IL31297A - Fluid sample processing - Google Patents

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN FLUID SAMPLE PROCESSING. " The invention herein relates generally to fluid sample testing systems used particularly in hospitals and laboratories where small quantities of raw fluids are processed as, for example, by dilution with different reagents and then tested, and particularly is concerned with providing improvements in processing apparatus for such systems.

The nature of the invention will be described as applied to blood testing although the application of the invention is not limited thereto. One must consider that clinical tests conducted routinely in hospital laboratories today have become more and more important in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and are also widely used in the prevention of disease. Accordingly, large numbers of samples must be processed daily in most laboratories. In recent times, so-called "automatic chemistry" devices have become available which perform a plurality of tests on a plurality of samples on a more or less production line basis. Of the many approaches to the problem of handling plural samples, several have involved "flow-through" systems as contrasted with "batch" systems. The immediately obvious difficulty in "flow-through" systems is the identification of samples, the problem of contamination, as well as the difficulties inherent in structurally and opera-tively complex and expensive apparatus.

The "batch" method of handling samples inherently suggests the use of simplified apparatus as compared to the character of apparatus required for "flow-through" systems. greater acceptance by the average and smaller size hospitals and laboratories. It is believed that even large es tablish™ . ments can benefit by the invention. The opposite is not necessarily true, because in the case of complex and expensive "flow-through" systems, the smaller institutions are not financially able to take advantage of the so-called benefits which are derivable.

The "batch" method can enable the positive identification of samples. The progress of samples through the system can be watched closely, and the apparatus needed to handle the sample containers is relatively simple. Further, in the "batch" method, automatic or semi-automatic equipment already owned by the laboratory can be used with little, if .any change, or can be modified readily to compliment a highspeed system, without sacrifice of any advantage.

The applicant's solution of the problem of handling many samples involves a method which uses a capillary tube to gather and/or hold the raw fluid. Basically, the raw fluid, here, blood, is introduced into a length of capillary tubing of precise internal diameter bore, so that the length of the fluid blood column in the length of the tube can be measured linearly and related to volume.

To use the raw liquid sample, one merely scores the glass of the capillary tube between any two measured points and breaks the tube and coincidentally the column of blood at those points. This can be done manually or automatically, and the end product is a piece of capillary tubing with an . . section of tubing is placed in a receptacle with the needed quentity o diluent or reagent needed to make the test sample, and the receptacle is agitated to cause the blood to be diluted and mixed.

, Accordingiy, the invention provides a sample container for use in mixing fluid contained in a hollow cartridge of papillary bore dimension with a liquid reagent to produce a dilution of said fluid which comprises a cuplike body: having a liquid carryi.ig cavity opening to the top thereof and closed at the bottom,, hollow standard mounted in the cavity and providing a barrel on its interior, said standard being open at its upper end and adapted f>6 ^ receive a cartridge therein, a liquid a9&&ggv frofij ^hji bottom of the barrel into the bottom of the cavity so that fluid forced from the cartridge inward of the barrel will enter the cavity.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings? Figure 1 is a perspective view of a j test sample container constructed in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a top plane view of the container of Figure 1f Figure 3 is a vertical median sectional view through the container of Figure 1 taken along the line 3-3 and viewed in the indicated direction; Figure 4 is a horizontal seotional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3 and looking in the indicated directions Figure 5 4s a sectional view through a section of capillary tubing showing the manner in which a quantity of raw fluid is entrained therein.

Application No. 31297 Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view similar to that of Figure 3 but illustrating a simplified form of the container, and having a section of capillary tabing disposed in the hollov standard and a fitting from a source of reagent connected to the standard to enable discharge o the liquid into the standard and through the capillary tube to produce a properly diluted liquid sample.

Figure.7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through a modified form of the sample container illustrating the manner in which a fitting may be piloted into connection with the to of the hollow standard; Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line 8-8 of Figure 6 and in the indicated direction.

