JP2001183269A - Slice treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slice treatment device capable of detecting shortage of a chemical quantity of a chemical when the quantity of the chemical is decreased in the preceding slice processing step before the transition to the next slice processing step for processing another slice after the end of the slice processing step. SOLUTION: This slice treatment device is provided with a processing vessel 40 for conducting dipping process for the slice by chemicals, a chemical tank 38 for storing a chemical to be supplied to and discharged from the processing vessel 40, a control part 20 for controlling the operation of supplying and discharging the chemical from the chemical tank 38 to the processing vessel 40, and a chemical detecting sensor 33 provided in the liquid level position b corresponding to the minimum chemical quantity to enable dipping in the slice processing, and the apparatus is characterized in that the control part 20 detects whether the minimum quantity of chemical exists in the processing vessel 40 or not through the chemical detecting sensor 33 after the end of dipping for each chemical.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tissue piece processing apparatus for performing tissue piece processing by performing a plurality of immersion treatment steps with a plurality of chemical solutions having different concentrations and types.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tissue piece processing apparatus is used to fix a stored tissue piece in order to prepare a microscope specimen from a biological tissue piece.
The dewatering, degreasing / replacement, and paraffin embedding processes are performed automatically. First, an example of the tissue piece processing step will be described with reference to FIG. The entire table in FIG. 3 is a tissue piece processing step of processing one tissue piece. And each row shows the immersion process of each chemical solution. In order to process one piece of tissue, the tissue piece is fixed with formalin (step 1), dehydrated with alcohol (steps 2 to 7), and replaced with xylene in order to finally infiltrate and harden the tissue piece with paraffin. It is necessary to perform a plurality of immersion treatment steps in the order of (Step 8 to Step 10). In the tissue piece processing apparatus, a plurality of chemical solutions having different concentrations and types are supplied to and discharged from one processing tank, and are sequentially replaced. For example, the dehydration step (Step 2 to Step 7) has six steps,
Processing is performed in such a manner that alcohols having different concentrations are sequentially discharged so as to gradually increase the concentration, and then the chemical solution of the next process is supplied to the processing tank when the chemical solution of the previous process is discharged from the processing tank.

Next, an outline of the structure of a one-tank type tissue piece processing apparatus as an example of a tissue piece processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 10 denotes a processing tank. A basket 12 containing a piece of tissue (not shown) is stored in the processing tank 10. In order to sequentially immerse such tissue pieces with a chemical solution, the chemical solutions are supplied from the plurality of chemical solution tanks 14 into the processing tank 10 in the order of the processing. The chemical solution tank 14 is housed in a storage unit 13 provided at the lower part of the tissue piece processing apparatus, and each of the chemical solution tanks 14 housed in the storage unit 13 supplies and discharges a chemical solution toward the processing tank 10. A chemical solution conduit 16 through which a chemical solution flows to perform the liquid is connected.

Each chemical solution line 16 is connected to the processing tank 10 via a selection valve 18. The selection valve 18 is provided with a valve seat 18a in which a plurality of chemical liquid tank side ports are formed and a valve plate 18b in which one processing tank side port is formed. A plurality of chemical liquid lines 16 extending from the plurality of chemical liquid tanks 14 are connected to the respective chemical liquid tank side ports of the valve seat 18a, and one chemical liquid line extending to the processing tank 10 is connected to the processing tank side port of the valve plate 18b. 17 are connected. In other words, the processing tank 10 is not connected to all of the plurality of chemical liquid lines 16, and is connected to only one chemical liquid line 17.
Multiple chemical solution tanks 14 connected to selection valve 18
The selection valve 18 can select which chemical solution tank 14 is connected to the processing tank 10.

The processing tank 10 is provided with a float type sensor or a capacitance type sensor which is a liquid level detecting means for supplying a predetermined amount of the chemical solution at the time of supplying the chemical solution in each of the above-described steps. (Not shown). Such a liquid level detecting means is attached to a predetermined position of the processing tank 10, and the liquid level is detected when the supplied chemical reaches a predetermined position where the liquid level detecting means is attached. If the liquid supply is stopped when the liquid level is supplied to the liquid level detecting means, a predetermined amount of the chemical liquid can be supplied to the processing tank 10 without fail.

However, during each immersion treatment step, the chemical solution evaporates or penetrates into the tissue piece. At the time of discharging the liquid medicine, the amount of the liquid medicine may be smaller than when the liquid is supplied. Such a decrease in the chemical solution is known empirically, and the liquid is supplied in anticipation of the decrease in the chemical solution at the time of liquid supply. However, in the conventional tissue piece processing apparatus, the amount of the chemical solution is not detected at the time of drainage from the processing tank 10, and even if the chemical solution decreases during the immersion process, the chemical solution is selected by the selection valve 18. It is stored in the tank 14 as it is. The chemical solution returned to the chemical solution tank 14 is used again in the next tissue piece processing step using the next tissue piece.

As described above, in most cases, the amount of the chemical solution already used for the immersion treatment is reduced due to evaporation or permeation or evaporation into a tissue piece. Further, it is conceivable that the amount of the chemical solution is further reduced due to breakage of the chemical solution pipeline or the processing tank in the apparatus. In such a case,
The conventional tissue piece processing apparatus attempts to use a chemical solution whose amount has been reduced in the previous tissue piece processing step in a new tissue piece processing step (without knowing that the amount is insufficient). Then, even if the supply of the chemical solution is started, if the amount of the chemical solution is less than a predetermined amount enough to actually perform the immersion process, the tissue piece processing step is interrupted without performing the immersion process by the liquid level detecting means. You. In other words, if at least one of the chemicals less than the required amount is detected, the tissue piece processing step has been interrupted until this chemical is replenished. In addition, the decrease in the amount of drug solution
If a sensor is provided in each chemical solution tank to detect the amount of each chemical solution in the chemical solution tank, an accurate amount of the chemical solution can be measured. However, providing a sensor for each of the plurality of chemical liquid tanks greatly increases the cost and complicates the apparatus, and thus cannot be adopted.

[0008]

The conventional tissue piece processing apparatus cannot check the amount of the chemical after the immersion treatment, and it is found that the amount of the chemical after the immersion treatment is less than the required amount in the next time. This is when the liquid was actually supplied in the tissue piece processing step. That is, when the amount of the chemical solution is insufficient, the worker replenishes the chemical solution immediately before the start of the immersion process after the chemical solution is completely supplied into the processing tank. There is a problem that the whole tissue piece processing step has to be interrupted, and a smooth tissue piece processing operation cannot be performed.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to solve the problem when the whole tissue piece processing step is completed and the process proceeds to the next tissue piece processing step for processing another tissue piece. However, in the previous tissue piece processing step, if a certain chemical solution has been reduced to such an extent that the immersion treatment cannot be performed, the amount of the chemical solution before the next tissue piece processing step is reduced It is an object of the present invention to provide a tissue piece processing apparatus which can detect a shortage and make an operator or the like recognize the fact before starting the next tissue piece processing and can perform a smooth operation.

[0010]

According to the tissue piece processing apparatus of the present invention, there is provided a tissue piece processing apparatus for performing tissue piece processing by performing a plurality of immersion treatment steps with a plurality of chemical solutions having different concentrations and types. A treatment tank for performing a immersion treatment step with a chemical solution on the tissue piece to be stored, a chemical tank connected to the treatment tank, and containing a chemical solution to be supplied and discharged into the treatment tank; and A control unit for controlling a supply / drainage operation of a chemical solution to / from the processing tank, and a chemical liquid provided at a liquid surface position corresponding to a minimum amount of the chemical liquid capable of performing immersion processing in the tissue piece processing in the processing tank. And a detection sensor, wherein after the immersion processing step of each chemical solution, the control unit detects, via the chemical solution detection sensor, whether or not the minimum chemical solution is present in the processing tank. I have. By adopting this configuration, even if the chemical solution decreases during the immersion process and the amount of the chemical is insufficient, before the next tissue piece processing process in which the insufficient chemical is used again, The shortage can be detected, and some countermeasures such as replenishment can be taken before the next tissue piece processing is started. Therefore, the work is not interrupted during the tissue piece processing step due to replenishment of the drug solution or the like, and a smooth tissue piece processing operation can be performed.

When the control unit detects that the amount of the chemical solution after the immersion treatment step of any one of the chemical solutions is smaller than the minimum limit amount, the control unit determines that the chemical solution is smaller than the minimum limit amount. A warning means for warning a worker or the like is provided. According to this, the operator operating the tissue piece processing apparatus can surely recognize that there is less than a predetermined amount of the drug solution before performing the tissue piece processing of a new tissue piece, and start the tissue piece processing. Before the operation, a device such as a replenishment of a drug solution can be performed. Therefore, the tissue piece processing step can be smoothly performed without being interrupted. Further, the warning transmitting means may be a display means for displaying that the amount of the chemical solution is insufficient.

[0012]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an outline of the internal configuration of the tissue piece processing apparatus, and FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the tissue piece processing step. The tissue piece processing apparatus 30 is provided with one processing tank 40 for processing a tissue piece, and the processing tank 40 is sealed by a sealing lid 32. In the processing tank 40, a sample basket 42 in which a tissue piece (not shown) is stored is stored. By sequentially supplying a plurality of chemicals into the processing tank 40, the immersion treatment of the tissue piece for each chemical is performed a plurality of times.

The processing tank 40 has a plurality of chemical tanks 38.
Is connected. Each chemical solution required for each immersion process is stored in the chemical solution tank 38. Each of the chemical tanks 38 has a chemical pipe line 4 extending toward the processing tank 40 for supplying and discharging the chemical stored in the chemical tank 38.
4 are connected. The processing tank 40 side of the chemical liquid pipe 44 is
It is connected to the chemical liquid tank side port 61 of the selection valve 56. Here, a conventionally known rotary valve including a valve seat 56a and a valve plate 56b is used as the selection valve 56. The valve seat 56a is formed with a plurality of chemical liquid tank-side ports 61 to which a plurality of chemical liquid conduits 44 extending from the plurality of chemical liquid tanks 38 are connected. On the other hand, a processing tank side port 65 to which one chemical solution pipe 45 connected to the processing tank 40 is connected is formed in the valve plate 56b.

The selection valve 56 selects one of the plurality of chemical tanks 38 by rotating the valve plate 56b with respect to the valve seat 56a, and selects the selected chemical tank 3.
8 is connected to the processing tank 40. Note that, specifically, the selection valve 56 drives a valve plate 56b by an electric motor (not shown) or the like.

Between the processing tank 40 and the selection valve 56,
A switching valve 52 that opens and closes the chemical solution pipe 45 is provided. From the switching valve 52 to the processing tank 40, 2
Books are connected. One pipe is connected to the upper side wall surface of the processing tank 40 and is a liquid supply pipe 50 for supplying a chemical solution into the processing tank, and the other pipe connected to the bottom of the processing tank 40 is used for supplying the chemical solution. Drainage line 54 for draining from processing tank 40
It is. That is, when supplying a chemical solution into the processing tank 40, the switching valve 52 communicates the chemical liquid line 45 and the liquid supply line 50 so that the chemical liquid is supplied from the upper part of the processing tank 40. When the liquid medicine is discharged from 40, the connection state of the pipes is switched so that the switching valve 52 connects the liquid discharge pipe 54 and the liquid chemical pipe 45.

As described above, the chemical solution is supplied to the processing tank 40 at the time of liquid supply.
The injection is performed not from the bottom but from the top of the processing tank 40, so that a strong jet in the processing tank 40 at the time of liquid supply can be prevented to prevent physical damage to the tissue pieces, and at the time of stirring. This makes it possible to improve the flow of the chemical solution in the processing tank 40 and improve the stirring effect.

