JPH03197841A - Inspection device for body to be inspected - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the optical axis adjustment of an optical system and to reduce the size of the device by coupling at least parts of an illumination optical system and a photodetection optical system with each other integrally by a coupling member. CONSTITUTION:A laser light source 21, a projection port 21a, a flow cell 23, cylindrical lenses 22 and 24 (arranged coaxially with each other), and objective lenses 26 and 27 (lens 27 provided at right angles to a laser beam made incident on the cell 23) are fixed mutually by the coupling part 28 made of brass, etc., having a small coefficient of thermal expansion. The laser beam projected on the optical axis 01 from the projection port 21a of the light source 21 passes through the lenses 22 and 24 to irradiate particles to be inspected which flow in the distribution part 23a in the cell 23 as an elliptic spot. The forward scattered light which is generated at this time is photodetected by a photodetector through a stopper 25 and the lens 26. The sideward scattered light and fluorescent light are photodetected by a photodetector through the lens 27 on the optical axis 02. Thus, the optical axes 01 and 02 need not be adjusted at all after the assembly and the device is reduced in size on the whole.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field 1] The present invention is applicable to a flow cytometer, for example, in which a laser beam or the like is irradiated onto a test particle, and scattered light or fluorescence is detected to determine the properties of the test particle. -Related to specimen testing equipment that analyzes structure, etc.

[Conventional technology] A flow cytometer is a cell suspension solution that flows at high speed.
In other words, it is a device that elucidates the properties and structure of cells by irradiating a sample liquid with, for example, a laser beam and detecting the photoelectric signals generated by the scattered light and fluorescence.
It is used in fields such as oncology and genetics.

In the conventional particle analysis device used in this flow cytometer, etc., the central part of the flow cell is, for example, 2001 m
A laser beam or other light is irradiated onto test particles, such as blood cells, passing through a flow section with a minute rectangular cross section of 00 μm while being wrapped in a sheath fluid, and the resulting forward and side scattered light is used to Shape/size/
It is possible to obtain particle-like properties such as refractive index. Also,
For test particles that can be stained with a fluorescent agent, important information for analyzing the test particles is obtained by detecting the fluorescence of the test particles from side scattered light in a direction almost perpendicular to the irradiation light. be able to.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional example. On the optical axis 01 of the laser light source 1, there is an imaging lens 2 of the irradiation optical system, a flow cell 3 having a flow section 3a orthogonal to the optical axis O1, a stopper 4, and a forward scattered light receiver. A condenser lens 5 and a photodetector 6 of the optical system are arranged in sequence, and on the optical axis 02 perpendicular to the optical axis D1 and the flow section 3a, there is a side scattering light receiving optical system and a fluorescence receiving optical system on the flow cell 3 side. A condensing lens 7 and a dichroic mirror 8.9 are provided, a lens 11, a filter 12, and a photodetector 13 are provided on the reflected optical path, and a lens 14, a filter 15, and a light detector are provided on the reflected optical path of the dichroic mirror 9. A detector 16 is arranged, and a lens 17, a filter 18, and a photodetector 19 are arranged on the reflected optical path of the reflecting mirror 10, respectively.

A laser beam emitted from a laser light source 1 is converged through an imaging lens 2, and irradiates a sample liquid flowing through a flow section 3a of a flow cell 3. At this time, 1
A laser beam is irradiated onto the particles to be detected flowing in a line, producing scattered light and fluorescence. Forward scattered light is collected by condensing lens 5
The light is focused by the laser beam and is received by the photodetector 6, but at this time, the strong laser beam that is transmitted without being scattered by the particles to be detected is blocked by the stopper 4.

On the other hand, side scattered light and fluorescence are collected by a condenser lens 7, side scattered light is reflected by a dichroic mirror 8, passes through a lens 11 and a filter 12, and is received by a photodetector 13, and green fluorescence is collected by a dichroic mirror. The light is reflected by the mirror 9, passes through the lens 14 and the filter 15, and is received by the photodetector 16.
Further, the red fluorescent light is reflected by a reflecting mirror 10, passes through a lens 17 and a filter 18, and is received by a photodetector 19. Furthermore, calculations for particle analysis are performed based on the outputs of these photodetectors 13, 16, and 19.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the laser light source 1, the imaging lens 2 of the irradiation optical system, the light receiving optical system such as the condensing lens 7, etc. are arranged independently. Adjustment to align the optical axes of the two is complicated and difficult, and the equipment also becomes larger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sample testing device that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, allows easy adjustment of the optical axis of an optical system, and can be downsized.

