Recognizing fake medicine with Dino-Lite

Neville Broad of Kent, England is an independent expert on falsifications and runs his company Authenticate Limited with two colleagues. He is using multiple Dino-Lite digital microscopes in his laboratory on the Kent Science Park to research authenticity of, mostly, pharmaceuticals. "Our research is often focused on the packaging of the product as well as the physical properties of the product", he explains. "There are usually no falsified products in the regular channels, but the product falsifications that are sold through illegal networks, and the obviously the internet, have the potential to damage the health of the buyers. This in itself is enough reason to intercept these products, let alone the economic damage to the manufacturer and brand owner from illicit products sold under their name.

Valuable properties

Broad is using four Dino-Lite's in his laboratory: "We often use the polarization filter that eliminates the annoying glare on packaging that is using coated cardboard, for instance. Besides this, it is very easy to make measurements and perform calibrations with the DinoCapture software, which makes the tracking of falsifications easier, both on packaging and the product itself. We find it useful that we can make notes in the program and stores these with the images in a central, digital file. Another great feature is the viewing of the images directly on the screen of the PC where the Dino-Lite is running. You do not have to squint through optics and you can store the images directly if needed. For sure we have tried other hand microscopes, but Dino-Lite is the easiest and quickest for us."