JP3029330B2 - Automatic chemical analyzer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer having a retest function for re-analyzing a required sample based on analytical data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an automatic chemical analyzer has a function of performing a retest (hereinafter, referred to as a retest) in which a necessary sample is re-analyzed based on the analysis data in order to ensure the reliability and safety of the analysis data. Need to be. for that reason,
As a sampler section 101 of the automatic chemical analyzer, a rack 102 on which a collection tube or a cup (for placing a sample of blood, urine, ascites, pleural effusion, cerebrospinal fluid, etc.) as shown in FIG.
A hopper that adopts a loop that returns from 03 to the hopper 104
A stacker system or a rack 102 as shown in FIG.
A circular sampler system in which a circular sampler unit 101 on which a sample is placed rotates is applied.

[0003] Further, as represented by the "30 minute inspection", there is a demand for rapid inspection, and when a single collection tube or cup is analyzed by a plurality of chemical analyzers or the like, it can be operated efficiently. Is important. Furthermore, batch operation like the worksheet method cannot be performed for speeding up, and worksheet-less real-time operation has become indispensable.

In the sampler section of an automatic chemical analyzer under these circumstances, it is important how efficiently samples can be deleted and added.

[0005]

However, since it is not apparent at a glance whether or not the sample or rack on the sampler section 101 has been analyzed (it means a state in which analysis data can be reported after re-examination). These cannot be taken out from the sampler 101 part. Further, a vicious cycle occurs in which a new sample or rack cannot be added unless a space is formed on the sampler unit 101. In conventional batch operation, samples and racks need only be moved in batch units, but in real-time operation, since the management of samples and racks is performed, the situation where the analysis status of each sample or rack cannot be grasped is fatal. is there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily remove or add a sample or a rack on a sampler section, thereby improving efficiency. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic chemical analyzer that can be operated well.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an automatic chemical analyzer having a retest function for re-analyzing a sample as necessary based on analysis data for the sample on a sampler section. In the analyzer, a control unit that determines whether the sample on the sampler unit is required to be retested or the analysis is completed, a storage unit that stores a determination result by the control unit, and displays the determination result in real time Display means, take-out means for taking out a sample determined to be analysis-completed by the control means from the sampler section, and inserting another sample to be analyzed into an empty position in the sampler section after taking out the sample by the take-out means. And insertion means for performing the operation.

[0008]

In the automatic chemical analyzer according to the present invention having the above-described structure, the display according to the analysis state of the sample or the rack is performed in real time on the sampler section or on the screen, so that the sample or the rack can be deleted. It can be determined at a glance whether or not. Therefore, it is easy to delete the sample and the rack, and the deletion makes a space on the sampler portion easy to add. As described above, since the sample and the rack on the sampler section are efficiently deleted and added, the time required for the analysis is shortened comprehensively, and the automatic analyzer can be operated efficiently. Also, by using the function of distinguishing the analysis status and outputting only the analysis data of the sample determined to be the end of the analysis by the output means, it is possible to output only the data without error.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an automatic chemical analyzer to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, an automatic chemical analyzer supplies (samples) a sample to be analyzed set in a sampler section 1 to a sample dilution / transporting means 2 at a predetermined timing, dilutes the supplied sample, and transports the diluted sample first. This sample is reacted with a desired reagent by the analysis means 3 to measure the concentration of a specific component in the reaction solution. Further, input means 4 including a keyboard and the like is provided.
The analysis status of the sample on the sampler unit 1 is determined by the control unit 5, and the determination result is stored in the storage unit 6. Then, the analysis data of the sample for which it is determined that all the analysis has been completed is output by the output means 7.

The sampler section 1 is provided with a circular rotary table 8, on which a plurality of racks 10 holding, for example, five sample containers 9 each containing a sample to be analyzed are set. can do. At a position adjacent to each rack 10 on the sampler section 1, the rack 1
A light emitting diode (hereinafter, referred to as an LED) 11 is provided as display means for displaying the analysis status of each zero in real time. Each sample container 9 is provided with a barcode label (not shown) indicating the ID of the sample, and each rack 10 is provided with a barcode label 12 indicating the ID of the rack 10. Has been adopted. At a predetermined position around the turntable 8, an ID reader 13 for reading the barcode label 12 of the rack 10 or the barcode label of the sample container 9 passing this position by intermittently rotating the turntable 8 is provided. Is provided. At another predetermined position around the rotary table 8, a sample arm 15 for sucking a desired sample from the sample container 9 and dispensing the sample into the dilution container 14 of the sample dilution and transporting means 2 can be moved back and forth in the direction a. Is provided.

The sample dilution transport means 2 includes a dilution container 1
A belt conveyor 16 for moving the sample 4 in the direction b and a dilution nozzle 17 for diluting the sample in the dilution container 14 to a desired magnification are provided. A sample dispensing nozzle 19 for sucking a desired sample and dispensing the sample into a reaction container 18 is provided.

The analysis means 3 includes a sample dispensing nozzle 19
A reaction vessel 18 is provided for reacting the sample dispensed with the desired reagent with a desired reagent.

When an analysis is performed by the automatic chemical analyzer having the above configuration, first, a rack 10 in which a sample container 9 containing a sample is set is inserted into the sampler unit 1. At this time, the LED 11 corresponding to the rack 10 is turned on. At the same time as the analysis of the sample is started, LED 11
INK. The analysis data is confirmed by a method such as operator input or automatic control based on the judgment theory of an automatic chemical analyzer, and the data determined to require a retest is analyzed again. Then, the LED 11 corresponding to the rack 10 for which the analysis has been completed is turned off. In other words, the analysis status of the sample is distinguished as "unanalyzed / analyzed", "waiting for result" or "reanalysis wait / analysis completed", and the analysis status is displayed on the LED 11 on the sampler unit 1 in real time. When the corresponding rack 10 does not exist, the LED 11 is set to O
FF. By displaying the analysis status in this manner, the LE corresponding to the position where the rack 10 is actually mounted is displayed.
If D11 is OFF, it is easy to see that the rack 10 is ready to be taken out.