Figure 9 is a top plane view of a modified form of the sample container buto¾hown with the standard not in place to enable consideration of the details of the bottom of the cavity; Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 10-10 of Figure 9 and in the indicated direction, but in this case the standard is in place and a section of capillary tubing is also shown in the barrel of the standard.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a carrier having sample containers thereon and in the process of receiving sections of capillary tubing into their hollow standards; Figure 12 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a carrier having sample containers disposed thereon in the process of being filled with reagent directed through their standards and the capillary tubing disposed in the barrels of the respective standards. 2 and. 3 In Figures l/ there is illustrated a container or cup 20 which is molded of a suitable synthetic resin that is com material can be used for its manufacture. A central cavity is formed in the container at 22 terminating on its lower end at the level 24 which can be considered the bottom of the cavity, although structure is provided for fluid to be disposed below this level. In the illustrated structure,, the walls forming the cavity are conically tapered, but other configurations of convenience can be utilized. The base 26 of the container is flat to permit the mounting of the same upon a table or flat surface, as will be seen.

There are two formations integral with the container 20 one being the formation 28 which provides a vertical rectangular cross section passageway 30, and the other being a channel configured bracket 32 having a channel 34 with inwardly directed flanges 36 within which an identification card 38 or other member is adapted to be disposed. The card 38 is shown in phantom in Figure 1 and somewhat diagram matically in Figure 12, but the details are not needed for an understanding of the invention herein. Suffice to say that the identification card 38, held in the channel 34 by frictional engagement, is indexed therein by means of a suit able perforation formed in the member engaging the integral pin 40 and is substantially longer than the vertical height of the container 20 so that when the container is mounted on a surface as the surface 42 in Figure 12, the identification card will depend from the edge of the surface 42. Note this dependence in Figure 1.

The purpose of the passageway 30 is. to enable the at 44 in Figure 12, thereby fixing and positioning the container along with several others for consecutive processing or, testing.

A shallow recess 46 is provided in the center of the bottom of the cavity 22. A lateral rectangular well 48 connects with the bottom 24 of the cavity at its upper end and is deep enough to extend below the recess 46. A central standard 50 is set into the recess 46, the standard being hollow whereby to provide a barrel 52 for reception of a section of capillary tubing, as will be explained. It will be seen that there is direct communication between the well 48 and the barrel 52 so that liquid introduced in the barrel 52 will be conducted to the cavity 22. During use the liquid will actually be forced from the barrel 52 into the cavity 22.

The standard can be formed of an inert material such as glass, synthetic resin or other inert material. Conveniently, the standard can be a length of commercially available plastic tubing, preferably stiff enough to be pressed into the recess 46.

No capillary tubing is shown in any one of Figures 1 through 5,but it will be. noted that the inner diameter of the barrel 52 will be slightly larger than the diameter of the capillary tube being used, so that it readily may be inserted. Likewise, the construction of the. recess 46 and the well 48 must be such that the lower end of a section of capillary tubing inserted into the barrel all the way to the fully blocking the bore, of the section of tubing. There should be very little clearance between the capillary tubing section and the inner surface defining the barrel.

