JP2008185597A - Automatic analyzing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic analyzing apparatus for efficiently processing a specimen rack that waits for decision of necessity for re-inspection. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus for automatically analyzing samples and re-inspecting them, comprises a rack feeding section 1 capable of accommodating a specimen rack 2, analyzing sections 6, 14 for inspecting samples collected from the specimen rack 2, a conveying line 3 for conveying the specimen rack 2 supplied from the rack feeding section 1 to the sampling areas of the analyzing sections and conveying the specimen rack 2 with samples collected, a feedback line 30 for returning the specimen rack 2 necessary for re-inspection to the entrance of the conveying line 3, a waiting section 24 for keeping the specimen rack 2 with possibility of re-inspection, one or a plurality of discharging lines 26 for discharging the specimen rack 2 with the necessity of re-inspection determined to the feedback line 30, and a rack storing section 23 for storing the specimen rack 2 unnecessary for re-inspection, wherein the rack dispensing mechanism 25 for transferring from the rack waiting section 24 to the discharging line 26 is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that automatically performs analysis of components of a biological sample such as blood and urine, and in particular, transports a sample container accommodated in a sample rack to an analysis unit and collects a sample from the sample container. The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that inspects and reexamines a sample as necessary.

  In an automatic analyzer for a clinical test, an inspected analysis item is automatically analyzed and tested for specimens such as blood, plasma, serum, urine, and other body fluids. The automatic analyzer has an analysis unit that analyzes the reaction liquid that is mixed and reacted with the sample, and the sample is supplied to the analysis unit by analyzing the sample rack containing the sample container via the transport line. There is a method of positioning in the sample suction position of the part. Some automatic analyzers using these methods automatically perform a re-examination based on the result of analysis. In other words, it is known that if the analysis result cannot be obtained in one inspection due to an inappropriate sample concentration, the same sample can be automatically returned to the analyzer and the same inspection item can be executed. ing.

  An automatic analyzer that transfers a sample rack to the entrance of a conveyance line by a return line and automatically performs re-examination is described in Patent Document 1, for example. In this automatic analyzer, a rack standby part formed by a U-shaped line for carrying in, carrying out and waiting for racks is provided adjacent to the rack storage part at the end part of the transport line, Specimen racks that do not require retesting, such as standard sample racks and cleaning solution racks, are sent directly from the transport line to the rack storage unit, and those that may be retested are sent to the carry-in line of the rack standby unit. Wait on a conveyor-type carry-out line. By moving the belt conveyor forward, sample racks that require re-examination are sent to the return line, and sample racks that do not require re-examination are sent to the rack storage unit entrance. Furthermore, since the sample rack is taken in from the carry-in line by moving the belt conveyor backward, and transferred to the carry-out line without fail, the sample rack waiting on the carry-out line can be easily managed.

JP-A-10-213586

  In the automatic analyzer according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the number of racks that can be on standby can be increased in the rack standby unit because the line on the carry-in side is also used as a standby unit, and a sample rack that does not require retesting has a rack standby unit. Since it is sent to the rack storage unit without passing through, there is little traffic jam in the sample rack on the transport line.

  However, although the sample rack processing method of the rack standby section has various analysis items and the number of samples specified for each sample, the necessity of retesting is not always determined from the top sample rack. Unless the necessity of retesting the first sample rack that is pre-packed and waiting is determined, processing of the subsequent sample rack does not proceed. In particular, in the case of an apparatus in which analysis units such as biochemical analysis units and immunological analysis units that have extremely different analysis times are connected by the same transport line, the sample rack that is requested to perform immunoanalysis that takes a long time to analyze Is the first sample rack waiting in the standby section, the subsequent sample rack cannot be processed until the test result such as immunoassay is obtained, and the sample processing capacity of the entire apparatus is significantly reduced. There was a possibility.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer capable of efficiently performing analysis even when analyzers having different analysis processing speeds are connected to the same transport line.

  The configuration of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.

