Steriline is enhancing and strengthening the use of AI in its solutions, and is introducing two intelligent technologies that work in synergy: OmniAI Vision and OptiLAIN – the former dedicated to image analysis, while the latter focuses on continuous process monitoring and predictive maintenance.
Steriline
Steriline fill-finish line at a customer plant suitable for AI implementation.
“The sterile filling sector is undergoing a profound transformation,” says Alessandro Caprioli, product development director at Steriline. “The introduction of Annex 1 and the new Annex 22 (relating to the use of AI in computerised systems) requires the reduction of potential sources of process contamination, which can be achieved through ever-higher levels of control, operational traceability and documentation of production conditions. At the same time, pharmaceutical manufacturers are demanding systems that are increasingly easy to manage, capable of reducing operational risk without increasing the complexity of the machinery.”
The artificial intelligence incorporated into OmniAI Vision not only represents a new way of processing information from cameras but also, in this context, changes the very way in which the machine is designed.
Traditionally, each function would require a specific sensor or a dedicated camera. OmniAI Vision, however, offers an innovative approach: using a limited number of cameras, installed in optimal positions and away from critical areas of the process, it captures images which are then processed in real time by artificial intelligence algorithms capable of simultaneously extracting and processing multiple pieces of information.
“This approach makes it possible to reduce the number of devices installed inside the isolator or any other containment system, improve laminar flow, simplify cleaning operations and make the machine even more accessible for maintenance work,” continues Caprioli. “This flexible monitoring method also represents the first step towards creating an increasingly autonomous system.”
Alongside OmniAI Vision, Steriline is presenting OptiLAIN, the platform dedicated to continuous system status monitoring and predictive maintenance.
The two technologies complement each other and work in synergy: OmniAI Vision monitors the process from the outside, using cameras – it is the eyes of the line – while OptiLAIN monitors it from the inside, via all the other sensors.
“The integration of intelligent image analysis and performance monitoring provides a comprehensive view of the production process: on the one hand, product quality and the correct execution of operations; on the other, the machine’s behaviour and changes in its efficiency,” says Paolo Pozzi, chief service officer at Steriline.
OmniAI Vision and OptiLAIN represent two complementary components of a broader strategy for the digitalisation of fill-finish lines, in which images, data and algorithms work together to improve process control, support regulatory compliance and reduce operational risk; they are the result of a multi-year research programme developed according to an Open Innovation model.
In recent years, Steriline has in fact invested a significant portion of its Revenue in Research and Development, collaborating with the Politecnico di Milano and a number of research centres affiliated with it, including industrial PhD programmes shared between the university and the company.
This collaboration has therefore made it possible to transform the results of advanced research into practical tools, designed to meet the day-to-day needs of users of fill-finish systems.
OmniAI Vision does not merely process images, just as OptiLAIN does not merely read sensor data. The platform continuously monitors the machine’s behaviour, records significant events and provides operators with useful information to enable them to make faster and more informed decisions.
Steriline thus continues, with renewed vigour, its journey to provide increasingly intelligent, clean and autonomous fill-finish solutions, innovating the present with the technologies of the future and the experience gained from 700 installations in over 50 countries.
“We are very proud to offer our customers cutting-edge solutions and to position Steriline as a leading company in the field of Artificial Intelligence,” says Ilaria Fumagalli, CEO of Steriline. “Steriline has always been committed to creating and implementing smarter production solutions which, in the long term, will become increasingly autonomous. It is within this context that our investment in Artificial Intelligence over recent years fits, enabling us, amongst other things, to further reduce operator involvement in accordance with the guidelines of Annex 1 and Annex 22.”