JP3964290B2 - Analytical instrument - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a small analytical instrument that can perform fecal occult blood analysis and the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, large analyzers that automatically perform fecal occult blood analysis from samples collected by mass screening or the like are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003]
This large analyzer sets a large number of cuvettes (mixing containers) that are disposable or washed and reused, and moves the cuvette linearly while transferring the sample liquid from the sample collection container to the empty cuvette and liquid from the reagent bottle. Each reagent is dispensed, and photometric measurement of the degree of coloration is performed.
[0004]
The sample collection container is a stool sample collected on a stick-shaped collection rod soaked in a preservative solution in the container for dissolution and storage. The sample liquid is cut into the cuvette and the sample liquid is injected.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-8-35969 [0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The conventional automatic analyzers as described above are large and suitable for analyzing a large amount of specimens. When the number of specimens is small and the measurement frequency is low, they are expensive and unsuitable. Has the problem of being complicated.
[0007]
In other words, a large amount of cuvettes are mounted and transported in advance in the analyzer, while a large amount of sample collection containers are mounted on the stocker, and sample liquid and reagent are sequentially supplied to the transported cuvettes for photometry. For the measurement target, the sample collection container is attached with a barcode and a measurement request is made to perform sample identification and measurement management. Discontinuous sample analysis is wasteful and cannot be performed efficiently. It is assumed that the analysis is performed in a state where a large amount of samples are collected.
[0008]
In addition, it is also known that the analyzer includes a plurality of sample mounting portions, and a sample container is mounted on the mounting portion for analysis. In this case, the sample mounting position is input to the control unit for measurement. Although a request is generally made, the input operation is complicated. In addition, it is conceivable to perform measurement while recognizing the mounting site of the specimen, but a specimen sensor for that purpose is required separately, and the apparatus becomes complicated.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a small analytical instrument that can perform analysis with a simple operation without requiring an input of a mounting position even when the number of analyzes is small.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An analytical instrument of the present invention is an analytical instrument for analyzing a sample component by mixing a reagent and a specimen liquid in a disposable cuvette and measuring the color change thereof, and a specimen container containing the specimen liquid and A plurality of sample trays that can be mounted as a set of the cuvettes, a photometric unit that transmits and measures the color change of the reagent and the sample liquid in the cuvette, and a control unit that controls the photometry of the photometric units and the operation of the sample tray The control unit detects a cuvette mounted at an arbitrary position of the sample tray by photometry of the photometry unit at the start of analysis , controls the operation of the sample tray based on the detection , and the cuvette It is characterized in that the sample analysis of the mounted positions is performed in order .
[0011]
It is preferable that the sample tray is provided so as to be concentric and rotationally mounted with the cuvette.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention as described above, the cuvette mounted at an arbitrary position of the sample tray is detected by photometry of the photometry unit at the start of analysis , and the operation of the sample tray is controlled by the control unit based on the detection. In order to perform the sample analysis of the position where the is mounted in order, the sample container and disposable cuvette are combined and set on the sample tray and the measurement start operation is performed, so only the mounted sample can be analyzed. Position input is not required, and it can be installed at any position, simplifying operations.
[0013]
In addition, since the cuvette is detected using a photometric unit for measuring the degree of coloration, the sample mounting position can be recognized without installing a separate sample sensor, and the size of the device can be reduced without complicating the apparatus. This simplifies operation.
[0014]
In particular, the sample tray is provided with a rotating table on which concentric cuvettes are mounted, a photometric unit is installed at a position where the cuvette passes, and the cuvette is detected as the rotating table rotates. It can be configured and is advantageous for downsizing.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic mechanism of an example of an automatic analyzer, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sample tray, FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a sample tray in an analysis state, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cuvette, a specimen container, and a nozzle tip. FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 are cross-sectional views showing a cuvette opening state by the opening mechanism.
[0016]
This automatic analyzer 1 includes a disposable cuvette 11 as a mixing container in which a dry reagent R is enclosed as shown in FIG. 4A, a sample container 12 containing a sample liquid as shown in FIG. A disposable nozzle tip 13 attached to the tip of a later-described suction nozzle 41 for sucking and discharging the liquid as shown in (c) is used as a consumable item.