The analyzer that inspects the sample collected from the sample container accommodated in the sample rack, and the sample rack that contains the sample is transported to the analyzer, and the sample rack from which the sample is collected is transported to the outlet. A rack, a rack supply unit that supplies a sample rack to the transport line, a standby unit that waits for a sample rack that may be retested, a rack collection unit that stores a sample rack that has been tested, and a retest In an automatic analyzer equipped with a return line for returning a necessary sample rack to the analyzer,
A rack distribution mechanism is provided that extracts a sample rack that is determined to be reexamined from among sample racks that are waiting in the rack standby unit, and extracts the sample rack from an arbitrary position of the rack standby unit to a target position. An automatic analyzer.

  The above-mentioned target position is a position that differs depending on a distribution destination that is distributed depending on the necessity of re-examination. In the case of a sample rack that requires re-examination, the position is such that it can be transferred to the return line for return to the analysis unit (return line entrance). In the case of a sample rack that does not require re-examination, the rack recovery unit or rack recovery unit It becomes a position (rack collection part entrance) where the rack can be transferred.

  The analysis unit preferably includes a sample probe for collecting a sample in the sample container accommodated in the sample rack that has been transported. The analysis unit can analyze biological samples, such as biochemical analyzers that quantitatively analyze the amount of specific components in blood and urine, or immunoanalyzers and DNA analyzers that measure the amount of specific antigens and antibodies Anything is fine.

  The sample rack can be transported by any method as long as it can move the rack, such as a belt conveyor system or a push-out arm system that pushes and transfers the rear end of the rack. In order to determine whether re-examination is necessary, it is preferable to include a control device that monitors the analysis results of each analysis unit and stores the analysis results.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic analyzer that automatically and efficiently processes a sample rack waiting for reexamination necessity determination.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the automatic analyzer of the present invention. After the sample racks 2 arranged in the rack supply unit 1 are transferred to the transport line 3, the sample racks 2 and identification media such as barcode labels attached to the sample containers accommodated in the sample racks 2 are identified. The sample rack number and the sample container number are recognized by reading by the identification device 5 in the unit 4. The sample rack number and the sample container number recognized by the identification device 5 are transmitted to the control unit 33, and the type of the sample rack 2, the type of analysis item designated for each sample container, etc. correspond to the sample reception number. Thus, it is collated with the analysis information instructed in advance from the operation unit 35, the destination of the sample rack 2 is determined by the control unit 33 based on the collation result, stored in the storage unit 34, and the subsequent processing of the sample rack 2 Used for

  An emergency sample rack input unit 32 is provided upstream of the rack supply unit 1. When the sample rack 2 is placed in the emergency sample rack input unit 32 with the sample rack 2 in the rack supply unit 1. The sample rack 2 in the emergency sample rack input unit 32 is transferred to the transport line 3 in preference to the sample rack 2 in the rack supply unit 1.

  The first analysis unit 6 and the second analysis unit 14 arranged along the transport line 3 receive the sample rack 2 from the transport line 3 and return the sample rack 2 after the sampling process to the transport line 3 again. And reaction disks 10 and 18 for advancing the reaction between the sample and the reagent according to various analysis items in the reaction containers arranged side by side on the circumference, and the reagent according to the various analysis items are positioned at the reagent inhalation position. Reagent disks 11 and 19 that operate as described above are provided. The first analysis unit 6 and the second analysis unit 14 are provided with specimen dispensing mechanisms 9 and 17 for dispensing the sample in the sample container from the sampling areas 8 and 16 to the reaction containers on the reaction disks 10 and 18, and reagents. Reagent dispensing mechanisms 12 and 20 are provided for dispensing reagents according to analysis items from reagent bottles on the disks 11 and 19 to reaction containers on the reaction disks 10 and 18.

  The sample rack 2 holding the sample in which items to be analyzed and inspected by the first analyzer 6 are transferred from the transport line 3 to the sampling area 8 by the rack take-in mechanism 7. The transferred specimen rack 2 is moved to the sample collection position in the sampling area 8, and the dispensing nozzle of the specimen dispensing mechanism 9 is inserted into the required sample container to be dispensed into the reaction container. When two or more inspections are instructed for the same sample container, and when inspection items are instructed for other sample containers on the same sample rack 2, the sample collection operation is repeated.

