An automated inspection system for stents.

In this paper, the automated inspection of stent manufacturing is presented. It was developed and applied to acquire, process, and analyze the image data of stents using a line-scan camera and automated multi-axes scan mechanics to acquire the image data during the scanning process. A stent is a wire-metal-mesh tube used to prop open an artery during angioplasty. The stent is collapsed to a small diameter and put over a balloon catheter. It is then moved into the area of the blockage to restore normal blood flow and keep an artery open. A cardiovascular stent has hundreds of critical features with tight tolerances. They must be 100% inspected for dimensional conformity, and also for visual defects. The designed automated stent-inspection system utilizes a high-resolution line-scan camera to generate a flat, unrolled view of the stent, and was developed by Carinthian Tech Research CTR-AG. A novel approach is proposed for automatic error detection in stents. Image-processing-based algorithms are applied and work is under way for producing fully automated algorithms. The system generates a large, highly detailed image of the entire stent pattern in a few seconds (typically 20 s and the error detection in 10 to 15 s). Manufacturers of stents can benefit greatly from this new technology, which suits the particular inspection needs of the 100% quality requirement of stent production. The technology continues to evolve and take advantage of the latest developments in the growing field of digital optics, imaging, and computer capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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