple
wavelength source, and the code is represented by a
spatial distribution of light or a
wavelength spectrum, respectively, or a combination thereof. The encoded element 8 may be used to
label any desired item, such as drugs or medicines, or other pharmaceutical or health care products or
cosmetics. The
label may be used for many different purposes, such as for sorting, tracking, identification,
verification,
authentication, anti-theft / anti-counterfeit, security / anti-terrorism, or for other purposes. In a manufacturing environment, the elements 8 may be used to track inventory for production information or sales of goods / products. Such labeling provides
product identification at the
pill or liquid
medicine level, which provides
traceability of these products to their manufacturer, thereby reducing counterfeit products in the marketplace. Also, the elements 8 may be incorporated into a film, liquid,
coating or
adhesive tape at attached to the product
package.