  The sample rack 2 for which the collection of the samples related to all the analysis items instructed has been completed is moved to the corresponding position of the rack discharge mechanism 13 and transferred onto the transport line 3 by the rack discharge mechanism 13. On the other hand, the sample collected in the reaction container on the reaction disk 10 is reacted with the reagent dispensed by the reagent dispensing mechanism 12, and data corresponding to each analysis item measured after a predetermined time is output to the control unit 33. Is done. The control unit 33 collates the determination criteria set in advance with the analysis test data. If the measurement data is inappropriate, the control unit 33 associates the sample rack number and the sample container number with the sample rack number and the sample container number. Store in the storage unit 34.

  Whether the sample rack 2 transferred onto the transport line 3 by the rack discharge mechanism 13 contains a sample that needs to be analyzed for the analysis item set in the second analyzer 14 is controlled. If there is a sample to be examined on the sample rack 2, the sample rack 2 is transported to the corresponding position of the rack take-in mechanism 15 by the transport line 3. The sample rack 2 stopped on the transport line 3 is transferred into the sampling area 16 by the rack take-in mechanism 15, and then the sample is dispensed into the reaction container on the reaction disk 18 at the sample collection position. The sample rack 2 that has finished collecting all necessary samples from the sample container is transferred onto the transport line 3 by the rack discharge mechanism 21. The sample rack 2 is transported to the rack distribution mechanism 22 immediately after the exit of the transport line 3.

  Since the sample rack number of the transported sample rack 2 is stored in the storage unit 34, the sample rack 2 such as the control sample rack, the standard sample rack, and the cleaning liquid rack that does not need to be retested or retested. The control unit 33 has already determined whether the sample rack 2 has a possibility. The sample rack 2 is transferred to the rack retracting mechanism 28 by the rack distribution mechanism 22 that has received the control signal of the control unit 33 based on the determination, and if reexamination is unnecessary, the rack retracting mechanism 28 supports the rack storage unit 23. The sample is sent to the inlet and stored in the sample rack storage unit 23 by the rack push-in mechanism 29. If the sample rack 2 has the possibility of retesting, it is transported to the rack standby unit 24 and waits until the necessity of retesting is determined.

  The measurement result of the first analysis unit 6 or the second analysis unit 14 and the sample rack 2 determined to be reexamined by the control unit 33 are transferred to the carry-out line 26 by the rack distribution mechanism 25, and are sent to the carry-out line 26. The sample is transported to the return line 30 and transferred to the outlet of the return line 30, and transferred to the transport line 3 with priority over the sample rack 2 in the sample input unit 1 by the rack return mechanism 31.

  The sample rack 2 determined not to be reexamined is transferred to the carry-out line 26 by the rack distribution mechanism 25, transported to the rack pull-in mechanism 28 by the carry-out line 26, drawn into the inlet of the rack storage unit 23, and rack push-in The mechanism 29 is stored in the rack storage unit 23. The first analysis test data and the retest test data are displayed on the display unit 36.

  FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the operation of the sample rack 2 and the mechanism in the vicinity of the carry-out line 26 in the automatic analyzer of FIG. The rack distribution mechanism 22 is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The rack allocating mechanism 22 includes a rack pushing mechanism 27 that reciprocates in the direction of pushing the sample rack 2 into the rack standby unit 24, and a rack feeding mechanism that moves a claw for pushing the rear end of the sample rack 2 by a rotating belt or the like. 41 and a retractable rack stopper 45 that drives a member that stops the movement of the sample rack 2 by contacting the tip of the sample rack 2 that has reached the rack distribution mechanism 22 by a solenoid or the like. The rack pull-in mechanism 28 is a rack feed having a claw for pushing the rear end of the sample rack 2 positioned at the crossing position with the carry-out line 26 and not requiring retesting to place the sample rack 2 on the belt of the storage line 47. It consists of a mechanism. At the entrance of the return line 30, a rack feed mechanism 43 that moves a claw for moving the claw for transferring to the return line 30 by pushing the end of the sample rack 2 that has been transported from the carry-out line 26 and needs to be retested. Is provided.