As described above, the switching valve 52 is used here.
In addition, the chemical solution pipe 45 is opened and closed between the processing tank side port 65 of the selection valve 56 and the processing tank 40 to switch on / off the supply of the chemical solution into the processing tank 40, and the chemical solution pipe 45, Although a three-way valve that can connect any two of the three lines of the liquid supply line 50 and the drainage line 54 is used, the liquid supply line and the drainage line are also used. A switching valve may be provided that only provides one conduit and opens and closes between the conduit and the chemical liquid conduit 45.

One end of one air pipe 46 is provided in the processing tank 40 on the side wall surface above the liquid level upper limit position a so as to communicate with the air layer above the liquid level upper limit position a. It is connected. The other end of the air pipe 46 is branched into two branches, and a pressure-side switching valve 34 and a pressure-reducing switching valve 39 are connected to each branched side. The pressurizing side switching valve 34 and the pressure reducing side switching valve 39 are connected to the pressure side and the pressure reducing side of the air pump 60, respectively. A filter 62 is provided for removing exhaust gas transported from the inside of the processing tank 40 into the air pipe 46 by the air pump 60 at the time of pressure reduction.

The supply and discharge of the chemical solution into the processing tank 40 are performed by operating the air pump 60 to pressurize and depressurize the processing layer 40. That is, when supplying the chemical solution into the processing tank 40, the pressurizing side switching valve 34 is closed, the pressure reducing side switching valve 39 is opened, and the air pump 60 sucks the air in the air pipe 46. For this reason, the inside of the processing tank 40 becomes negative pressure, and the liquid supply pipe 5
The chemical solution is sucked into the processing tank 40 from the one chemical solution tank 38 selected by the selection valve 56 through the zero and the chemical solution line 45. On the other hand, when discharging the chemical solution in the processing tank 40,
The pressurizing side switching valve 34 opens, the pressure reducing side switching valve 39 closes, and the air pump 60 blows air into the processing tank 40. For this reason, the inside of the processing tank 40 is pressurized,
The liquid is returned to the side of the chemical tank 38 selected by the selection valve 56 through the drain pipe 54 and the chemical pipe 45. When returning the chemical in the processing layer 40 to the chemical tank 38 side, the air pump 60 is not operated, and the atmosphere and the processing tank 4 are removed.
The inside of the tank may be communicated with the inside of the tank to return the chemical liquid to the chemical liquid tank 38 by free fall due to gravity.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a chemical liquid detection sensor 35 as a means for detecting a liquid level. Specifically, a capacitance type sensor, a float type sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor can be used as this chemical liquid detection sensor, so that the chemical liquid is not stored above the liquid level upper limit position a. That is, the processing tank 40
During the liquid supply, the liquid supply is stopped when the liquid detection sensor 35 detects the liquid level. Therefore, the tissue piece is not exposed from the liquid using the minimum necessary liquid. You can do it. The liquid level detecting means 35
Are connected to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 controls the selection valve 56, the switching valve 52, the air pump 60, and the open / close switching valves 34 and 39 based on the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means 35.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a chemical solution detection sensor located below the chemical solution detection sensor 35 and at least above the tissue piece (broken line b). This chemical solution detection sensor 33
Is a liquid level position of the minimum amount of the chemical solution that can be immersed again in the next tissue piece processing step. In other words, when the chemical solution detection sensor 33 detects that the chemical solution exists at this position b at the time of drainage, the corresponding chemical solution can be immersed in the next tissue piece processing step, and there is no chemical solution at this position b. If this is detected, it becomes clear that the immersion process of the corresponding chemical solution cannot be performed in the next tissue piece processing step due to the insufficient amount of the chemical solution.

