JP2001194276A - Tissue piece treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tissue piece treating device capable of accurately detecting the liquid level of chemicals at all times regardless of the type of the chemicals or pressurization, depressurization, etc., applied to the inside of a treating tank. SOLUTION: In the tissue piece treating device 30 with a treating tank 40 to store chemicals and a liquid level detecting means to detect the liquid level of the chemicals inside the treating tank 40 for applying a chemical immersion treatment process on a housed tissue piece, the liquid level detecting means is an ultrasonic detector 35 with a transmitting part 35a to transmit ultrasonic waves and a receiving part 35b to receive ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting part 35a on the outer wall surfaces of opposing wall parts of the treating tank 40.

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 having a liquid level detecting means for detecting a liquid level of a chemical solution supplied into a processing tank containing a tissue piece.

[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. In the tissue piece processing apparatus, a tissue piece to be a microscope specimen is housed in a sample basket, and the sample basket is housed in a processing tank. Then, formalin for fixation is first supplied into the treatment tank containing the tissue pieces, and immersion treatment with formalin is performed for a predetermined time. After the immersion treatment with formalin is completed, formalin is drained from the treatment tank,
Next, alcohol for dehydration is supplied into the treatment tank.
After the immersion treatment with alcohol is completed, the alcohol is drained, and xylene for replacement is supplied. When the xylene immersion process is completed, the xylene is drained and paraffin is supplied. Finally, by immersing the tissue piece with paraffin, a microscope specimen of the tissue piece is manufactured. Further, after the production of the microscopic specimen of the tissue piece, the paraffin stuck to the inner wall surface of the processing tank in the paraffin immersion treatment in the tissue piece processing step performed earlier for the production of the microscopic specimen of another tissue piece. A cleaning step is also required in which a cleaning solution is supplied into the treatment tank and wiped off.

[0003] Many of the various chemical solutions used for the treatment of tissue pieces as described above are toxic to humans or adversely affect the environment, and it is desirable to minimize the amount of use. On the other hand, in order to ensure that the immersion process in each chemical solution is performed, during the immersion process, ensure that the tissue piece is exposed in the chemical solution so that there is no place where it is exposed and protrudes from the surface of each chemical solution. It is necessary to be immersed in. Therefore, the liquid level of the chemical is higher than the upper end of the tissue piece so that the upper end of the tissue piece stored in the treatment tank is immersed in the chemical solution while keeping the amount of the chemical used to the minimum necessary. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately detect the liquid level of the chemical solution so as to be positioned at the position.

Therefore, the processing tank is provided with a liquid level detecting means (so-called level converter) for detecting the liquid level of the chemical solution in the processing tank. Conventional liquid level detecting means for detecting the liquid level of a chemical solution include a capacitance detection type sensor and a float type sensor. First, the capacitance detection type sensor will be described. A capacitance detection type sensor is a sensor that detects the capacitance between a pair of electrodes, and determines the difference in capacitance between a case where a chemical solution exists between the electrodes and a case where no chemical solution exists. To detect. By mounting such a capacitance type sensor at a predetermined height of the processing tank, it is detected that the chemical has risen to the predetermined height.

[0005] The float type sensor comprises a float in which a magnet or the like is sealed, and a detector provided at a predetermined height on the wall surface side of the processing tank and detecting a magnetic field line of the magnet. That is, the detector detects the line of magnetic force of the float floating on the liquid surface, thereby detecting whether the liquid surface has risen to a predetermined height.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned capacitance type sensor, there is a possibility that a malfunction occurs in response to the capacitance inherent in the sample basket for accommodating the tissue piece or the tissue piece itself. There is a problem that. The chemical used is
Since the capacitance differs for each type, there is also a problem that the liquid level cannot be uniformly detected at the same position for all the chemicals. Furthermore, the float type sensor is made of synthetic resin or hermetically sealed metal in order to secure buoyancy, but depending on the properties of the chemical solution used, the float may be dissolved. There is a problem that there is a risk that the closed type float made of metal may not be able to withstand the pressurization and decompression in the processing tank and may be damaged. In addition, since the specific gravities of the respective chemicals are different, there is also a problem that the liquid level detected for each of the chemicals is different.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and a tissue fragment capable of always accurately detecting the liquid level of a chemical solution regardless of the type of the chemical solution, the pressure applied in the treatment tank, and the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing device.

[0008]

That is, according to the tissue piece processing apparatus of the present invention, a treatment tank for storing a chemical solution for performing immersion treatment with a chemical solution on the stored tissue piece;
In a tissue piece processing apparatus having a liquid level detection means for detecting the liquid level of the chemical solution stored in the processing tank, the liquid level detection means, on the outer wall surface of the wall portion of the processing tank facing each other,
It is an ultrasonic detector including a transmitting unit that transmits an ultrasonic wave and a receiving unit that receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting unit. By adopting this configuration, even if ultrasonic waves are easily attenuated in air, they propagate well without being attenuated in liquid, and ultrasonic waves do not have a large change in propagation level depending on the type of liquid. Therefore, even when immersion treatment is performed using a plurality of chemical solutions, the liquid level of each chemical solution can be accurately detected without being affected by the properties of each chemical solution. In addition, since the ultrasonic detector is attached to the outer wall surface of the processing tank and can detect the liquid level, the ultrasonic detector is not affected by malfunction due to adhesion of a chemical solution or pressure change due to pressurization and decompression inside the processing tank. Accurate detection is possible.

The processing tank is provided with a small space that communicates with the inside of the processing tank and is formed so as to protrude outward. The ultrasonic detector surrounds the small space and has a small space. Of the walls that form the space, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be provided on outer wall surfaces of the opposing walls. With this configuration, even if the ultrasonic wave has strong directivity, the distance between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be shortened, so that the axis alignment between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be easily performed. That is, since the ultrasonic wave has strong directivity, it is not easy to align the axis at the time of mounting the ultrasonic detector, but this makes it easy to mount the ultrasonic detector. Further, even if the pressure in the processing layer after the attachment of the transmission unit and the reception unit is increased or decreased, the axis is not easily shifted. Furthermore, if a heating means is provided on the wall of the small space portion, when the used chemical solution is paraffin, the portion where the ultrasonic wave propagates can reliably prevent solidification of paraffin, Accurate liquid level detection can be performed.

Further, the wall of the small space section is provided with an attenuating means for attenuating the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting section, so that the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting section is provided on the wall facing the wall. It is possible to prevent the vibration of the ultrasonic detector from coming into contact with the vibration and spreading to the entire processing tank as a vibration, thereby preventing the ultrasonic detector from malfunctioning. If the damping means and the heating means are formed integrally, the number of components can be reduced, and the labor at the time of assembly can be saved. In addition, the second ultrasonic detector provided at a predetermined position between the upper limit position of the liquid level of the chemical in the processing tank and the upper end of the tissue piece, and the operation of supplying and discharging the chemical to the processing tank is performed. A control unit, wherein the control unit detects that the chemical solution has disappeared at the predetermined position during the immersion process step of immersing the tissue piece in the chemical solution for a predetermined time. Then, by stopping the immersion process, failure of the immersion process in the immersion process can be prevented.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an outline of the internal structure of a tissue piece processing apparatus, and FIG. 2 shows a mounting structure of an ultrasonic detector.
However, in the tissue piece processing apparatus described below, the processing tank is one.
A single-tank type tissue piece processing apparatus is described.
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 treatment tank 40, the immersion treatment of the tissue piece for each chemical is performed a plurality of times.

The processing tank 40 includes 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.
1 is connected. The treatment tank 40 side of the chemical liquid pipe 41 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. In the valve seat 56a, a plurality of chemical liquid tank-side ports 61 to which a plurality of chemical liquid conduits 41 extending from the plurality of chemical liquid tanks 38 are connected are formed. 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.
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. Two pipes are connected from the switching valve 52 to the processing tank 40. One of the pipelines is connected to the upper side wall surface of the processing tank 40 to supply a chemical solution into the processing tank.
0, and the other pipeline connected to the bottom of the processing tank 40 is a drain pipe 54 for draining the chemical from the processing tank 40. 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 chemical is discharged from 40, the connection state between the pipes is switched so that the switching valve 52 connects the drain pipe 52 and the chemical pipe 45.

As described above, at the time of liquid supply, the chemical solution is supplied to the processing tank 40.
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. The flow of the chemical solution in the processing tank 40 can be improved, and the stirring effect can be improved.

As described above, here, the switching valve 52
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. It is also possible to provide one pipe and only open and close between the pipe and the chemical liquid pipe 45.

One end of one air pipe 46 is provided in the processing tank 40 on the side wall surface above the liquid surface upper limit position a so as to communicate with the air layer above the liquid surface 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 to the inside of the air pipe 46 by the air pump 60 when the pressure is reduced. When the air pump 60 is operated to increase or decrease the pressure in the processing layer 40, the supply and discharge of the chemical solution into the processing tank 40 are performed.

When a chemical is supplied into the processing tank 40,
The pressure 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. Therefore, the inside of the processing tank 40 becomes a negative pressure, and the chemical is sucked into the processing tank 40 from the one chemical tank 38 selected by the selection valve 56 through the liquid supply pipe 50 and the chemical pipe 45. On the other hand, when discharging the chemical solution in the processing tank 40, the pressurizing side switching valve 34 is opened, the pressure reducing side switching valve 39 is closed, and the air pump 60 blows air into the processing tank 40. Therefore, the inside of the processing tank 40 is pressurized, and the chemical solution in the processing tank 40 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 is communicated with the processing tank 40, and the chemical is freely dropped by gravity to the chemical tank 38 side. It may be returned.

An ultrasonic detector 35 is a liquid level detecting means. The ultrasonic detector 35 is provided on the outer wall surface of the processing tank 40 at the position of the liquid level upper limit position a. The ultrasonic detector 35 detects the liquid level so that the liquid level does not rise above the liquid level upper limit position a when the chemical liquid is supplied, and transmits the detection result to the control unit 20 described later. Liquid level upper limit position a
Is set at a position where the stored tissue piece can be reliably immersed in the drug solution and the amount of the drug solution can be minimized.

The ultrasonic detector 35 comprises a transmitting section 35a for transmitting ultrasonic waves and a receiving section 35b for receiving ultrasonic waves. These transmitting unit 35a and receiving unit 35b
The processing tank 40 is mounted at a position facing each of the wall surfaces. In the processing tank of the present embodiment, the ultrasonic detector 35
The opposing walls 66a and 66 of the small space 66 projecting outward from the inside of the processing tank 40 and communicating with the inside of the processing tank.
6b. This small space part 66
When viewed from the outside of the processing tank 40, it can be said that it is a projection in which the outer wall of the processing tank 40 protrudes outward and the inner processing tank part is widened.

Since the ultrasonic detector 35 is used as the liquid level detecting means for detecting the liquid level, it is attenuated in air,
The liquid level can be detected using ultrasonic waves that propagate well without attenuation in the liquid. In such an ultrasonic detector, even if the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are mounted on the outer wall surface instead of the inner wall surface of the processing tank 40, the ultrasonic wave can be transmitted and received. Therefore, the ultrasonic detector 35 itself does not come into contact with the chemical solution. As a result, malfunction of the detector can be prevented. Further, since the ultrasonic detector 35 is provided on the outer wall surface of the processing tank, the ultrasonic detector 35 is not affected by pressurization and decompression inside the processing tank, so that a malfunction in liquid level detection can be prevented.

Further, the transmitting unit 3 is arranged so as to shorten the distance between the transmitting unit 35a and the receiving unit 35b of the ultrasonic detector 35.
5a and the receiving unit 35b are provided on the walls 66a and 66b of the small space 66 in which the inner wall surface of the processing tank 40 is recessed outward, so that the distance between the transmitting unit 35a and the receiving unit 35b Can be shortened as compared with the case where the device is directly attached to the processing tank 40. That is, since the propagation distance of the ultrasonic wave can be shortened, the axis of the ultrasonic wave propagation path between the transmitting unit 35a and the receiving unit 35b can be easily adjusted, and the ultrasonic detector can be easily attached. In addition, by shortening the ultrasonic wave propagation distance, when the pressure inside the processing tank 40 is increased or decreased, the axis of the ultrasonic wave propagation path can be hardly shaken due to distortion of the processing tank 40 itself.

It is preferable to provide an attenuating means 68 for attenuating the ultrasonic wave at least on the wall 66b of the ultrasonic detector 35 where the receiving section 35b is attached. Examples of the damping means 68 include epoxy resin and silicone. The reason why the damping means 68 is provided in this way is that if there is no damping means 68, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting unit 35a abuts against the opposing wall, and the processing tank 40 as a vibration from the abutting wall. This is because it may spread throughout. Then, there is a possibility that the receiving unit 35b detects the vibration coming from another part of the processing tank 40 and malfunctions as the ultrasonic detector 35. Further, the damping means 68 may be attached to the entire outer wall surface of the small space portion 66 as well as to the wall portion 66b on the receiving portion 35b side.

When a heating means is mounted in the small space 66 where the ultrasonic detector 35 is mounted, the liquid level can be detected satisfactorily without solidifying paraffin during the detection of the liquid level. However, if heating is performed by a heating means during the immersion treatment of a drug solution other than paraffin, the drug solution other than paraffin should not be heated, since there is a possibility that the staining of a tissue piece corresponding to post-processing may be significantly affected in some cases. It can also be controlled. Examples of the heating means include a film heater and the like.

In this embodiment, the above-mentioned damping means and heating means are integrally formed. FIG. 3 shows a silicone rubber heater as an example in which such a damping unit and a heating unit are integrally provided. The heater is
A heater wire 59 is sealed and formed in a silicone rubber 58. Such a silicone rubber heater 64
Is mounted on the outer wall of the small space portion 66, the number of components can be reduced by using the damping device 68 and the heating device, and the liquid level can be detected satisfactorily with a simple structure.

Next, a circuit configuration for controlling the tissue piece processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, which will be described later, show only the control unit in the circuit configuration connected to the ultrasonic detector, unlike FIG. 22 is an oscillator. The oscillator 22 outputs a waveform having a predetermined frequency to the transmitting unit 35a. The transmitting unit 35a transmits the waveform output from the oscillator 22 to the wall surface 6 of the small space 66.
Output as ultrasonic waves via 6a. The receiving unit 35b
The received ultrasonic waves are converted into electric signals and output to the amplifier 24. The signal amplified by the amplifier 24 is sent to the control unit 20 via the detector 26. The control unit 20 is configured by a CPU or the like, operates according to a control program stored in advance in a memory (not shown) or the like, and controls a selection valve, a switching valve, an air pump, and the like based on a signal from the ultrasonic detector. . An operation unit (not shown) is provided for inputting control data such as a processing operation start instruction and processing data of each process to the control unit 20.

The operation of supplying and draining a chemical solution of the tissue piece processing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. Here, instead of describing the immersion process of a plurality of chemical solutions until a tissue piece is prepared as a microscope specimen, a description will be given of a liquid supply / drain operation of a certain one of the immersion processes of a plurality of chemical solutions. I do. First, in the first stage of the immersion treatment process of a certain chemical solution,
The control unit 20 operates the selection valve 56 to select one of the plurality of chemical liquid lines 41 connected to the chemical liquid tank side port 61 and to connect one chemical liquid line connected to the processing tank side port 65. Communicate with 45. Thereby, the chemical solution to be used can be specified. The control unit 20 also operates the switching valve 52 to make the chemical liquid pipe 45 connected to the processing tank side port 65 of the selection valve 56 communicate with the liquid supply pipe 50.

Then, the control unit 20 closes the pressurizing side switching valve 34 and opens the pressure reducing side switching valve 39, and operates the air pump 60 to make the inside of the processing tank 40 a negative pressure. Then, the processing tank 40
The chemical is sucked out from the selected chemical tank 38 and supplied. At this time, if the supplied chemical is located below the ultrasonic detector 35, the transmitting unit 35a
The ultrasonic wave output from is attenuated in the air, and the ultrasonic wave is not detected by the receiving unit 35b. As the liquid supply operation progresses, the transmitting unit 35a and the receiving unit 3 of the ultrasonic detector 35
When the chemical reaches the axis (liquid level upper limit position a) connecting to the axis 5b, the ultrasonic wave propagates through the chemical without attenuating and passes through the receiving unit 3.
5b is reached. Here, the receiving unit 35b detects the arrival of the liquid level.

When the ultrasonic detector 35 detects the liquid level of the chemical, the control unit 20 stops the operation of the air pump 60, and at the same time, closes the switching valve 52 to shut off the processing tank 40 and the chemical tank 38. Thus, the operation of supplying the chemical liquid of the predetermined chemical liquid ends. Then, after the chemical solution is supplied, an immersion treatment step of immersing the tissue piece in the chemical solution for a predetermined time is performed.

When the immersion treatment process is completed after a predetermined time, the used chemical in the treatment tank 40 is discharged. First, the control unit 20 controls the selection valve 56 to select the chemical liquid tank 38 that stores the used chemical liquid. Then, the control unit 20 opens the switching valve 52 and connects the drain pipe 54 and the chemical pipe 45. Further, the control unit 20 activates the air pump 60 to pressurize the inside of the processing tank 40 and discharge the chemical to the selected chemical tank 38.

In the immersion treatment step, it is necessary that the entire tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution. If any part of the tissue piece is exposed from the chemical solution, the immersion treatment is not performed satisfactorily. . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, in addition to the above-described ultrasonic detector, between the liquid level upper limit position a and the upper end of the tissue piece, in order to guarantee that the tissue piece is immersed in the drug solution. It is also preferable to provide a second ultrasonic detector 70 that is located. Hereinafter, a tissue piece processing apparatus provided with the ultrasonic detector 70 will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Since the ultrasonic detector 70 is for ensuring that the tissue piece is immersed in the drug solution, it is located just above the upper end of the tissue piece (FIG. 4).
At the position indicated by the dashed line b). That is,
If it is detected that there is no drug solution at the position of the one-dot chain line b, it is considered that there is a portion where the tissue piece is not immersed in the drug solution, and the immersion process is stopped.

The ultrasonic detector 70 is connected to the controller 20. The control unit 20 determines that the chemical solution is insufficient due to the interruption of the ultrasonic wave at the position of the ultrasonic detector 70 during the immersion processing step, temporarily stops the immersion processing step, and causes the chemical liquid to flow again. That is, when the signal from the ultrasonic detector 70 is interrupted, the switching valve 52 is opened and the air pump 60 is operated to make the inside of the processing tank negative pressure. Then, the chemical solution is supplied again into the processing tank 40. Then, when the liquid level of the supplied chemical reaches the liquid level upper limit position a and the ultrasonic detector 35 detects it, the control unit 20 switches the switching valve 5.
2 is closed to shut off the space between the chemical solution tank 38 and the processing tank 40, stop the operation of the air pump 60, and resume the remaining immersion processing steps from the point of suspension.

As described above, the ultrasonic detector for supplying a predetermined amount of liquid when supplying a chemical solution, and the second ultrasonic detector for detecting whether or not the liquid is surely submerged in the chemical solution. Is provided, it is possible to supply only the minimum necessary amount of the drug solution, and to ensure that the tissue piece is immersed in the drug solution.
As a process after the second ultrasonic detector detects that the tissue piece is not immersed in the chemical solution, the immersion process is temporarily stopped as described above, and only a predetermined amount of the chemical solution is supplied again. Instead, it may be considered that the immersion processing has failed at that point, and the immersion processing may be completely stopped.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a one-tank type tissue piece processing apparatus has been described as an example of the 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 preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it is possible to make various modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention. Of course.

[0036]

According to the tissue piece processing apparatus of the present invention,
In order to perform an immersion treatment step with a chemical solution on the stored tissue piece, in a tissue piece processing apparatus having a processing tank for storing a chemical solution, and a liquid level detection unit for detecting the level of the chemical solution stored in the processing tank, The liquid level detecting means is an ultrasonic detector having, on outer wall surfaces of the mutually facing walls of the processing tank, a transmitting unit for transmitting ultrasonic waves and a receiving unit for receiving ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting unit. Therefore, when immersion treatment is performed using multiple chemicals, utilizing the property that ultrasonic waves propagate well without attenuating in a liquid and the property that the propagation level does not change significantly depending on the type of liquid However, the liquid level of each chemical solution can be accurately detected without being affected by the properties of each chemical solution. In addition, since the ultrasonic detector is attached to the outer wall surface of the processing tank and can detect the liquid level, the ultrasonic detector is not affected by malfunction due to adhesion of a chemical solution or pressure change due to pressurization and decompression inside the processing tank. Accurate detection is possible.

[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 an explanatory view showing a mounting structure of an ultrasonic detector.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a silicone rubber heater.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 Control unit 22 Oscillator 24 Amplifier 26 Detector 30 Tissue piece processing device 32 Sealing lid 34 Pressurization side switching valve 35, 70 Ultrasonic detector 38 Chemical tank 39 Decompression side switching valve 40 Processing tank 41, 45 Chemical solution pipe 42 Sample cage 46 air line 50 supply line 52 switching valve 54 drain line 56 selection valve 58 silicone rubber 59 heater wire 60 air pump 61 chemical tank side port 62 filter 64 silicone rubber heater 65 processing tank side port 66 small space part 68 attenuation means

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A tissue piece having a processing tank for storing a chemical solution and a liquid level detecting means for detecting a liquid level of the chemical solution in the processing tank in order to perform an immersion treatment step with a chemical solution on the stored tissue piece. In the processing apparatus, the liquid level detection unit includes a transmitting unit that transmits an ultrasonic wave and a receiving unit that receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting unit, on an outer wall surface of the mutually facing walls of the processing tank. An apparatus for treating a tissue piece, comprising: an ultrasonic detector comprising: 2. The processing tank is provided with a small space that communicates with the inside of the processing tank and is formed to protrude outward, and the ultrasonic detector includes a small space surrounding the small space. The tissue piece processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, of the walls forming the space, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are provided on outer wall surfaces of opposing walls. 3. The tissue piece processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a heating means is provided on a wall of the small space portion. 4. The tissue piece processing according to claim 2, wherein an attenuating means for attenuating an ultrasonic wave transmitted from a transmitting unit is provided on a wall of the small space portion. apparatus. 5. The tissue piece processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said attenuation means and said heating means are integrally formed. 6. A second ultrasonic detector provided at a predetermined position between a liquid level upper limit position of a processing solution in a processing tank and an upper end of a piece of tissue, and supply and discharge of a chemical solution to and from the processing bath. And a control unit for performing an operation, the control unit, during the immersion processing step of immersing the tissue piece in the chemical solution for a predetermined time, the second ultrasonic detector, the chemical liquid disappeared at the predetermined position 6. The tissue piece processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the immersion processing step is stopped when it is detected.