  As described with reference to FIG. 1, the sample rack 2 transported in the carry-out line 26 is already stored in the rack storage unit 23 or is loaded into the rack standby unit 24 when reaching the rack distribution mechanism 22. Is given by the control unit 33. When stored in the rack storage unit 23, the storage rack stopper 45 does not operate and is transported to the storage line 47 via the rack feeding mechanism 41 and the rack retracting mechanism 28. The sample rack 2 transferred to the storage line 47 is carried to the entrance of the rack storage unit 23 and stored in the rack storage unit 23 by the rack pushing mechanism 29. On the other hand, when being loaded into the rack standby unit 24, the storage rack stopper 45 is activated, the sample rack 2 is stopped at the entrance of the rack standby unit 24, and is loaded into the rack standby unit 24 by the rack pushing mechanism 27. A rack sensor 70 is provided at the entrance of the rack standby unit 24 to confirm that the sample rack 2 is securely stored. The sample rack 2 is sequentially loaded into the sample rack standby unit 24 in the above procedure, and until the rack sensor 71 detects the sample rack 2 or when the sample rack 2 is not carried to the rack distribution mechanism 22 for a certain period of time, A plurality of stored sample racks 2 are collectively brought to the end of the rack standby unit 24 by the rack feeding mechanism 42 and pre-packed. The sample rack 2 pre-packed at the end of the rack standby unit 24 stores the sample rack number and the sample container number in the storage unit 34, and the control unit 33 manages which sample rack 2 is waiting at which position. Has been. In FIG. 2, the rack sensor 70 and the rack sensor 71 define the number of racks carried at one time. However, the rack sensor 70 may count the sample racks 2 to define the number of racks. Of course, the sample racks 2 stored in the rack standby unit 24 may be carried one by one.

  The carry-out line 26 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2 will be described. The rack distribution mechanism 25 includes a rack feed mechanism for transferring the sample rack 2 from the rack standby unit 24 to the carry-out line 26, and a carry-out line 26 for positioning the rack feed mechanism on the target sample rack 2 waiting on the rack standby unit 24. And a sample rack 2 that is pre-packed and waiting at the end of the rack standby unit 24 can be randomly accessed. When the control unit 33 determines whether or not the sample rack 2 needs to be retested, the rack carry-out arm 44 of the carry-out line 26 moves to a position for receiving the target sample rack 2 and stands by. The rack distribution mechanism 25 positions the rack feeding mechanism on the target sample rack 2, and transfers the sample rack 2 to the rack carry-out arm 44 waiting at the receiving position. The rack sensor 72 confirms receipt of the sample rack 2, and the sample rack 2 is held by the rack carry-out arm 44. When reexamination is necessary, the sample rack 2 is transported to the entrance of the return line 30 by the rack carry-out arm 44 and transferred to the return line 30 by the rack feed mechanism 43. When reexamination is unnecessary, the sample rack 2 is transported to the entrance of the storage line 47 and transferred to the storage line 47 by the rack pull-in mechanism 28. After the sample rack 2 is pulled out from the rack standby unit 24, the sample rack 2 is pre-packed again by the rack feeding mechanism 42, and the position information of the sample rack 2 at the end of the rack standby unit 24 is reconstructed by the control unit 33. And stored in the storage unit 34.

  During the operation, the sample rack 2 is transported from the transport line 3 to the rack sorting mechanism 22 and is stored in the rack standby unit 24 by the sample rack push-in mechanism 27 at any time, thereby avoiding the stagnation of the transport line 3. However, when the rack sensor 70 detects that the rack standby unit 24 is filled with the sample rack 2 waiting for retest determination, the loading of the sample rack 2 into the rack standby unit 24 is temporarily stopped. When it is confirmed that there is no sample rack 2, the sample rack 2 is carried in again.

  In this embodiment, since processing is performed in order from the sample rack 2 determined as to whether retesting is necessary or not, the processing of the waiting sample rack 2 does not proceed unless the leading sample rack 2 is unloaded as in the prior art. Compared to the state, it can be expected to greatly speed up the processing.

  As a method for further speeding up the processing of the sample rack 2 in the standby unit 24, the sample rack can be determined from the analysis items and the number of samples instructed for each sample of the sample rack 2 waiting in the rack standby unit 24. 2 is calculated by the control unit 33, the sample rack 2 to be determined whether retesting is necessary the earliest is transferred to the rack unloading arm 44 in advance, and the rack unloading arm 44 is moved to the storage line 47. A method of moving to the entrance and waiting is conceivable.

