Non-latex condoms being sold commercially are inspected with pneumatic differential pressure techniques that cannot detect important causes of failure in use. The goal of the proposed effort is to develop means of optically testing non-latex condoms for pinholes, think regions, and embedded particles. The proposed method is amenable to use at production rates and, in addition to rejecting bad condoms, will also provide quantitative measurements to support production control efforts. The non-destructive nature of the optical tests proposed, and their ability to allow precise location and marking of the positions of defects found, will allow detailed studies of the nature and causes of defects, and thus of the means to reduce the occurrence of defective condoms on the production line. Visible and ultraviolet light illumination and detection techniques have been shown by PSI to be capable of detecting pinholes, thin regions, and embedded particles in latex condoms. New techniques will be developed to provide the same detection capabilities for new non-latex condoms, which exhibit different optical properties, as compared with latex. The key element of the new techniques will be the use of high- resolution CCD UV imaging capability to reduce background noise in the detection of pinholes. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The proposed test system will be useful in production screening testing and in Quality Assurance laboratories for all manufactures of non-latex condoms. (Typically, a factory may have 15 or 20 test machines in use.) In addition, it would be useful in central R & D and product development facilities, and in governmental research or compliance labs.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter