AI in x-ray has quality role other than in detection of contaminants

At interpack, Mettler-Toledo demonstrated how x-ray systems equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) can improve brand protection and product quality.

The company showed its X32 x-ray unit running on the stand with the example of a composite food package combining multiple dough balls and a single pot of dipping sauce. As customer solutions manager Adam Green explained, any AI function is carefully controlled under the latest EU regulation.

“Using AI for contaminant detection is deemed high-risk,” he told Machinery Update. “But end users are allowed to apply it to product quality.”

The advantages are that this function can identify components and count them, unlike a checkweigher, while also checking for presentation issues such as orientation. So, with different roles for x-ray in contaminant detection and (with AI) in quality control, Mettler-Toledo claims the technology can provide ‘total brand protection’.

“The dough ball example also shows how the AI allows for split counting, in other words, even when the images overlap,” Green explained. There are separate rejects for contamination and other quality issues, allowing contaminant-free rejected product to be reworked.

Other food-based applications might include pieces of protein, such as meatballs in packaged ready meals, according to Mettler-Toledo. This allows the manufacturer to navigate a course with a valuable food component between giveaway and potential consumer complaints.

X-ray also has a strong story to tell when it comes to reporting and compliance, especially when linked to a higher-level Manufacturing Execution System (MES) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). “The great strength of x-ray is that you generate an image and a record can be sent to the MES or ERP system,” says Green. Images can be visually inspected and used to trigger preventative or corrective action.

While contamination detection in food has been a mainstay of the company’s x-ray business to date, said Green, AI-enabled quality control applications are also being explored in pharmaceutical and medical areas, for example with over-the-counter devices and hygiene products.

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