In Figure 5, there is illustrated a section of capillary tubing 54 of a predetermined length cut to entrain a known volume of raw test liquid 56 in its bore. In Figure 6 there is illustrated a simplified form of the container, designated 20' but otherwise using the same reference characters as the container 20 previously described. The only differences are that the formations 28 and 32 are not shown, nor is the hollow 58 illustrated, this latter being the result of application of the conventional techniques for economical molding. The bottom surface of the container 20' is shown at 26; the standard 50 is secured in the recess 46 so that its barrel 52 connects with the well 48 to provide direct passageway for liquid from the barrel to the cavity 22 In this case, since the formation 32 is not used, other means for handling and identification may be used, such as, for example, magnetic. A coating of magnetic material is shown symbolically at 60 to receive identification information, and a notch at 62 can be used with a suitable lug or projection, such as shown at 64 in Figure 11 for indexing the containers. 20' in cases where a plurality automatically are handled, as, for example, on a conveyor- or in a rack. The principal purpose for this illustration is to explain the manner in which the standard serves to receive the section of capillary tubing and cooperates with a reagent- Assuming that a section of capillary tubing 56 has been inserted into the barrel 52 of the standard 50, either in a container such as 20 or a container 20' as shown in Figure 6. It is now desired to make the necessary dilution which the test requires. Such test identification will be carried either on the card 38 or on the magnetic surface 60 in human and machine sensible indicia. A flexible conduit 66 connects from a source of reagent, such as a flask of suitable diluent specified for the test to be made. A fitting 68 serving as a coupler is connected to the conduit 66 and has a hood or flared part 70 that fits closely over the upper end of the standard 50 so that liquid which will be introduced through the conduit 66 will be forced through the barrel 52 and will wash the raw liquid 56 through the core of the capillary tubing 54 and enter the cavity 22 of the container 20 or 20'. In this manner the exact volume of diluent can be forced into the container, and in order to assure that there is complete dilution and mixing, after the liquid has emerged from the source of reagent, a quantity of gas, such as air, may be forced through the conduit 66. This serves to blow all of the liquid out of the capillary bore, and if air blowing is continued, the air will bubble through the liquid in the cavity 22 to mix the same. Since the dimensions of the structure are quite small, the pressures used, not only for the liquid but for the gas as well, must be low enough to accomplish the desired functions and not great enough to blow. the liquid out of the container. A 11/16 inches in diamete interior of the container at the upper end thereof, tapering to a bottom diameter, at the level 24, of about 3/8 inches. This size of cavity will readily handle a liquid volume of about 2 to 3 milliliters.

Packing can be used to assure that the connection between the coupler 68 and the free end of the standard 50 is tight, this taking the form of a small O-ring 72 set into a suitable groove formed on the interior of the hood 70.

The coupler 68 can be built into a plunger which depends from a reagent source that is provided with a metering device and some automatic means for injecting the reagent or diluent as will be explained hereinafter.

The arrangement for introduction of liquid into the container after the section of capillary tubing has been placed in the barrel 52 which is shown in Figure 6 requires no special form of the central standard 50. It may be a simple cut section of commercially available plastic tubing set into the recess 46. The container is molded in one piece either in a simple form as container 20' or in the more complex form of container 20, both with a recess. The piece of plastic tubing should be stiff enough to enable it to be pressed into the recess, and will remain in . place without the need for cementing. Glass can also be inserted in this same manner. It would be most preferred to mold the standard in the container in one step, if molding techniques available would require less complex molds. At this time such one step molding is not feasible economically.

In this case, the standard 50' differs from those previously described in that it has a flared mouth formed at 51. In all other respects, the container 20" may be identical to the other two described. This flared mouth provides a flared pilot entrance 53 which can receive a tapered male coupler member 70' which is on the end of a conduit 66 that leads diluent to the container 20". The entrance recess 53 pilots the coupler member 70 ' and seats it. This arrangement is convenient because it need not require gasketing to prevent leakage. The tapered fit may be enhanced by suitable grinding or by other techniques to guarantee accurate engagement. Another advantage of the flared mouth 51 is that it enables more facile introduction of the section of capillary tubing into the standard. In other words, it serves as a pilot for this function as well. In the case of handling a large number of containers and inserting sections of capillary tubing into each, providing a pilot formation enables this to be done by machinery more readily, as will be explained.

In the containers 20 and 20' the well 48 is formed as a lateral branch of the recess 46, but is lower than the recess so that liquid will freely pass from the barrel 52 into the well. The dimensions are chosen so that the bottom floor 47 of the recess 46 will have the well 48 intersect only a portion thereof, providing sufficient support for the bottom end of the standard and the capillary tube while still, leaving passageway for the liquid. In Figure 8 a standard 50, the barrel 52, the bottom end of the section ' of capillary tubing 54, and an opening at 56', this* being the bore of the capillary tubing 54 which normally will be filled with some raw fluid such as the blood 56 previously mentioned. From this view it can be appreciated that there is support for the bottom end of the section of capillary tubing 54 and in addition its bore 56' is in no way blocked so that fluid can flow readily into the well 48 and thence into the cavity 22.