The control unit 20 is constituted by a computer such as a CPU, and operates according to an operation program recorded in the storage unit 22 or an internal memory in advance. Storage unit 2
Reference numeral 2 is configured using a semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a RAM, and stores processing data and the like in a process of dipping a tissue piece in each chemical solution. Then, the control unit 20 controls the chemical liquid detection sensor 3
The selection valve 5 is selected based on the data detected by the sensors 5 and 33 as to whether or not the chemical is sufficient for the next dipping process.
6, control of the switching valve 52, the air pump 60 and the like. In addition, in order to input control data such as processing operation start support and processing data of each process to the control unit 20,
An operation unit (not shown) is provided.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a display unit. The display unit 24 may be, for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal screen capable of displaying characters, or a lamp that simply lights or blinks. The display unit 24 capable of displaying characters is connected to the storage unit 22 and the control unit 20, and can perform various character displays based on data stored in the storage unit 22 under the control of the control unit 20. On the other hand, when the display unit 24 is a lamp that simply turns on or blinks, the display unit 24 may not be connected to the storage unit 22. The display can be performed even when the control unit 24 controls the lamp lighting, blinking, and the like based on the signal for detecting the liquid level from the liquid level detecting unit 35.

The operation of supplying and draining the chemical solution of the tissue piece processing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process from the start S100 to the end S120 of this flowchart is a tissue piece processing step (the same range as the entire table in FIG. 3) in which one tissue piece is subjected to immersion treatment with a plurality of chemicals, and 1 from S102 to S118. Three chemical solution immersion processing steps (each of steps 1 to 14 in FIG. 3) are shown. That is, in the tissue piece processing step, the immersion processing step using one chemical solution is performed a plurality of times (14 times in FIG. 3).
It ends repeatedly. First, in S102, a chemical solution to be used is specified from a plurality of chemical solution tanks 38 provided. More specifically, the user operates the selection valve 56 to select one of the plurality of chemical liquid conduits 44 connected to the chemical liquid tank side port 61 of the valve seat 56a, and to select the valve plate 56b.
In communication with the chemical solution pipe 45 connected to the processing tank side port 65. Then, the switching valve 52 is operated to make the chemical solution pipe 45 connected to the processing tank side port of the selection valve 56 communicate with the liquid supply pipe 50.

Subsequently, in S104, the pressure switching valve 34 is closed and the pressure reducing switching valve 39 is opened, and then the air pump 60 is operated to reduce the pressure in the processing tank 40 to a negative pressure. Then
In the processing tank 40, the chemical is sucked from the selected chemical tank 38, through the chemical liquid pipe 44 and the chemical liquid pipe 45, from the liquid supply pipe 50, and supplied. Then, in S106, the control unit 20 determines whether a necessary amount of the chemical solution has been supplied. Specifically, when the liquid medicine detection sensor 35 detects the liquid level of the supplied liquid medicine, the control unit 20 determines that a predetermined amount of the liquid medicine has been supplied and the liquid supply has been completed, and proceeds to the next step S108. Transition. When the required amount of the chemical is supplied, the control unit 20 stops the operation of the air pump 60 in S108, and at the same time, closes the switching valve 52.

On the other hand, if the amount of the chemical is insufficient in S106, the chemical tank is emptied at the stage where the liquid supply is not completed, and the air in the chemical tank enters the processing tank 40 instead of the chemical. As a result, the internal pressure in the processing tank 40 increases. That is, when a pressure sensor (not shown) detects that the inside of the processing tank 40 has become equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, and the chemical liquid detection sensor 33 detects the liquid level, the control unit 20 determines that the chemical liquid is insufficient. Judge, end the liquid supply work and S107
Move to. In addition, for a predetermined time from the start of liquid supply, the processing tank 40
If there is no change in the internal pressure, the control unit 20 determines that the chemical liquid tank 38 has been empty from the beginning.
In this case as well, the process proceeds to S107 because the chemical solution is insufficient.

