PHARMACY PILL COUNTING VISION SYSTEM

A semi-automated pill counting system (10) using digital imaging technology and image recognition software including a modified Hough Transform. The system (10) comprises a light source (12); a modified pharmacist's tray (14); a digital camera (16); and a personal computer (PC) (18), with the PC (18) storing and executing the image recognition software. A roughly estimated number of pills are placed upon the tray (16) and illuminated by the light source (12), whereafter a digital image of the pills is produced by the camera (16) and sent via an interface to the PC (18). The image recognition software counts the pills present in the image and displays a count result. Based upon the count result, the pharmacist adds or removes pills to the tray (14), as appropriate, to complete the process.