If a given pressure is applied to reagent which is introduced into the capillary tubing section 54, all of thi pressure is relieved at the well 48 in the structures des-cribed thus far. If the capacity for transport of liquids by the well 48 is increased, there is less likelihood of liquid being forced out of the container. Preferably, a structure such as shown in Figures 9 and 10 is used. In this case, radial feet 80 are molded in the bottom of the cavity 22 of the container, such as container 20, 20' or ". The top surface of these feet is disposed in a plane which, in the previous structures, would have defined the bottom level 24 of the cavity 22, although in this case, since the resulting quaiadrant shaped wells 82 have a much greater bottom area than the top surfaces of the feet 80 this forms the practical bottom of the container.

The feet 80 do not meet at the center of the container but instead are shortened to provide a central generally 82 square area 84 freely communicating with the wells 84=. The provide a seat for the bottom end of the standard, equivalent to the recess 46 previously described In this case, there are four points for support of the lower axial end of the standard 50. This is not shown in Figure 9, but it is shown in Figure 10. The length of the feet 80 is chosen so that the steps 86 extend radially inward a sufficient distance to provide support for the axial end of the capillary tubing 54 when inserted and moved to the bottom of the barrel 52 without obstructing its bore. In Figure 10, the paths of flow of liquid from the bore of the capillary tubing 54 into the wells 82 and thence into the cavity 22 are illustrated. It will be seen that the pressure of liquid is decreased in each of the wells 82; the liquid divides into four paths and hence mixes much better; and when air is injected, it produces bubbles in four different locations also causing additional efficient mixing There is less likelihood of splashing with this structure.

Directing attention now to Figure 11, there is shown a plurality of containers 20, 20' or 20" mounted on a conveyor or rack 90 indexed by the structure described as lugs 64 on the conveyor cooperating with notches 62 in the containers. The structure generally illustrated at 92 can be some form of positioning device or holder to be used in lieu of, or in addition to, the indexing means. The purpose of this illustration is to show how. a plurality of sections of capillary tubing 54 of suitable length (and hence holding predetermined volumes of entrained liquid plurality of containers passing relative to a reagent injecting device.. Here said tube feed device is indicated at 94 and it feeds sections of capillary tubing one at a time into the standards of passing containers. The station is properly indexed relative to the passing conveyor 90 and the. containers carried on the conveyor.

These will stop at the station long enough to receive their respective sections of tubing and then pass on. A structure such as illustrated in Figure 7 is of great advantage in this case because it pilots the insertion of . the section of capillary tubing and hence J indexing of the movement of the conveyor 90 relative to the insertion station and the feed device 94 need not be so accurate.

It will be appreciated that a predetermined number of containers can receive sections of tubing containing raw liquid from the same source for a variety of tests, or each of the sections can be from a different source. It is important to ensure identification of the source with the container carrying the raw sample derived respectively therefrom.

In Figure 12, there is illustrated a form of fluid sample processing apparatus in which the sample containers 20 are substantially as shown in Figures 1 through 4,. each being secured to a post 44 carried on a rack 96. Each has an identification card 38 depending from its holder to move relative to printing apparatus when tested. Accordingly, the identifying information is carried on the sensible. In practice a rack 96 will contain samples from the same or several sources, but in each case, the container is readily identifiable both as to source and as to the type of test to be made. The rack is arranged in a structure which moves the rack relative to a plurality of stations, with a supply of different reagent at each station. It is required that the prope . reagent be introduced into each sample container in accordance with the test performed. The apparatus of the invention is intended to assure such result.

At the three stations represented diagrammatically in Figure 12 by three illustrated cylinders 100, 101 and 102, it is intended that three different reagents will be injected into certain ones of the containers which require the same. Each cylinder may be a part of a liquid reagent injecting apparatus, not much different from those to be found in bottle filling machines of known construction, but energized according to a system described. The machines connect with sources of reagent of different variety (not shown) and in operation will have a tube carrying a coupler descend to engage the free end of the standard which is in the container suitable located below the coupler. In Figure 12 the couplers are shown at 68 on the bottom ends of reciprocable plungers 103. The center plunger is down, but the other two are still retracted.