In step S107, a protection operation is selected to prevent the tissue pieces from drying due to the failure to supply a predetermined amount of the drug solution. Here, either one of the proxy operation and the standby operation can be selected as the protection operation. First, the proxy processing will be described. In the substitute processing, first, all the insufficient chemicals are returned to the original chemical tank, the same type of chemical is supplied into the processing tank from another chemical tank containing the same type of chemical, and the chemical is used to organize the tissue. This is an operation to advance the immersion processing of the piece. That is, when the proxy process is selected as the protection operation in S107, the process proceeds from S107 to S121, and all the insufficient chemicals in the processing tank 40 are once discharged to the original chemical solution tank.
Then, the flow shifts to S124, where the same type of chemical is supplied from another chemical tank in which the same type of chemical is stored. And by the liquid supply from other chemical liquid tanks,
When the chemical solution is supplied into the processing tank 40 in an amount necessary for the immersion process, the process proceeds to S110, and the immersion process is started using the chemical solution.

Next, standby will be described. If the standby is selected in S107, all the insufficient chemicals in the processing tank 40 are temporarily discharged to the original chemical tank in S111. Then, the flow shifts to S113, where the chemical used in the immersion processing performed before the current immersion processing is supplied again into the processing tank.
When a predetermined amount of the drug solution is supplied so that the tissue piece is hidden in the drug solution, the process proceeds to S117, where the switching valve 52 is closed and the processing tank 40 is closed. When the processing tank 40 is closed, the operation is stopped until the insufficient chemical is refilled into the chemical tank. In this way, the chemical solution used in the previous step is supplied to close the processing tank 40 to interrupt the operation, thereby preventing the tissue pieces from drying.

Hereinafter, the steps from S110 will be described. When the supply of the chemical solution to the processing tank 40 is completed in S108, a timer is operated in S110 to measure the tissue piece processing time. When the timer determines that the processing time has ended in S112, the control unit 20 causes the chemical liquid detection sensor 33 to detect whether or not a predetermined amount of the chemical liquid remains. The chemical liquid detection sensor 33 is set to S11
If it is detected that the liquid level is above the position b at the time point 2, it is determined that there is a sufficient amount for the next immersion treatment, and that the liquid medicine satisfies the predetermined amount even at the time of drainage, and the process proceeds to S116.

On the other hand, if the chemical liquid detection sensor 33 detects that the liquid surface of the chemical liquid is located below the position b at the time of drainage, it means that the amount of the chemical liquid is insufficient at the time of drainage. In such a case, the process proceeds to S115 and the control unit 2
In the case of 0, the fact that the amount of the chemical solution is insufficient is stored in the storage unit 22 or the fact is displayed on the display unit 24. After the lack of the liquid amount is stored in the storage unit 22 or displayed on the display unit 24, the process proceeds from S115 to S116.
In addition, the liquid shortage data stored in the storage unit 22 in S115 is displayed on the display unit 24 after the entire tissue piece processing step is completed.

In S116, the chemical is drained from the processing tank 40. First, the selection valve 56 selects the chemical solution tank 38 for storing the chemical solution after the immersion processing. Then, the switching valve 52 is opened, and the inside of the processing tank 40 is pressurized by operating the air pump 60. Then, the chemical in the processing tank 40 is drained so as to be pushed out from the drain pipe 54 to the chemical tank 38.

After draining the chemical from the processing tank 40, the process proceeds to step S11.
Move to 8. In S118, it is confirmed whether or not all processing steps have been completed. Then, if all the processing steps have not been completed yet, the process returns to S102, and the immersion processing with the next chemical solution is performed. If the drug solution is the final drug solution of paraffin in S116, it means that a microscope specimen has been prepared, and S12
At 0, the whole tissue piece processing step ends. Then, in order to process the next piece of tissue, the piece of tissue that has become a microscope specimen is taken out of the processing tank, the untreated piece of tissue is stored in the processing tank 40, and the process proceeds to the next piece of tissue processing. It should be noted that the final paraffin is not automatically discharged from the processing tank 40 even after all the processing steps are completed. The liquid may be drained by an operation.

