• Potomac Photonics
  • June 10, 2015

Calibrated Leak Test Holes for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Calibrated Leak Test Holes for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Leak test hole drilling

Leak test hole drilling

In recent years pharmaceutical and medical device processors have increasingly relied upon packaging quality to improve product shelf life and efficacy. Whenever there is any sort of physical breach of the packaging structure, the product integrity is compromised, reducing yields and possibly safety. The resulting costs associated with poor quality in turn increase a supplier’s manufacturing expense, negatively impacting all corporate efforts at cost containment. Poor product quality ultimately shows up in the bottom line.

While package leak testing is now new, next generation leak detection technologies have entered the marketplace that generate much more accurate results when compared with traditional leak testing. For example, a recent industry test study showed that new laser scanning equipment is able to detect 100% of 10 micron-sized holes versus 50% for older blue dye testing procedures.

These more sophisticated testing equipment and methodologies then lead to a new requirement that leak test system validation and calibration samples provide tighter small hole drilling capabilities for measuring results. Potomac laser micromachining technology is one of the few ways to drill holes with adequate size and accuracy to fully put the new testing equipment through its paces.

Calibrated holes as small as 1 micron.

Calibrated holes as small as 1 micron.

Potomac can laser drill holes as small as one micron with highly accurate placement in a wide range of packaging materials including organic polymers and other plastics, glass, metals and ceramics. Laser hole drilling is successful in rounded as well as flat packaging such as vials, ampoules, pouches, bottles, foil and blister packs, and metal containers. Small hole drilling in leak test samples is an important aspect of a complete package quality control program.

At Potomac we have our own robust, internal quality control program and we have achieved ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 13485:2013 certifications. A Certificate of Conformance and Quality Data Sheet is included with each Leak Test Hole Drilling Order verifying results for your testing program.

When your leak test system needs smaller hole drilling in packaging than in the past, let Potomac fabricate test samples that will bring your quality control program to new heights, along with increasing your bottom line.

 

Other Posts

New NIST Heart on a Chip Microfluidic Platform Speeds Drug Discovery & Commercialization 

Animal testing has long been an established protocol in drug discovery programs. But there are systemic issues with the far from reliable methodology. In fact, only 10% of the drugs that move from animal testing to human clinical trials succeeds. Such low yields increase the time and expense required to get pharmaceuticals to market, fueling…

  • Potomac Photonics
  • March 12, 2024

Precision Laser Drilling of Glass Slides and Coverslips for Microfluidics and Biotech Applications

In the field of microfluidics, where precision is key to innovation and application success, our expertise at Potomac Photonics sets a standard. We specialize in the art of laser drilling precise small holes in glass slides and coverslips, a critical capability for the fabrication of microfluidic devices. These devices play a pivotal role in various…

  • Potomac Photonics
  • February 5, 2024

Machine Learning: Applying AI to Manufacturing at Potomac Photonics

The world today seems consumed with fears about Artificial Intelligence, otherwise known as AI. Writers, journalists, ad copywriters, teachers, and artists are fearful their jobs will be lost to computers but in manufacturing we have been applying a subset of AI to manufacturing for decades with positive results. Like other forms of AI, Machine Learning…

  • Potomac Photonics
  • November 12, 2023