In the structure illustrated in Figure 12, each station has, in addition to its liquid reagent injecting to respond only to the test description which requires the reagent which can be introduced at that station. Thus, unless an identification card carries the particular indici to which the reader is responsive, nothing occurs at the station,., irrespective of whether the rack 96 is moving or stationary. When a test description produces a response in the reader, the movement of the rack is stopped with the container indexed at the station controlled by the reader. Thereafter, a triggering device responsive to the same signal is operated to activate the liquid reagent injecting device for filling the container, the plunger bringing the coupler 68 down to the standard and forcing the liquid through the barrel 52 of the standard and thereby producing the proper diluted testing sample in the container. After the liquid has been introduced, the plunger retracts the coupler 68, and the rack is free to move further. Racks can be arranged to move past a single or plural stations.

The positive identification of samples and sources makes it unnecessary to install the containers on the racks 96 in any special order.

Claims (1)

1. 5. A sample container according to Claim 1 in which there is a socket at the bottom end of the cavity and the standard is a hollow tube engaged in said socket, and in which said liquid passageway is formed as a slot in the bottom of said container opening to the interior of said, hollow tube and to the cavity. 6. A sample, container according to Claims 1 or 2 i which said liquid passageway is formed as a well in the container extending below the standard and connecting with the bottom end of the barrel and having a portion opening t the cavity. 7. A sample container according to Claim 3 in which said support structure comprises an upwardly facing surface adjacent at least a portion of the liquid passageway and aligned with the axial end of the barrel. 8. A sample container according to Claim 1 in which the cavity is symmetrical about a vertical axis, the standard is a central tube coaxial with the cavity and there is a socket in the bottom of the container, the central tube being engaged in the socket and extending a substantial di tance up the center of the cavity « 9. A sample container according to Claim 8 in which said liquid passageway is formed at a lateral well communicating between the cavity and socket arid having a portion opening to the interior of the tube while same is engaged in the socket. 10. A sample container according to Claim 1 in which the cavity is generally symmetrical about a vertical axis, the standard is a central tube coaxial with the cavity, there are a plurality of radial feet in the bottom of the cavity and each having a central formation defining in cooperation with one another a generally circular support with the standard engaged therein, the circular support spacing the axial end of the standard above the bottom of the cavity, said radial feet defining segment-shaped wells, said liquid passageway comprising the apices of said wells, said apices communicating with the barrel of said standard when said standard is engaged in said circular support. characterized 11. The sample container according to Claim 10 =a«d==a= " supporting structure for holding the cartridge comprising a portion of said central formations extending into alignment with said barrel. 12. The structure of Claim 10 in which the upper end of the central tube is flared to provide a pilot entrance to said barrel. ..·..'., -. 13. A sample container according to any one of Claims 1 to 12 in which a mounting is provided on a lateral exterior of said container for securing an identification card thereto. 14. A sample container according to any one of Claims 1 to characterized by 12 awd=a reagent injecting device adapted to force reagent through the cartridge, washing it out and mixing the resulting dilution while the cartridge is within said container, a carrier device arranged to carry a pluraltiy of said containers, said carrier device being translatable in paths taking each container to plural stations for functions to be performed thereon, characteristic indicia carried by each container and related to identification of a particular reagent dispensed by one of the reagent injecting devices, a reading device capable of producing signals to said one of the reagent injecting devices dependant upon the characteristic indicia of the particular container being read and a signal responsive triggering device for operating said one reagent injecting device only upon a given signal being; produced corresponding to said characteristic indicia . 15. A sample container according to any one of Claims characterized by : 1 to 13 «ad= a plurality of reagent injecting stations, each station having a reagent vessel with a particular kind of reagent therein, a connecting structure for linking said vessel to said cartridge and a triggering device operating the connecting structure in response , to said signals, translating means for moving said carrier relative to said reading devices to bring the containers carried thereon into filling positions