JP2001349834A - Colored matter determining device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and simplified colored mater determining device, capable of inspecting a large number of items due to the coloration of a body to be measured such a test paper, etc., using a color light-receiving element. SOLUTION: In the colored matter determining device, the coloration state of the colored matter formed in a solid-phase support is determined, by bringing a sample into contact with a test paper 100 with the solid-phase support to hold a reagent, which exhibits a color reaction with a specific component in the sample. The colored matter determining device comprises a condensing lens 103 to make the solid-phase support in the test paper 100 irradiated with light, an image pickup optical system to receive the transmitted light or reflected light from the solid-phase support at a color CCD and pickup its image, and a color-analyzing means to determine the coloration state of the colored matter, by performing color analysis on the picked-up image information by the image pickup optical system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of mounting a test paper or the like which holds a reagent which makes a color reaction with a specific component in a sample such as urine, and quantifies the color state of the reagent by color analysis. Related Art

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a case where a plurality of inspection items are analyzed in a spectroscopic analysis, a spectroscopic beam is irradiated on an object to be measured. An optical path from the light source to the light receiving unit is secured for each item to be performed. Alternatively, the spectroscopic unit is moved without moving the test stand, and the measurement beam is directed to the test stand.

[0003] Alternatively, an optical fiber is used to move an optical fiber axis to irradiate a test beam with test beams one after another to inspect items.

[0004] In any case, when the number of item inspections becomes two or more, some mechanism must be moved. Alternatively, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of optical fibers in accordance with an inspection item or a measurement wavelength.

[0005] By the way, there has not been a coloring matter quantitative apparatus for quantitatively performing color analysis using a reagent in which a coloring matter is made into a solid phase, and generally measures a wavelength instead of the color of the reagent. Therefore, the supplementary information such as the classification of the test reagent and the test condition uses the same bar code as that often used in other industries.

In general, the measurement using a color reaction requires a test paper to be at least a certain size because an operator visually inspects the measurement result.

Further, in the conventional spectrophotometer system, a large amount of reagent is required and a large amount of measurement time is required because a light quantity is required. Further, in the conventional method, there is a problem that the structure must be basically changed in order to reduce the number of specimens and to reduce or eliminate the movement of the mechanism.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and measures a single field of view using a color light receiving element, and captures an image of an object to be measured such as a test paper in a single image capture. A large number of items can be inspected by coloring, and the measurement object such as test paper or the measurement optical system does not need to be moved during measurement, and the size of the device itself is simplified and the measurement object such as test paper is miniaturized. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coloring matter quantitative device capable of realizing the above.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for quantitatively determining a colored substance, comprising the steps of: bringing a sample into contact with a test paper having a solid support for holding a reagent that undergoes a color reaction with a specific component in the sample; A color object quantifying device for quantifying a color state of a color object formed in the solid support, wherein the light irradiating means for irradiating the solid support in the test paper with light; An imaging optical system that receives transmitted light or reflected light from the solid support by a color light receiving element and captures an image, and a color analysis that performs color analysis on information captured by the imaging optical system and quantifies the coloration state of the color object. Means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the colorized substance quantifying apparatus according to the first aspect, the imaging optical system includes a reagent on the solid support and a colored substance reacted on the reagent on the color CCD. The color analysis means performs color analysis of the enlarged imaging information of the color object and quantifies the coloration state of the color object.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the color object quantitative determination apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the imaging optical system includes a color code such as a type of an inspection item of the test paper and an inspection condition of a reagent. Is also captured.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the color substance determining apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the test paper is mounted on the main body of the apparatus, such as up and down, right and left, and inclination of the sample. 4. The apparatus for quantifying a colored product according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit for detecting the condition of the test paper.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the color substance determining apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the test paper is mounted on the apparatus main body when the test paper is mounted on the apparatus main body. A power supply operating means for operating the unit is added.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show a small-sized multi-item urinalysis apparatus which is an example of a color substance quantification apparatus configured for personal use or for house visits.

This automatic urine test apparatus has a box-shaped apparatus main body 101, and has a test paper insertion opening 102 for inserting a test paper 100 to be described later inward at one end face of the apparatus main body 101. are doing.

