When a needle of a prefilled syringe penetrates its shield the sterility of the product is at risk. Furthermore, the exposed needle can pose a threat to medical staff.
Seidenader Maschinenbau believes that by applying high voltages to the lower section of the syringe it can detect defects in the shield. This works by using the conductivity of the protruding needle and is even effective for detecting flaws in rigid plastic shields.
Current vision systems are unreliable for detecting pierced needle shields, according to Seidenader Maschinenbau.