[0017]
The cuvette 11 is formed into a substantially rectangular tube shape with a translucent resin, and is configured as a measurement unit 11a that has a particularly transparent lower wall surface and allows measurement light to pass therethrough. In the case of fecal occult blood analysis, a lyophilized reagent R made of a colloidal gold reagent is accommodated, and a seal 11c made of metal foil is welded to the upper end opening to enclose the reagent R therein. The reagent R is dissolved by injecting a lysis solution at the time of analysis. Further, the sample container 12 includes a collar portion 12a that protrudes outward on the outer periphery of the upper portion and engages with the mounting hole, into which a sample solution in which a fecal sample collected from a sample collection container (not shown) is dissolved and stored is injected. The In addition, the nozzle tip 13 is formed in a pipette shape, and the tip of the suction nozzle 41 is fitted to the upper end opening, and a liquid is sucked and accommodated by introducing suction pressure, and discharged to the cuvette 11 by introducing discharge pressure. To do.
[0018]
The automatic analyzer 1 includes a circular sample tray 3 that can mount a plurality (for example, 10 sets) of the cuvette 11, the sample container 12, and the nozzle chip 13 on the front flat portion of the apparatus main body 2, and the vertical movement and swivel movement. A dispenser 4 having an aspirating nozzle 41, a photometric unit 5 (see FIG. 3) by an LED which is installed inside the sample tray 3 and transmits and measures the color change of the reagent R and the sample liquid in the cuvette 11; A light shielding cover 6 that covers the sample tray 3 above the photometric unit 5, an unsealing mechanism 7 (see FIG. 5) that is installed in the light shielding cover 6 and that opens and seals the seal 11 c of the cuvette 11, and in the vicinity of the sample tray 3 The chip discarding unit 8 is disposed, and a bottle mounting unit 9 on which a solution bottle 14 containing a solution of the reagent R is mounted.
[0019]
The apparatus main body 2 includes an operation unit 21 installed at the upper part, a front cover 22 that covers the analysis mechanism such as the sample tray 3 and the dispenser 4, and a chip disposal box 23 installed at the lower part so as to be able to be pulled out. .
[0020]
The basic operation of fecal occult blood analysis is as follows. First, when the sample container 12 containing the sample liquid, the cuvette 11 and the nozzle chip 13 are mounted on the sample tray 3 and started, the sample tray 3 is rotated, The photometry unit 5 detects the mounting of the cuvette 11 and automatically starts the sample analysis of the mounting position. First, after opening the seal 11 c of the cuvette 11, the solution is dispensed from the solution bottle 14 by the dispenser 4 to dissolve the reagent R, and then a predetermined amount of sample solution is supplied from the sample container 12. Is dispensed into the cuvette 11 and stirred. Next, every time the measurement position is passed, the change in color is measured by the photometry unit 5, and fecal occult blood is obtained from the initial value and the degree of coloration after a predetermined time.
[0021]
Next, the structure of each part will be specifically described. First, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sample tray 3 includes a disk-shaped rotary table 31 that is rotationally driven in the forward direction and the reverse direction, a temperature control block 32 that does not rotate below, and a heat shield cover. 33.
[0022]
The rotary table 31 has a plurality of circular mounting holes 34 concentrically holding the sample container 12 on the outer peripheral side, a plurality of rectangular mounting holes 35 concentrically holding the cuvette 11 on the inner peripheral side, and a circular mounting hole 34. Ten cylindrical mounting portions 36 that are adjacent to each other and hold the nozzle tip 13 on the outer peripheral side are equally divided into the circumference. A support shaft 37 is provided at the center of the lower surface of the rotary table 31 and is pivotably supported through the central portion of the temperature control block 32. A gear 38 is fixed to the lower end portion of the support shaft 37, and a timing belt (not shown) is hung and is rotated by a drive motor.
[0023]
The temperature control block 32 is made of a metal such as aluminum and has a large and large heat capacity. A heater 39 is installed at the bottom to adjust the heating to a predetermined temperature, and the lower part of the cuvette 11 mounted on the rotary table 31 moves on the upper surface. An annular recess 32a is provided, and the cuvette 11 is heated to a predetermined temperature by heating the air in the recess 32a. The bottom surface and the outer periphery of the temperature control block 32 are covered with a heat insulating cover 33 made of resin to obtain the heat retaining effect of the temperature control block 32, and the sample container 12 and the nozzle chip 13 are placed in the annular space 33a formed in the outer periphery. The lower part passes along with the rotation of the rotary table 31.
[0024]
Further, the photometric unit 5 is installed inside the temperature control block 32. The photometric unit 5 includes a light emitting element 51 of an LED installed on one side and an opposite side opposite to the measuring unit 11a of the cuvette 11 moving in the concave portion 32a between the inner and outer circumferences of the concave portion 32a. The light receiving element 52 is provided. Photometry of a predetermined wavelength (color) by the light emitting element 51 is emitted toward the light receiving element 52, and a signal corresponding to the amount of received light is output. In the fecal occult blood analysis, two wavelengths of the main wavelength and the sub wavelength are measured, and two sets of the light emitting element 51 and the light receiving element 52 are provided. The LEDs of the two sets of light emitting elements 51 have different emission wavelengths, and are installed in accordance with the pitch of the mounting interval of the cuvettes 11 of the rotary table 31 (the opening interval of the rectangular mounting holes 35). It is located between the light-emitting element 51 and the light-receiving element 52 and can perform photometry, and the coloration degree is sequentially measured each time.