The test paper insertion slot 1 is provided in the main body 101 of the apparatus.
02, and a condenser lens 103 which constitutes a light irradiating means for irradiating the test paper 100 having a solid support inserted into the test paper insertion slot 102 with light, The lens 104 includes a lens 104 for expanding a light flux of transmitted light transmitted through the test paper 200, and a color CCD (for example, 350,000 pixels, a square pixel) 107 as a color light receiving element that receives light from the lens 104 and forms an image. The apparatus includes an imaging optical system, a photovoltaic cell 105 for supplying power required for operation of the automatic urine test apparatus, and a liquid crystal display section 106 disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 101.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 108 denotes a PC board on which various control circuits and the like are arranged in the apparatus main body 101.

In addition to using the photovoltaic cell 105, it is of course possible to use an external power supply (not shown).

The liquid crystal display unit 106 displays a measurement procedure, a measurement result, error information, and the like of the multi-item urine test apparatus.

FIG. 4 shows the inside of the test paper insertion slot 102.
As shown schematically in FIG.
When attached to the test paper 100, the test paper sensor (for example, a normal state) which detects the fixing protrusion guide 505 provided on the test paper 100 and detects the test paper state such as up / down, left / right, and inclination of the test paper 100. Fixing projection guide 50 inserted by
5, a distortion sensor 110 that is turned on by engaging with the sensor 5). Further, inside the test paper insertion slot 102, a light-emitting element 12 for turning on the photovoltaic cell 105 by operating the photocell 105 by blocking the luminous flux by inserting the fixing projection guide 505 is provided.
1. There is provided a power supply operating means including a light receiving element 122.

Instead of providing the test paper sensor 110, a color image 516 of the test paper 100 is imaged by an imaging optical system and used as a reference image for judging the test paper state such as up, down, left, right, and inclination of the test paper 100. May be used as the detecting means.

As described above, this multi-item urine testing apparatus can perform multi-item measurement and has a simple structure without a movable portion unlike the conventional example.

Next, a control system of the multi-item urine testing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The multi-item urine testing apparatus includes a CPU 50 for performing overall control, and the liquid crystal display unit 106, the color CCD 107, the test paper sensor 110, and the light receiving element 122 are connected to the CPU 50.

In addition, the multi-item urine testing apparatus is characterized in that the color C
A computing unit 51, which is a color analysis unit that performs color analysis of the imaging information from the CD 107 to determine the coloration state of the color object, and a determination unit that determines the state of the test paper 100 based on a signal from the test paper sensor 110. 52 are provided.

Next, the test paper 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The test paper 100 formed by using this polymer film functions as a reagent used for chemical analysis of living urine, and has nine measurement items (one of which is for reference). Inspection.

The test paper 100 has nine test reagents 507 for measurement of nine items applied on a surface of a test paper main body 500 made of a permeable base material in an arrangement of 3 rows and 3 columns. In FIG. 5, a total of 12 water-repellent layers 510 are applied so as to sandwich the upper and lower sides of the measuring reagent 507 in FIG.
Is attached. The surface of the test paper main body 500 is covered with a test paper jacket 501 made of a transparent polymer film.

At the center of the upper end of the test paper main body 500 in FIG. 6, a triangular fixing protrusion guide 505 functioning as a substrate state recognized portion is formed.

At the lower end of the test paper body 500, a sponge 508 for urine collection and a polymer film constituting a sample collection and discharge section by a coating adhesive 504, and an openable and closable cover forming a sample collection and discharge section are provided. A bag-shaped urine collection unit jacket 502 with a sealing joint 503 is attached.

The test paper jacket (polymer film) 501
Protects the test strip body 500, and
This is for ensuring the accuracy of the sample amount of the sample to be brought into contact with the sample.

On the other hand, the urine collection part jacket 502 is made of a polymer film which is soft and fits to the hand at the time of handling. The purpose of this is to eliminate a dirty image of urine which is a specimen as a general recognition. Sealing joint 5
03 is formed in a bag shape.