  FIG. 3 shows the movement of the sample rack 2 and the mechanism in the vicinity of the carry-out line 26 as an example of an automatic analyzer in which three carry-out lines 26 are arranged in the case where the automatic analyzer shown in FIG. FIG. By providing a plurality of carry-out lines 26, it is possible to improve the carry-out capability of the sample rack 2 determined as to whether reexamination is necessary. Furthermore, space efficiency is improved by arranging the carry-out line 26 so that the movement areas of the sample racks 2 overlap with each other. In this embodiment, the width of the carry-out line 26 is more than twice that of the carry-out line 26 and the rack carry-out capacity is tripled. realizable. As shown in FIG. 3, when the carry-out line 26 is arranged in an overlapping manner, when the rack carry-out arm 44 having a narrow width so that the rack carry-out arm 44 does not contact the sample rack 2 being carried is adopted, The rack carry-out arm 44 that has carried the sample rack 2 to the entrance of the storage line 47 does not prevent the subsequent sample rack 2 from being carried out. When supplying the sample rack 2 to the rack carry-out arm 44, if there are vacant spaces in the plurality of rack carry-out arms 44, the rack distribution is performed by supplying the sample rack 2 with priority over the carry-out line 26 close to the rack standby unit 24. The supply time of the sample rack 2 to the carry-out line 26 by the mechanism 25 can be shortened. When the sample rack 2 is supplied to the rack transport arm in advance in the order in which the necessity for retesting is determined, the sample rack 2 for which the necessity for retesting is determined earliest is made to wait in the arm moving area of the rack pull-in mechanism 28. By waiting in the second and third order at a position near the arm movement area of the rack pull-in mechanism 28, the processing can proceed without being disturbed by the sample rack 2 that is late for retesting.

  FIG. 4 shows the movement of the sample rack 2 and the mechanism in the vicinity of the carry-out line 26 as an example of the automatic analyzer having two carry-out lines 26 in the case where the automatic analyzer shown in FIG. FIG. When an even number of carry-out lines 26 are arranged, adjacent two carry-out lines 26 are set, the rack carry-out arm 44 of the left carry-out line 26 holds the left end of the sample rack 2, and the rack carry-out of the right carry-out line 26 is carried out. Space efficiency can be further improved by allowing the arm 44 to grip the right end of the sample rack 2 and the left and right carry-out lines 26 to be greatly overlapped.

It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the automatic analyzer which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement in the vicinity of a carrying-out line about the case where two or more carrying-out lines exist about one Example of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement in the vicinity of an unloading line about the case where the unloading line of one Example of this invention exists. It is the figure which showed the movement of the sample rack and mechanism of the vicinity of the carrying-out line in the automatic analyzer which arranged two carrying-out lines of one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Rack supply part, 2 ... Sample rack, 3 ... Conveyance line, 4 ... Identification part, 5 ... Identification apparatus, 6 ... 1st analysis part, 7, 15 ... Rack taking-in mechanism, 8, 16 ... Sampling area, 9 , 17 ... Sample dispensing mechanism, 10, 18 ... Reaction disk, 11, 19 ... Reagent disk, 12, 20 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism, 13, 21 ... Rack discharge mechanism, 14 ... Second analysis section, 22 ... Rack shaking 23: Rack storage unit, 24: Rack standby unit, 25 ... Rack distribution mechanism, 26 ... Unloading line, 27, 29 ... Rack push-in mechanism, 28 ... Rack pull-in mechanism, 30 ... Return line, 31 ... Rack return mechanism 32 ... Emergency sample rack loading unit, 33 ... Control unit, 34 ... Storage unit, 35 ... Operation unit, 36 ... Display unit, 41-43 ... Rack feed mechanism, 44 ... Rack unloading arm, 45 ... Retractable rack stopper, 46 ... Storage line, 0-74 ... rack sensor.

Claims (2)

An analysis unit for inspecting a sample collected from a sample container stored in a sample rack;
A transport line for transporting a sample rack containing a sample to the analysis unit;
In an automatic analyzer equipped with
A rack standby unit for waiting the sample rack for analysis;
A rack sensor for detecting that the sample rack is buried in the rack standby unit;
The rack sensor includes a control unit that controls to stop the loading of the sample rack into the rack standby unit based on detecting that the sample rack is buried in the rack standby unit. Automatic analyzer. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls to resume the loading of the sample rack into the rack standby unit based on the fact that the rack sensor has confirmed that there is no sample rack in the rack standby unit. .

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