[0025]
The light-shielding cover 6 that covers the light metering unit 5 and blocks the influence of external light is installed on the upper portion of the sample tray 3 in a range where the light metering unit 5 is installed so as to be undulated. The outer peripheral side portion is rotatably supported by a horizontal shaft, and a portion covering the center portion of the sample tray 3 is lifted.
[0026]
The unsealing mechanism 7 installed in the light shielding cover 6 includes an unsealing pin 71 that is arranged so as to be movable up and down at the intersection of the rotational movement locus of the cuvette 11 and the turning locus of the suction nozzle 41. Is installed in a pin installation portion 61 arranged in a protruding manner on the light shielding cover 6 as shown in FIG. The opening pin 71 has a round bar shape in the shaft portion, but the tip end portion 71a is formed in a multi-sided taper shape, for example, a four-sided pyramid shape, and is opened by opening a hole in the seal 11c of the cuvette 11. The unsealing pin 71 is biased upward by a spring 72, and the unsealing operation is performed by depressing the suction nozzle 41 of the dispenser 4.
[0027]
Furthermore, the lower surface of the light shielding cover 6 is provided with a cuvette presser 62 at the time of opening for preventing the unsealed opening pin 71 from engaging with the opening hole of the seal 11 c and lifting the cuvette 11. A cuvette presser 63 (see FIG. 2) at the time of stirring is provided on the side portion. The cuvette presser 62 at the time of opening is constituted by a tip of a cylindrical portion through which the unsealing pin 71 is inserted at the lower portion of the pin installation portion 61, and a lower end portion thereof can be brought into contact with an upper surface edge portion of the cuvette 11. Also serves as a guide for the opening pin 71. The cuvette presser 63 at the time of stirring is for preventing the tip of the nozzle tip 13 from being inserted deeply into the cuvette 11 from the opening hole and engaging the opening hole of the seal 11c to lift the cuvette 11, and the light shielding cover 6 is formed so as to protrude in the shape of a plate above the edge of the lower cuvette 11 on the side portion.
[0028]
The dispenser 4 (FIG. 1) is provided with a rod-like suction nozzle 41 extending downward at the lower end of the swivel arm 42, and dispenses the sample liquid and the dissolved liquid and stirs and mixes both liquids. The swivel arm 42 is supported so as to be vertically movable along a guide rod (not shown), and a rotary plate holding the guide rod is rotationally driven by a timing belt hung from a drive motor. As a result, the turning arm 42 is driven to turn, and a feed screw (not shown) installed at the turning center is screwed to the turning arm 42, and the turning arm 42 is moved up and down by the rotational drive of the feed screw. Yes.
[0029]
The tip of the suction nozzle 41 is mounted with the pipette-shaped nozzle tip 13 as described above by the downward movement of the swivel arm 42, and the sample liquid and the lysate are sucked into the nozzle tip 13 and discharged. After use, the swivel arm 42 is moved upward with the upper end of the nozzle tip 13 engaged with the engaging groove of the tip discarding portion 8 to be disengaged and dropped into the lower disposal box 23 To dispose of it. The tip discarding unit 8 is disposed on the turning locus of the suction nozzle 41.
[0030]
The suction nozzle 41 has an air passage (not shown) that opens at the tip, and an air pipe from a syringe pump (not shown) installed in the apparatus main body 2 is connected to the air passage. The syringe pump is an air pump having a syringe-like piston, and a negative pressure or a positive pressure (suction / discharge pressure) generated by driving the syringe is introduced into the suction nozzle 41.
[0031]
In addition, the automatic analyzer 1 includes a control unit (not shown) linked to the operation unit 21 in the apparatus main body 2. The control unit controls the operation of the sample tray 3 and the dispenser 4, calculates the analysis result based on the photometry of the photometry unit 5, and uses the light emitting element 51 and the light receiving element 52 of the photometry unit 5 at the start of analysis. The presence or absence of the cuvette 11 is detected by photometry, the mounting position of the cuvette 11 mounted on the rotary table 31 of the sample tray 3 in a pair with the sample container 12 is obtained, and the analysis of the sample container 12 at this mounting position is automatically performed. Is set to do.
[0032]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, before the analysis, the sample container 12 containing each sample solution is mounted on the sample tray 3, and the cuvette 11 and the nozzle chip 13 are mounted at the set position, and the solution bottle 14 is further attached. Set and prepare for measurement.
[0033]
Thereafter, the start button of the operation unit 21 is operated to start the analysis process. At the initial time, the rotary table 31 of the sample tray 3 is rotated once, the cuvette 11 is detected by the photometric unit 5 as described above, and the sample analysis of the mounted positions is started in order. The sample container 12 can be set together with the cuvette 11 at an arbitrary circumferential position of the rotary table 31.
[0034]
Next, the cuvette 11 corresponding to the sample container 12 to be analyzed is rotated by rotating the rotary table 31 and the opening pin 71 is pushed down by the suction nozzle 41 to open the seal 11c. Next, the rotary table 31 is rotated to move the nozzle tip 13 below the swiveling position of the suction nozzle 41 and is attached to the suction nozzle 41. Subsequently, the cuvette 11 is positioned below the swiveling position of the suction nozzle 41 and the suction nozzle 41 is swung to the position of the dissolving liquid bottle 14 to suck a predetermined amount of the dissolving liquid into the nozzle tip 13. It moves up and inject | pours a solution into cuvette 11 from an opening hole, and reagent R is dissolved.
[0035]
Next, the rotary table 31 is rotated to move the sample container 12 below the swiveling position of the suction nozzle 41 to suck a predetermined amount of sample liquid into the nozzle tip 13 and then move onto the cuvette 11 to move into the cuvette 11. The sample liquid is dispensed, and the nozzle tip 13 is further inserted into the cuvette 11, and the liquid in the cuvette 11 is repeatedly aspirated and discharged into the nozzle tip 13 to stir and mix the reagent liquid and the sample liquid. . The used nozzle tip 13 is removed from the suction nozzle 41 by the tip discarding unit 8 and dropped and discarded downward.
[0036]
Then, the cuvette 11 in which the reagent solution and the sample solution are mixed is adjusted to a predetermined temperature by the temperature adjustment block 32, and is sequentially moved to the photometry unit 5 by the rotation of the rotary table 31, and the measurement of the transmission optical density is performed each time. Done. While continuing the above measurement, a series of analysis operations following the opening of the next cuvette 11 are performed simultaneously. The analysis result based on the photometry is output, and the process is terminated.
[0037]
In the embodiment as described above, on the premise that the disposable cuvette 11 is mounted on the sample tray 3 simultaneously with the sample container 12, the mounting position of the sample container 12 is obtained by detecting the cuvette 11 by the photometric unit 5, Sample analysis is performed in order, and the user only operates the start button of the operation unit 21 after mounting the cuvette 11, the sample container 12 and the nozzle chip 13 in an arbitrary position on the sample tray 3. Therefore, automatic analysis can be performed with a simple operation that does not require input of the mounting position, and it is suitable for a small analytical instrument with a small number of samples.
[0038]
The reagent to be enclosed in the cuvette 11 is preferably a freeze-dried, powdered, granular, or tablet-dried reagent, but a liquid reagent can also be enclosed. In addition, although the reagent is sealed in the cuvette in advance, an empty cuvette may be mounted so that the reagent is dispensed into the cuvette instead of the lysis solution. In addition to fecal occult blood analysis, the design can be changed to analyze urine components (for example, urine protein).
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sample tray in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a sample tray in an analysis state. 4] Perspective view of cuvette, specimen container and nozzle tip [FIG. 5] Cross-sectional view showing the cuvette opening state by the opening mechanism [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic analyzer 2 Apparatus main body 3 Sample tray 4 Dispenser 5 Photometry part 6 Shading cover 7 Unsealing mechanism 8 Chip discard part 9 Bottle mounting part
11 Cuvette R Reagent
12 Sample container
13 Nozzle tip
21 Operation unit
31 Rotating table
41 Suction nozzle
42 Swivel arm
51 Light Emitting Element (LED)
52 Photo detector

Claims (2)

An analytical instrument that analyzes a sample component by mixing a reagent and a sample liquid in a disposable cuvette, and measuring the color change thereof,
And sample tray can be more equipped to the specimen container accommodating the sample liquid and the cuvette set, a light measuring unit that transmits metering the color change of the reagent and the specimen solution in the cuvette, photometric and said photometry section A control unit for controlling the operation of the sample tray ,
The control unit detects a cuvette mounted at an arbitrary position of the sample tray by photometry of the photometry unit at the start of analysis , controls the operation of the sample tray based on the detection , and a position where the cuvette is mounted Analytical instrument characterized by sequentially performing sample analysis. 2. The analytical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the sample tray is a rotary type on which the cuvette is mounted concentrically.

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