JP2000227399A - Preliminary screening device of blood test body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the efficiency in this type of analysis by eliminating the need for highly advance experience and a certain degree of judgment for simplification and reducing the number of inspection personnel although they have been required for conventional judgment by viewing. SOLUTION: A preliminary screening device 1 consists of a light source 2 for emitting a wavelength at least in a visible light range, a CCD camera 3 of the three primary colors of RGB for applying light that is emitted from the light source and is passed through a blood test body 10, a processing circuit 4 for numerically changing the output of the CCD camera 3 to an appropriate bit scale corresponding to accuracy required for each of the three primary colors, and a judgment circuit for judging whether the inspection of the blood test body is appropriate or not according to the output of the processing circuit 4, thus totally eliminating the need for highly advance experience and a certain degree of judgment although they have been required for a conventional judgment by viewing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a blood test performed as a part of a health checkup or a disease diagnosis, and more particularly, to a blood test in order to ensure the accuracy of analysis results. Prior to conducting the test, it is a preliminary test performed to confirm that no harmful substances have been mixed in the analysis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When performing a blood test, it is necessary to perform a preliminary test to confirm in advance whether blood contains chyle, hemolyzed hemoglobin, bilirubin, etc., which have a significant effect on the test result. Inspection has conventionally been carried out visually by a trained clinical laboratory technician before being applied to an analyzer, and those which have been judged to be at least the degree of contamination affecting the test results have been excluded.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned current situation, there is no firm standard because it is based on the experience of a laboratory technician who performs a preliminary inspection. It is inevitable that blurring occurs, and even when the same person in charge is used, blurring may occur in the determination criterion due to physical condition or the passage of time.

[0004] Here, if the preliminary examination determines that the specimen is unsuitable for the examination, it is necessary to collect blood again at the medical site and obtain the specimen again, which is very complicated. Although it is required that the standard is accurate and has no blur, the above-described determination does not satisfy the requirement.

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the absorbance at a plurality of predetermined wavelengths is measured with respect to the test object by utilizing the specific absorption spectra of the above chyle, hemolyzed hemoglobin and bilirubin, respectively. Means for measuring the mixing ratio of each of the above-mentioned impurities has also been proposed. However, in this case, there is a problem that the apparatus itself becomes complicated, for example, measurement is required for six wavelengths.

[0006]

According to the present invention, as a specific means for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems, a preselection device comprises a light source emitting at least a wavelength in a visible light range, and a light source emitted from the light source. A RGB primary color CCD camera for receiving light transmitted through the blood test object, a processing circuit for digitizing the output of the CCD camera into an appropriate bit scale according to the precision required for each primary color, and an output of the processing circuit The present invention solves the problem by providing a preselection device for a blood test object, which comprises a determination circuit for determining whether or not the blood test object can be tested.

[0007]

Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. The reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a preselection apparatus for a blood test object according to the present invention, which comprises a light source 2, a CCD camera 3, and a processing circuit 4.
And a decision circuit 5 and a display 6.

In the drawing, reference numeral 10 denotes a test object such as blood put in an appropriate transparent container 11 such as a test tube. Needless to say, the test object 10 is in a state where processing required for inspection such as separation of solids by a centrifuge has already been performed.

In the present invention, the light source 2 is, for example, an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, or the like.
What is called white light emission and easily available in the market is adopted, and the simplification is greatly simplified as compared with the monochromatic light source used when performing the absorption analysis described in the conventional example. .

[0010] The CCD camera 3 employed in the present invention.
Are the three primary colors of R (red), G (green), and B (blue),
As will be described later, since the preselection apparatus 1 of the present invention does not perform so-called image processing, for example, if the shape of the transparent container 11 or the distance between the transparent container 11 and the CCD camera 3 is optimized. The embodiment can be implemented by using only the CCD element as the CCD camera 3.

The processing circuit 4 processes the output from the CCD camera 3. The function of the processing circuit 4 is as follows.
The processing for each of the colors R, G, and B is performed, and the integrated processing is performed after the processing for each of the colors. The determination result is determined by the determination circuit 5.
It is output to an appropriate display 6 such as one lamp.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the function of the processing circuit 4. The CCD camera 3 is used as a first process.
The intensity (= brightness) of each output of R, G, and B is binarized, for example, as an 8-bit scale (256 gradations) based on pure water in the transparent container 11.

Therefore, when the above-mentioned binarization is performed,
From the output from the CCD camera 3, 16 (R (256 tones) × G (256 tones) × B (256 tones))
One color out of the 777216 color combinations is obtained. Note that the 8-bit scale when performing the above-described binarization is an example, and in consideration of the accuracy required for the preliminary selection device 1, for example, a 6-bit scale (about 260,000 colors) or a 10-bit scale (about 11 It is possible to change it to "billion colors".

By doing so, it is possible to identify about 16.77 million colors (in the case of an 8-bit scale) from the output from the CCD camera 3. Here, when examining chyle, hemolyzed hemoglobin, and bilirubin, which are considered to affect the test value at the time of a blood test, as shown in FIG. It is known to have a wavelength absorption characteristic N over a large number of all wavelengths.

That is, when chyle is mixed in the test body 10, a decrease in blue color and a decrease in light amount are simultaneously recognized in transmitted light. Then, according to Lambert-Beer's law, "the absorbance of the solute is proportional to its concentration and the thickness of the liquid layer", so if the shape of the transparent container 11 is the same, the absorbance will be proportional to the concentration. , CCD
The output from the camera 3 also corresponds to the density.

Therefore, on the contrary, a sample mixed with chyle at the upper limit concentration which does not interfere with the inspection is prepared in advance, and the sample is placed in the transparent container 11 and the CCD sensitive to the transmitted light. If the output from the processing circuit 4 of the camera 3 is stored, a reference value for the chyle concentration can be obtained, and the determination circuit 5 only needs to make a determination based on the reference value.