As described above, the analysis status is indicated by L as the display means.
In addition to being displayed by the ED 11, it can be displayed on a screen 20 such as a console as shown in FIG. Screen 2
0, a turntable 8 is displayed.
The positions of the ID reader 13 and the sampling arm 15 with respect to are shown. Also, information indicating the analysis status of each sample in the rack 10a that can be taken out when the cover (not shown) is opened is displayed. Each rack 10a is represented by a rectangle, and the sample container 9 of each sample is represented by a circle in the rectangle. When the rack 10 or the sample container 9 does not exist, nothing is displayed. The analysis status of each sample is shown in this circle, for example, P for unmeasured, U for unconfirmed,
The emergency sample can be displayed in detail, such as S, R for retest, I for unreported, and C for reported. When all the samples in the rack 10a are Report C, a hand mark is displayed below the rectangle indicating the rack 10 to indicate that the rack 10 is ready to be taken out.

FIG. 3 shows an LED similar to the circular sampler system.
The sample analysis status display means 11 is applied to the hopper / stacker type sampler unit 1. In this method, the rack 10 that has been analyzed once accumulates on the stacker side of the sampler unit 1. In this case, the analysis status is L for waiting for result confirmation / re-inspection (analysis) / end of analysis.
ED is displayed as ON / BLINK / OFF. The rack 10 for which analysis has been completed is taken out, and the rack 10 requiring retest (analysis) is inserted into the hopper again. When the rack 10 is taken out, another rack 10 is sequentially moved to a vacant portion, and accordingly, the display by the LED 11 is also displayed on the rack 1.
It shifts sequentially corresponding to 0.

FIG. 4 shows a sampler section using both a circular sampler system and a hopper / stacker system. The sampler unit 1 of this combination method has the advantage of the circular sampler method that sampling can be easily performed a plurality of times, and the advantage of the hopper / stacker method that analysis can be easily completed once. And take advantage of this feature. The new rack 10 is inserted into the hopper side 1a, and is automatically inserted into an empty position of the circular portion 1b. When it is determined in the circular portion 1b that all the samples in the rack 10 have been analyzed, the rack 10 is automatically removed from the circular portion 1b to the stacker side 1c. In the case of this combination method, the analysis status can be displayed by the display means such as the LED 11 or the like.
Since all 0s are determined to be the end of the analysis, it is easily understood that the analysis is completed without providing the display means.

When the analysis status is displayed by the LED 11, the above ON / BLINK / OFF is set to, for example, green / yellow /
It can be a color change like blue. When the analysis status is displayed in detail, for example, the analysis status is distinguished from unanalyzed / analyzing / result confirmation / waiting for re-examination (analysis) / analysis end, and green / yellow / yellow (BLINK) / orange / blue is displayed. May be displayed as follows. In addition to displaying the analysis status for each rack 10, a means for displaying the analysis status for each sample may be provided.

Also, by using the function of distinguishing the analysis situation,
Only the analysis data of the sample determined to be the end of the analysis can be output by the output means 7. By doing so, only error-free data can be output. As the output means 7, it is possible to print the analysis data or to apply the data to online business.

Since the sample container 9 and the rack 10 on the sampler section 1 can be easily deleted and added, the automatic chemical analyzer can be operated efficiently. Therefore, the time required for the analysis work is shortened overall, and the waiting time of the patient (subject) is also shortened. In addition, since the analysis status can be grasped in detail, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

[0021]

The automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention has the above configuration and operation, and enables the operator to grasp in detail and in real time the analysis status including whether or not the retest is necessary. Further, it is possible to easily take out and add a sample or a rack on the sampler section, and to efficiently operate the automatic chemical analyzer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of an automatic chemical analyzer according to one embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for displaying an analysis status according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a sampler section employing a hopper / stacker system in the automatic chemical analyzer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a sampler unit using both a hopper / stacker system and a circular sampler system in the automatic chemical analyzer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a sampler unit employing a hopper / stacker system in a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a sampler unit employing a circular sampler system in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sampler part 2 Sample dilution conveyance means 3 Analysis means 4 Input means 5 Control means 6 Storage means 7 Output means 8 Rotary table 9 Sample container 10 Rack 11 LED (Display means) 20 Screen (Display means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 35/00-35/10

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic chemical analyzer having a retest function for re-analyzing a sample as required based on analysis data for the sample on the sampler unit, wherein the sample on the sampler unit requires retest or the analysis is terminated. A storage unit that stores the determination result by the control unit; a display unit that displays the determination result in real time; and a sampler unit that determines that the analysis is completed by the control unit. An automatic chemical analyzer comprising: a take-out unit that takes out a sample from the sampler; and an insertion unit that inserts another sample to be analyzed into an empty position in the sampler section after the sample is taken out by the take-out unit. 2. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the control means can determine at least one of unanalyzed, under analysis, awaiting a result check, necessity of retest, and end of analysis. 3. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the sample is a sample stored in a sample container or a sample held on a rack capable of holding a plurality of the sample containers. 4. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 2, wherein said display means displays a judgment result by said control means for each sample or each rack. 5. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output analysis data of the sample determined to be completed by the control unit. 6. The sampler section holds a cover that can be opened and closed, and the display section displays a result of the determination on a sample or a rack on the sampler section that can be taken out when the cover is opened. 5. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 4, wherein: