JPH068553Y2 - Ultrasonic sensor-part container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention propagates an ultrasonic wave into a liquid material, and determines the specific gravity of the liquid material, the osmotic pressure, etc. from the ultrasonic wave propagation speed and the temperature of the liquid material. The present invention relates to a sensor section container of an ultrasonic measuring device for calculating various characteristics of the above.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, for body fluids such as blood, blood, serum, urine, specific gravity,
Various methods have been used for measuring various characteristics such as osmotic pressure, blood cell volume, protein concentration, etc., depending on their respective purposes, but it takes time to measure, and it is not possible to continuously measure many samples. In addition to the drawbacks such as difficulty, there was a problem that it was necessary to adjust the standard solution and keep the temperature constant.

As an alternative method for measuring the specific gravity of body fluid, a method of utilizing the propagation velocity of ultrasonic waves in body fluid is known. It is known that the propagation speed of ultrasonic waves depends on the components and temperature of body fluid. However, when measuring the specific gravity of the body fluid, the temperature of the body fluid is not always constant, and a device for measuring the specific gravity by a change in the ultrasonic propagation velocity in the body fluid as in the conventional device (for example, JP-A-57-103034). However, there is a drawback in that accurate measurement is difficult because it is affected by temperature and the relationship between the temperature and the ultrasonic wave propagation speed in the solution cannot be calculated during measurement. Also,
There is a method for measuring the specific gravity by comparing the propagation velocities of the standard solution and the solution to be measured using ultrasonic waves (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-60968). However, in a mixed solution of various components such as in body fluid, it is difficult to measure a specific gravity in a wide range with high precision by comparing the propagation velocity with a standard solution.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention directly measure the ultrasonic wave propagation velocity in the body fluid and the temperature of the body fluid based on the principle that the ultrasonic wave propagation velocity depends on the component and temperature of the solution, and calculate based on the result. Specific gravity of body fluid, blood cell volume, serum total protein concentration, and the invention of a method and apparatus for measuring osmotic pressure, respectively, JP-A-60-222748, JP-A-60-222725,
It is disclosed in JP-A-60-222763 and JP-A-61-50062. These adopt the method of calculating the propagation time of ultrasonic waves using a sing-around circuit.The ultrasonic transducer and the reflection plate are opposed to each other, and the sensor section incorporating the temperature sensor in the vicinity of the ultrasonic transducer is used as the measurement sample. The measurement is carried out by immersing it in a body fluid.

Hereinafter, the sensor unit of the ultrasonic measuring device invented by the present inventors will be described in some detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 (a) shows a sensor part immersed in a sample container for body fluid or the like, which includes an ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver (30) and a reflector (3).
1) and a retainer that fixes them at regular intervals
It is basically composed of (32), and further, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), a temperature sensor (35) is incorporated inside the holder (32). Further, in FIG. 3 (b), the holding part (34) close to the cable (33) is the ultrasonic transducer (3) of the holding tool (32).
0) and a portion holding the reflection plate (31) and another angled sensor portion (flexible holder). For measurement, immerse the entire sensor section in the sample body fluid, and
An electric signal is sent through 3), ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer (30), and the ultrasonic waves reflected by the reflector (31) are received by the ultrasonic transducer (30) and converted into an electric signal. After conversion, it is sent to the arithmetic unit through the cable (33).

However, in the sensor part having such a shape, when the sensor part is immersed in the body fluid to be measured, bubbles adhere to the concave portion between the reflection plate (31) and the ultrasonic transducer (30) to cause a measurement error. In some cases, the measurer must carefully operate the sensor part when submerged in body fluid so that air bubbles do not adhere to the recess between the reflector (31) and the ultrasonic transducer (30). , There was a problem that work efficiency was low. As the body fluid container for measurement, a test tube, a plastic container or the like is used, but in this case, the amount of the sample body fluid for measurement needs to be at least 3.5 ml. On the other hand, since the volume of the injection needle used as a blood tube is as small as 1 ml or less, the advent of an ultrasonic measuring device capable of measuring a smaller amount of body fluid has been desired. Furthermore, 1
It is necessary to thoroughly wash the entire sensor part immersed in body fluid with physiological saline after each measurement, but the concave part between the reflector (31) and the ultrasonic transducer (30) has a complicated shape. Since it is difficult to wash with, there is a problem that the working efficiency of measurement is further reduced when processing many samples.

[Purpose of device]

The present invention is intended to solve such problems of the conventional ultrasonic measuring device, and devises the structure of the measuring unit including the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver, the reflector, the temperature sensor, and the sample container. By doing so, it is intended to provide a sensor part of an ultrasonic measurement device which has a simple shape, does not adhere bubbles during measurement, is easy to wash, can be miniaturized, and can measure a smaller amount of body fluid, preferably 1 ml. Is.

[Constitution of device]

That is, the present invention provides an ultrasonic measuring device for propagating ultrasonic waves in a liquid material and calculating characteristics of the liquid material by calculating the propagation speed of the ultrasonic waves and the temperature of the liquid material. And a sensor part which is fitted and coupled to the opening of the sample container by a luer connector structure and basically comprises an ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver and a temperature measuring part. Around the periphery of the sensor part, there is provided a rib that abuts the upper edge of the sample container when fitted into the opening of the sample container and keeps the distance between the ultrasonic transducer and the reflection plate constant. The container for an ultrasonic sensor part is characterized in that one or more grooves are provided in the longitudinal direction of the side surface.

Hereinafter, the ultrasonic sensor container according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a container of a sensor unit of an ultrasonic measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A sample container (1) having a reflection plate (3) on the bottom and an ultrasonic transducer (11). And a sensor unit (10) which basically comprises a temperature measuring unit (12).

The sensor part (10) has an ultrasonic transducer (11) and a sensor (13) such as a thermocouple or thermistor fixed to the lower surface of the holder (14) by an appropriate method such as bonding or pinning. Then, the cables (16) and (18) connected to the ultrasonic transducer (11) and the temperature sensor (13) are pulled out upward through the holes (15) and (17) of the holder (14), respectively. ing. In addition, the holder (14) is attached to the opening of the sample container (1) at the inner surface of the luer connector coupling (receptacle (female side) provided at the end of the tube, etc.) and at the outer surface of the insertion (male side), respectively. It has a taper with an equal slope, and is shaped to fit by fitting the two together, and the upper edge of the sample container (1) when fitted to the sample container (1) Rib that abuts (4) and keeps the distance between the ultrasonic transducer (11) and the reflector (3) constant
(19) is provided.

The shape of the sample container (1) is not particularly limited, such as a cylinder or a cylinder having a polygonal cross section, but a cylindrical container is generally easy to use. In addition, the side wall of the sample container (1) or the upper part where the holder (14) is fitted is preferably provided with a slight slope to widen the opening so that the sensor part (10) can be attached and detached smoothly.

As the material of the sample container (1) and the holder (14), those having a small dimensional change due to temperature are preferable, but polypropylene, polystyrene, plastics such as polycarbonate, metals such as aluminium, glass, etc. can be used, and are not particularly limited. . There is no problem even if different materials are used for the sample container (1) and the holder (14), and the sample container (1)
Can be made disposable by using a plastic that can be manufactured at a low cost in consideration of the processing cost, and the cleaning work of the container at the time of use is not required, so the efficiency of measurement work is greatly improved. The advantages of doing so are obtained.

Stainless steel or the like is used as the material of the reflection plate (3), but it is not limited as long as it is hard and reflects ultrasonic waves. Therefore, if a sample container (1) with a large difference from the impedance of the liquid to be measured is used, the bottom of the container acts as a reflection plate, and there is an advantage that a separate reflection plate (3) is not required to be attached. can get.

In the measurement, first, a sample for measurement such as body fluid is put in the sample container (1) and the sensor part (10) is fitted and set. At this time, the amount of the sample to be put in the sample container (1) is preferably put to a position slightly above the lower surface of the set sensor part (10), and the excess sample is stored in the side wall of the sample container (1) and the sensor part ( Ten)
The sample (2) is completely filled up to the lower surface of the sensor part (10) by entering the space between them. The air and fine air bubbles in the sample container (1) are pushed by the excess sample flow and discharged to the outside through the gap between the side wall of the container and the sensor part (10). As shown in the bottom view of the part (10), one or more grooves are formed in the length direction of the outer peripheral side surface of the sensor part (10).
Providing (20) is preferable because air and air bubbles can easily escape, and an excess sample is not stored in the groove (20) and overflows out of the container. In addition, it is preferable that the side wall of the sample container (1) is provided with a scale as a standard for inserting a sample.

In order to measure the ultrasonic wave propagation velocity, the distance between the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver (4) and the reflector (3) can be measured at a minimum of about 35 mm, and the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver (4) The size of the reflector (3) should be 3.0 to 3.5 mmφ, so
The amount of (2) needs to be a minimum of 0.25 to 0.35 ml in calculation, which means that a sample of 1 ml or less can be sufficiently measured.

The application range of the ultrasonic sensor container according to the present invention is not limited to measurement of characteristics of body fluids such as blood, blood, serum, urine, etc., and liquids such as various liquids, solutions, emulsions, suspensions, etc. Of course, it can be applied to the body, but it is particularly effective for a rare sample that can be collected in a small amount.

[Effect of device]

The ultrasonic sensor container of the present invention has a simple shape and does not cause bubbles to adhere between the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver and the reflection plate during use, so accurate measurement can be performed, miniaturization is possible, and a small sample volume of 1 ml or less is possible. In addition to being able to perform measurement with a single sample container, the sample container can be mass-produced and made disposable with inexpensive plastic, eliminating the need for cleaning the sample container and enabling continuous and efficient measurement of many samples in a short time. It is extremely useful as a sensor container that serves as a measuring unit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a sensor unit container of an ultrasonic measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing an embodiment of the sensor unit according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 3 is a view showing a sensor part of a conventional ultrasonic measuring device, (a) shows a straight holder, (b) shows a bent holder, and (c) shows FIG.
It is an AA 'sectional view of (a).

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ultrasonic measuring device for propagating ultrasonic waves in a liquid and calculating the characteristics of the liquid by calculating the propagation speed of the ultrasonic and the temperature of the liquid, and a reflecting plate at the bottom. It has a sample container and a sensor part which is fitted and coupled to the opening of the sample container by a luer connector structure and basically comprises an ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver and a temperature measuring part, and the periphery of the sensor part. Is provided with a rib for contacting the upper edge of the sample container when fitted into the opening of the sample container to keep the distance between the ultrasonic transducer and the reflection plate constant, and the outer peripheral side surface of the sensor part. An ultrasonic sensor part container, characterized in that one or more grooves are provided in the length direction of the container.