At the time of use, the sealing joint 50 is used.
3 is opened and the urine collection sponge 508 is opened so as to be open.

A color code 5 as the identification unit
16 is applied on the test paper main body 500. The information indicated by the color code 516 includes the type of the test paper 500,
It is information such as the type of manufacturing.

Next, a method of using the test paper 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The first column (the leftmost column (1)) of FIG. 7 shows a state in which the jacket sealing joint 503 attached to the urine collection unit jacket 502 attached to the test paper main body 500 is opened.

The second column (2) in FIG.
Is opened, and a sample (for example, urine) is impregnated (sampling) into the sponge 508.

The third column (3) in FIG. 7 shows a state in which the outer sealing joint 503 is closed and sealed.

The fourth column (4) in FIG.
Is pushed, and the sample contained in the sponge 508 is pressed with the air that has entered the urine collection unit jacket 502.
This is a state in which it penetrates to the 0 side.

The fifth column (5) in FIG.
2 is a state in which the sample permeated into the test paper main body 500 side is permeated into the measurement reagent 507 by pressing the test paper body 500.

The sixth column (the rightmost column (6)) in FIG. 7 shows that the sample is filled between the test paper main body 500 and the test paper outer cover 501 by pressing the urine collection part cover 502 of the test paper main body 500. It has been done. In this state, each measurement reagent 507 is colored (shown by a black circle in the sixth column of FIG. 7).

Next, the measurement procedure of the multi-item urine test apparatus of the present embodiment will be described.

The test paper 100 is immersed in a sample (for example, urine) with the outer joint 503 open.

The sample is diffused from the sponge 508 of the test paper 100 by the force of the enclosed air or capillary action, and a certain amount of reagent is collected.

The sample passes through a measuring reagent 507 (for example, consisting of a pretreatment section, a buffer section, and a color reaction section), undergoes a chemical change when passing through each section of the moss, and the color reaction section becomes colored. Becomes

The test paper 100 thus colored is mounted on the test paper insertion slot 102 of the multi-item urine test apparatus.

By mounting the test paper 100 in the test paper insertion slot 102, the fixing protrusion guide 505 is
21, the light beam between the light receiving elements 122 is blocked, whereby the photovoltaic cell 105 is activated and the multi-item urine testing apparatus starts operating.

The test paper sensor 110 detects the up, down, inclination, etc. of the mounted test paper 100.

The color code 516 of the test paper 100 is imaged by the color CCD 107 of the image pickup optical system, and
It can also be used as a reference image for determining the test paper state such as up, down, left, right, and inclination of 00.

The color state of the measurement reagent 507 on the colored test paper 100 is enlarged by the lens 104 of the imaging optical system, measured by the color CCD 107 by the transmission method, and further colored by the color CCD 107. The calculation information is calculated by the calculation unit 51 (color analysis), and the color object is quantitatively measured.

When the coloration state is quantified, the color code 516 is also imaged and a measurement conversion coefficient is created using conditions such as the type of the test paper 100.

The results of these measurements were obtained from the liquid crystal display 10
6 is displayed.

As an operation method by the operation unit 51 described above, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
No. 121561, title of the invention; method for quantifying a colored substance, or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-121562, title of the invention; It is possible to apply a method of calculating the density of a colored material by comparing the calculated light amount value and the reference value, or to use a known method used for color image information processing.

According to the multi-item urinalysis apparatus of the present embodiment, the color of the color object can be analyzed as a color by using the color CCD 107 in the imaging optical system. It is possible to accurately and quantitatively measure the coloration state of the measurement reagent 507.

The color code 516 of the test paper 100
The color code 516 can represent ten types of information if one dot represents ten colors, and the color CCD 107 uses the color CCD 107 to measure the reagent 507 for measurement.
In addition to reading the color code 516 together with the color state, the structure of the multi-item urine testing apparatus can be simplified, and the product cost can be reduced.

According to the multi-item urine testing apparatus of the present embodiment, the color of the color
Since imaging is performed using the test paper 107, the size of the measurement reagent 507 on the test paper 100 may be small (similarly for the color code 516).
00 can be downsized.

As a result, there is an advantage that the amount of the reagent applied to the test paper 100 can be reduced and the cost of the test paper 100 can be reduced.

Further, according to the multi-item urine test apparatus of the present embodiment, when the test paper 100 is mounted and color analysis is performed, there is no need to provide a movable part unlike the conventional example, and a plurality of optical fibers are used. It is not necessary, and the structure can be simplified from this point, and the product cost can be reduced.

[0059]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, one field of view is measured using the color light receiving element of the image pickup optical system, and the image is captured once, and the image information by the image pickup optical system is obtained by the color analysis means. It is possible to quantitatively measure the coloration state of the colored object by performing color analysis, and it is not necessary to move a measurement object such as a test paper or a measurement optical system at the time of measurement, and it is possible to realize a compact and simple apparatus itself. It is possible to provide a color product quantifying device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a configuration is adopted in which the reagent on the solid support and the color product reacted on the reagent are enlarged and imaged on the color CCD by the imaging optical system. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a color substance quantifying apparatus capable of realizing miniaturization of a measured object such as a test paper.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the imaging optical system adopts a configuration in which additional information including a color code such as a type of an inspection item of the test paper and an inspection condition of a reagent is adopted. This eliminates the need for a barcode reading configuration as in the conventional example, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing the product cost, and making it possible to determine the inclination of the test paper using the color code information.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the detection means for detecting the state of the test paper such as up and down, right and left, and the inclination of the sample when the test paper is mounted on the apparatus main body is added.
It is possible to provide a coloring matter quantifying device capable of improving the accuracy of quantitative measurement of the coloration state of the coloring matter while ensuring the accuracy of the arrangement of the test paper.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the test paper is mounted on the apparatus main body, the power supply operating means for operating the power supply unit provided on the apparatus main body is added. Can be provided, and a color substance quantification apparatus capable of realizing miniaturization of the apparatus itself can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a multi-item urine testing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing a plane and a surface of the multi-item urine testing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the multi-item urine testing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a detecting unit and a power supply operating unit of the multi-item urine testing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the multi-item urine testing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a test paper according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of using the test paper according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 50 CPU 51 Calculation unit 52 Judgment unit 100 Test paper 101 Device main body 102 Test paper insertion slot 103 Condensing lens 104 Lens 105 Photocell 106 Liquid crystal display unit 500 Test paper main body 501 Test paper outer cover 502 Urine collecting unit outer cover 503 Sealing outer cover Joint 504 Sealing adhesive 505 Fixing protrusion guide 507 Reagent for measurement 508 Sponge

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2G020 AA08 DA22 DA31 DA34 DA35 DA62 2G045 AA15 CB03 FA19 FB11 FB17 GC11 GC12 JA01 2G054 AA07 EA04 EA05 FA33 GE06 JA01

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A sample and a test paper having a solid support that holds a reagent that undergoes a color reaction with a specific component in the sample are brought into contact with each other to form a colored product formed in the solid support. A color object quantitative device for quantifying a color state, comprising: a light irradiating unit configured to irradiate light to the solid support in the test paper; and a transmitted light or reflected light from the solid support by a color light receiving element. A color object quantifying device, comprising: an image pickup optical system for receiving and imaging an image; and color analysis means for performing color analysis on image information obtained by the image pickup optical system and quantifying a color state of the color object. 2. The imaging optical system enlarges an image of a reagent on a solid-phase support and a color substance reacted on the reagent on a color CCD, and images the color analysis means. 2. The color object quantifying device according to claim 1, wherein the color information of the color object is quantified by performing color analysis on the imaging information of the object. 3. The color object according to claim 1, wherein the imaging optical system also captures additional information including a color code such as a type of a test item of the test paper and a test condition of a reagent. Metering device. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising detecting means for detecting a state of the test paper, such as up, down, left and right, and inclination of the sample when the test paper is mounted on the apparatus main body. A device for quantitatively determining a colored substance according to any one of the claims. 5. When the test paper is mounted on an apparatus main body,
5. The apparatus for quantifying a colored substance according to claim 1, further comprising a power supply operating means for operating a power supply unit provided in the apparatus main body.