Even after one tissue piece processing step is completed (that is, after completion of S120), when the process is successively shifted to the next tissue piece processing step, the operator displays any one of the pieces on the display unit 24. It is necessary to confirm whether or not a message indicating that the chemical solution is insufficient is displayed (S122). As described above, since the operator can recognize which chemical solution is insufficient before starting the tissue piece processing step, the process proceeds to S107 during the tissue piece processing step, and the work is interrupted. This almost eliminates the need to perform tissue piece processing.

Although only the display unit 24, which can be visually confirmed, has been described as a warning transmitting means for warning the operator that the chemical solution is insufficient, a warning sound or voice is stored in the storage unit 22 in advance. Alternatively, a configuration that appeals to the worker's hearing, such as transmitting these sounds from a speaker in advance, may be employed.

In the above-described embodiment, a single-tank type tissue piece processing apparatus has been described as an example of a tissue piece processing apparatus. However, a plurality of processing tanks are provided to perform parallel processing in each processing tank, May be a tissue piece processing apparatus in which a processing tank is divided into a paraffin-based and a non-paraffin-based. In this case, it is preferable to provide an ultrasonic detector in each of the plurality of processing tanks.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Of course.

[0037]

According to the tissue piece processing apparatus of the present invention,
A treatment tank for performing an immersion treatment step with a chemical solution on the stored tissue piece, a chemical solution tank connected to the treatment tank and containing a chemical solution to be supplied / discharged into and from the treatment tank, and a treatment tank from the chemical solution tank to the treatment tank A control unit for controlling the supply / drainage operation of the chemical solution, and a chemical solution detection sensor provided at a liquid surface position corresponding to the minimum amount of the chemical solution capable of performing the immersion treatment in the treatment of the tissue piece in the treatment tank. After the immersion process of each chemical solution, the control unit detects whether or not the minimum amount of the chemical solution is present in the processing tank via the chemical solution detection sensor. Even if the amount is insufficient, the lack of the chemical solution will be used again.It will be found that it is insufficient before the next tissue piece processing step is started. You can take action.
For this reason, there is no need to interrupt the operation for replenishment of the drug solution or the like in the middle of the tissue piece processing step, so that there is a remarkable effect that a smooth tissue piece processing operation can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a tissue piece processing step.

FIG. 3 is a table showing an example of a chemical solution and the like used in a tissue piece processing step.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional tissue piece processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 control unit 22 storage unit 24 display unit 30 tissue piece processing device 32 sealing lid 33 chemical liquid detection sensor 34 pressurization side switching valve 35 chemical liquid detection sensor 38 chemical liquid tank 39 pressure reducing side switching valve 40 processing tank 41, 45 chemical liquid line 42 sample cage 46 Air line 50 Liquid supply line 52 Switching valve 54 Drainage line 56 Selection valve 60 Air pump 61 Chemical tank side port 62 Filter 65 Processing tank side port

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tissue piece treating apparatus for performing a tissue piece treatment by performing an immersion treatment process a plurality of times with a plurality of chemical solutions having different concentrations and types, wherein a treatment tank for performing a immersion treatment process with a chemical solution on the stored tissue pieces. A chemical liquid tank connected to the processing tank and containing a chemical liquid to be supplied and discharged into the processing tank; and a control unit that controls a supply and discharge operation of the chemical liquid from the chemical liquid tank to the processing tank. A chemical solution detection sensor provided at a liquid level corresponding to a minimum amount of the chemical solution that can perform the immersion process in the tissue piece processing of the treatment tank, wherein the control unit performs the immersion process of each chemical solution. A tissue piece processing apparatus for detecting whether or not the minimum chemical solution is present in a processing tank via the chemical solution detection sensor after completion. 2. The control unit, when detecting that the amount of the chemical solution after the immersion treatment step of any one of the chemical solutions is smaller than the minimum limit amount, determines that the chemical solution is smaller than the minimum limit amount. The tissue piece processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a warning unit that warns an operator or the like. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said warning means is a display device.