[Means for Solving the Problems 1] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the specimen testing device according to the present invention analyzes specimen particles from an optical signal obtained by irradiating specimen particles in a fluid with a light beam. The sample testing device includes a flow cell section through which sample particles pass, a light source section that emits the light beam, an irradiation optical system that irradiates the flow cell section with the light beam emitted from the light source section, and an irradiation optical system that emits the light beam emitted from the light source section. It has a light receiving optical system for receiving light, and is characterized in that a portion of the irradiation optical system and the light receiving optical system are integrally coupled by a coupling member.

[For I't Mi] The sample testing device having the above-mentioned configuration irradiates the flow cell section with a light beam through the irradiation optical system, and detects an optical signal from the optical signal obtained by the light receiving optical system integrated with the irradiation optical system. Analyze the sample particles.

[Example] The present invention will be explained in detail based on the example illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the main part of the embodiment, and shows the laser light source 21.
A cylindrical lens 22 of the irradiation optical system is provided in front of the exit port 21a. Further, a cylindrical lens 2 is provided on the side surface of the flow cell 23 on the laser light source 21 side.
A cylindrical lens 24 is attached coaxially with 2,
On the opposite side of the forward scattered light receiving optical system side, a forward scattered light receiving objective lens 26 is attached with the stop bar 25 in between. Further, an objective lens 27 for receiving side scattered light and fluorescence is attached to the side surface in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the laser beam incident on the flow cell 23. and,
These laser light source 21, exit aperture 21a, flow cell 23, sindrical lens 22, 24, objective lens 26
．． 27 is fixed by a coupling member 28.

The laser beam emitted from the exit aperture 21a of the laser light source 21 onto the optical axis O1 passes through the cylindrical lens 22.
The test particles flowing through the flow section 23a in the flow cell 23 are irradiated as an elliptical spot with a diameter of about 100 gm x 5 μm through the stopper 24 and the objective lens 26, as in the conventional example. The light is received by a photodetector (not shown). On the other hand, the side scattered light and fluorescence are received by a photodetector (not shown) via the objective lens 27 on the optical axis 02.

In this embodiment, the optical member around the flow cell 23 is a coupling member 2 made of brass or the like having a small coefficient of thermal expansion, for example.
Since the optical axes O1 and O2 are fixed to each other by 8, there is no need to adjust the optical axes O1 and 02 after assembly, and the entire device can be miniaturized.

In the embodiment described above, the emission aperture 2 of the laser light source 21
1a, the flow cell 23, the dinontrical lens 22.24 of the irradiation optical system, and the objective lens 26.27 of the light receiving optical system are integrated, but the lenses 22, 24, 26, 27 are integrated by the coupling member 28. This alone can considerably eliminate the troublesome adjustment of the conventional example. In this case, the objective lenses 26 and 27 do not need to come into contact with the flow cell 23 if they are fixed by the coupling member 28. In addition, the cylindrical lenses 22 and 24 are connected to the exit port 21 of the laser light source 21.
It is also possible to provide the exit port 21a inside the opening 21a and fix the exit port 21a with the coupling member 28.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the specimen testing apparatus according to the present invention, at least a portion of the irradiation optical system and the light receiving optical system are integrated by the coupling member, so the optical axis of the optical system can be easily adjusted. ,
Further, miniaturization can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of an embodiment of the specimen testing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional example. 21 is a laser light source, 22.24 is a cylindrical lens, 23 is a flow cell, 26.27 is an objective lens,
28 is a connecting member. Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a specimen testing device that analyzes specimen particles from optical signals obtained by irradiating specimen particles in a fluid with a light beam,
A flow cell section through which sample particles pass, a light source section that emits the light beam, an irradiation optical system that irradiates the flow cell section with the light beam emitted from the light source section, and a light receiving optical system that receives the optical signal. 1. A specimen testing device comprising: at least a portion of the irradiation optical system and the light receiving optical system integrally connected to each other by a connecting member. 2. The specimen testing device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member connects the flow cell parts together. 3. Claim 1, wherein the coupling member couples the light source parts together.
The specimen testing device described in .