FIG. 4 shows a wavelength absorption characteristic B of bilirubin.
And has a maximum value at a wavelength of 450 nm and is approximately 350 to 520.
It has a single-peak absorption characteristic having a range of nm. This means that the transmitted light will be reddish near orange,
The output through the processing circuit 4 of the CCD camera 3 also corresponds to this, and a reference value for the density can be obtained in the same manner as in the case of chyle.

FIG. 5 shows the wavelength absorption characteristic H of hemolyzed hemoglobin. In the case of this hemolyzed hemoglobin, approximately 420
It is a three-peak type having peaks at three positions of nm, approximately 540 nm, and approximately 575 nm, and shows a characteristic where the maximum is approximately 420 nm. Therefore, the transmitted light is closer to red than the above-mentioned bilirubin, and the output of the CCD camera 3 through the processing circuit 4 also corresponds to this, and the reference value for the density is obtained in the same manner as in the case of chyle and bilirubin. Will be

The above is the principle of the concentration measurement for each impurity (chyle, hemolyzed hemoglobin, bilirubin) of the preselection apparatus 1 of the present invention. In reality, it is naturally expected that two or more kinds of impurities are mixed. Will be done. However, in the preliminary sorting apparatus 1 of the present invention, as is clear from the above description, it is possible to set a limit value (reference value) if there is a reference sample.

Therefore, the subject 10 which is currently visually inspected at the examination site by a skilled clinical laboratory technician, and which is regarded as a limit, is read by the CCD camera 3 and the processing circuit 4, and this value is set as a reference value. Then, the skill of the master is held in the preliminary selection device 1, and it is sufficient for even a completely inexperienced person to monitor the display on the display 6.

Further, the pre-sorting device 1 of the present invention is also excellent in stability. As a reference value when the preselection apparatus 1 performs binarization as described above, a colorless test object such as a transparent container 11 filled with pure water is measured, and the R of the CCD camera 3 is measured. , G, and B primary colors.

That is, this process is a calibration of the CCD camera 3. The calibration values include the coloring of the transparent container 11, the transmittance, the color temperature of the light source 2, the luminance, and the like. Is performed periodically, for example, even if the light source 2 causes a temporal change, the temporal change is corrected for each calibration and does not affect the measurement accuracy.

Furthermore, the preliminary screening device 1 according to the present invention comprises:
As is apparent from the above description, when each of the RGB colors is recognized on an 8-bit scale, 16.770,000 colors can be identified. Therefore, depending on the items of the blood test, not only the preliminary screening but also the main test may be performed. In such a case, the determination device 5 and the display 6 may be appropriately improved.

In the actual implementation of the present invention, a lens and a CCD of three primary colors of RGB corresponding to the CCD camera 3 of the present invention have already been used for industrial use, photography and the like.
Since a device in which an element and an output circuit corresponding to the processing circuit 4 of the present invention and which appropriately performs binarization with accuracy are integrated is supplied to the market, these are diverted and the preselection device 1 of the present invention is used. Can be freely formed.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, a light source emitting at least a wavelength in the visible light range, a RGB primary color CCD camera for emitting light emitted from the light source and transmitted through the blood test object, A processing circuit for converting the output of the CCD camera into an appropriate bit scale corresponding to the accuracy required for each primary color, and a determination circuit for determining whether or not the blood test body can be tested based on the output of the processing circuit. First of all, the pre-selection device for blood test specimens consists of a device that was previously visually inspected and required a high degree of experience and considerable judgment, etc. It is extremely effective in improving the efficiency of this type of analytical inspection, for example, by reducing the number of inspection personnel.

Second, the determination is made based on the output of a CCD camera capable of identifying approximately 16.770,000 colors, and the CCD camera can be easily calibrated, including the light source. In addition, the accuracy of determination is high and it is easy to maintain the accuracy. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary blood recollection or mixing of untestable products due to insufficient determination accuracy or misalignment of the determination, and this type of analysis test is performed. Has an extremely excellent effect on the improvement of the reliability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing an embodiment of a preselection apparatus for a blood test object according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing the operation principle of the preselection apparatus for a blood test object according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the wavelength absorption characteristics of chyle, which is one of the detection targets of the preliminary selection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the wavelength absorption characteristics of bilirubin, which is one of the detection targets of the preselection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is also a graph showing the wavelength absorption characteristics of hemolyzed hemoglobin, which is one of the detection targets of the preliminary selection device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Preliminary sorting apparatus 2 ... Light source 3 ... CCD camera 4 ... Processing circuit 5 ... Judgment circuit 6 ... Display 10 ... Inspection body 11 ... Transparent container N ... Wavelength absorption characteristic of chyle B …… Wavelength absorption characteristics of bilirubin H …… Wavelength absorption characteristics of hemolyzed hemoglobin

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2G020 AA08 DA05 DA13 DA34 DA62 DA66 2G045 AA01 AA25 CA25 FA19 FA26 FA29 JA01 JA07 2G059 AA01 BB13 CC16 CC18 EE01 EE13 HH01 HH02 HH03 JJ01 KK04 MM05 NN01

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pre-sorting device for eliminating a blood test body mixed with a miscible substance which impairs accuracy prior to performing blood analysis, wherein said pre-sorting device emits at least a wavelength in a visible light range. A light source, a CCD camera of three primary colors of RGB for receiving light emitted from the light source and transmitted through the blood test object, and digitizing the output of the CCD camera to an appropriate bit scale according to the accuracy required for each primary color A preliminary test apparatus for a blood test object, comprising: a processing circuit; and a determination circuit for determining whether or not the blood test object can be tested based on an output of the processing circuit.