The unit dose is one of the fastest growing forms of pharmaceutical packaging. As its use grows, drug packagers are concerned with providing vital information in an ever-smaller space.
The drive to add bar codes to unit-dose packaging started several years ago with an initiative by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce medical errors. The RSS code can be scanned by any health care professional within the delivery cycle, ending with a nurse or doctor scanning the medication, the patient, and themselves to ensure the right drug (in the right dose and right route of administration) is being given to the right patient at the right time.
There's more to the RSS-Enabled system than its coding capability. Along with the system comes vital help in complying with the FDA's validation and 21 CFR Part 11 regulations regarding documentation of equipment effectiveness. The software to support 21 CFR Part 11 compliance was developed by Domino Amjet in conjunction with Barcode Technology Inc., which helped Domino develop the overall software for the RSS-Enabled system.
Domino Amjet Inc. is offering a way to harness the power of Reduced Space Symbology (RSS) for this application. Domino's new RSS-Enabled Laser can etch a consistently readable RSS bar code, with full production and product identification, onto the label of a unit-dose package. The tiny bar code, with its linear and two-dimensional elements, can include lot numbers, expiration dates, serial numbering, the National Drug Code (NDC) number, and a wealth of other information if needed.
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The RSS-Enabled system allows the use of laser, with its high speed, precision, superior code quality, and low consumables, as an alternative to hot-stamp and thermal coding for RSS bar codes. It can work with fiber- and poly-based label substrates. It is the only high-speed laser system to print variable RSS type bar codes that comply with the FDA rule.
"We're structuring the process of how we sell this to the industry as more of a solution-selling approach. It's not just a piece of equipment anymore," Davis says. "We're not just selling the box."
The RSS-Enabled Laser system is an enhancement of Domino Amjet's DSL (Domino Scribing Laser). Refinements to the DSL's hardware and software allow it to print the RSS code onto unit-dose labels at up to 400 units per minute. The RSS-Enabled system is available as new equipment or as a retrofit to existing DSL systems.
"If [pharmaceutical companies] are doing things that move their product to a category of being perceived as safer and better, that means a lot to them in terms of market advantage and potential litigation," says Tony Davis, Domino Amjet's business development manager.
Domino Amjet
In addition, customers have the option of ordering the RSS-Enabled system with in-line optical verification. This option, using equipment originating with Cognex Corp., will ensure that all bar codes are correct and readable.
847-244-2501; www.dominoamjet.com
Previous article: 07 February 2007
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