Lateral Flow Stick Inspection and Marking to Avoid Carrier Waste
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current process of producing carriers with lateral flow sticks for biomarker measurement in animal milk analysis is prone to errors, leading to the entire carrier being discarded even if only a few sticks are faulty, resulting in resource wastage.
Innovation Solution
An arrangement and method that uses a camera and controller to inspect and mark faulty lateral flow sticks on a carrier with visual indicators before distribution, allowing the carrier to be used despite some faulty sticks, ensuring only functional sticks are utilized.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire carrier is discarded when a faulty lateral flow stick is detected, then quality control is ensured, but resource waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The quality check system evaluates each lateral flow stick independently on the carrier rather than treating the entire carrier as a single unit. The camera captures images of individual sticks, the controller analyzes each one separately, and the marker applies quality indicators to specific sticks. This segmentation allows functional sticks to be distinguished from faulty ones, enabling selective use and avoiding discarding the entire carrier due to a single defect.
2Loss of substance
If manual quality checking is performed at the farm, then resource waste is reduced, but time consumption and administrative burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The quality inspection is performed in advance at the production site before the carrier reaches the farm. The camera and controller system automatically checks all lateral flow sticks on the carrier, applies quality indicators to faulty sticks, and prepares the carrier for selective use. This preliminary action transfers the quality checking burden from the farm to the production site, saving farmers time and administrative effort while enabling resource-efficient use of carriers.
3Measurement precision
If automated quality checking is implemented at production, then inspection accuracy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical inspection process is replaced with an automated optical-electronic system. A camera captures images of lateral flow sticks, a controller processes these images to detect defects, and a marker applies quality indicators. This substitution of mechanical/manual inspection with automated vision technology improves inspection accuracy and consistency while the modular design keeps the added complexity manageable through standardized components.
Data Source
AI summary
A quality control system for lateral flow sticks detects defective sticks while maintaining them on a carrier. A plurality of lateral flow sticks are arranged at spaced intervals in a Y-direction on the carrier, with each stick oriented transversely and configured to detect biomarkers in milk through capillary flow along a porous membrane with test and control lines. A camera captures images of individual sticks, and a controller analyzes stick quality through image processing to measure parameters like width and position critical for proper flow and test line indication. For sticks determined to be defective, a marker applies a visual indication allowing those sticks to be skipped during subsequent use rather than requiring removal of defective sticks and waste of the entire carrier. The system enables efficient quality control while preserving usability of good lateral flow sticks when defects are found.