JP2005098779A - Cassette for medical examination - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cassette for medical examination wherein permeability/dischargeability of a medical solution and engageability (entanglement) with paraffin are improved. <P>SOLUTION: In this cassette for medical examination, equipped with a cassette body 1 and a lid 2 comprising a chemical-resistant material, the cassette body 1 is a square container having an open upper face and is capable of storing a specimen and has many apertures, and the lid 2 is mounted detachably on the cassette body 1 and has many apertures. The cassette has the feature wherein the apertures 3a in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the cassette body 1 comprise rectangular apertures, and the remaining apertures 3b out of contact with the inner peripheral wall comprise circular apertures. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical examination cassette used for the preparation of a microscope specimen for medical examination, and more specifically, by combining the shape of the through hole of the cassette body with a specific shape, the permeation and discharge of a chemical solution and paraffin The present invention relates to a cassette for medical examination with improved engagement (entanglement).

For example, as shown in FIG. 14, a conventional cassette of this type includes a cassette body 1 made of a chemical-resistant synthetic resin and a lid 2 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The cassette body 1 is a rectangular container having an open upper surface, and has a plurality of through holes 3 at the bottom, and a plate-shaped recording portion 4 that is inclined outwardly toward the bottom on the outer side of one side wall of the short side. It is provided with a locking groove 5 on the inside and a locking portion 6 on the outside of the other side wall.

  The lid 2 is a detachable plate-like body having a large number of through holes 7 on the plate surface, ribs 8 fitted into the cassette body along the outer peripheral surface of the back surface, and one side on the short side. Has an inclined locking piece 9 that fits and engages along the back surface of the recording portion 4 of the locking groove 5, and has a slightly larger protruding edge on the other side of the short side than the cassette body 1. 10 and a locking piece 11 that engages with the locking portion 6.

  In order to prepare a microscope specimen using the cassette, first, the collected specimen 12 is accommodated in the cassette body 1 and the lid 2 is attached, and the name of the subject is recorded in the recording unit 4. The inclined locking piece 9 of the lid 2 engages with the locking groove 5 of the cassette body 1, and the locking piece 11 engages with the locking portion 6 of the cassette body 1 to fix the lid 2.

  Subsequently, the water in the specimen 12 is removed by supplying alcohol through the through-holes 7 and 3, and affinity for liquid paraffin to be described later is imparted by xylene.

Next, although not shown in the figure, a cassette block is obtained in which paraffin embedded with the specimen 12 adheres to the bottom of the cassette body 1, and the portion where the paraffin specimen 12 is embedded is sliced with a microtome, and the sliced slice is stained. The microscope specimen is obtained by performing other predetermined processing.
JP 2002-5800 A

  However, in the conventional cassette, the through hole of the cassette body is rectangular or circular. A cassette body comprising rectangular through holes has a problem that the permeability (entanglement) between the cassette body and paraffin is poor, although the chemical liquid permeation and discharge properties are good. On the other hand, the cassette body consisting of circular holes has good paraffin engagement (entanglement), but the permeation and discharge performance of the chemical solution is poor. Especially in the vicinity of the inner peripheral wall, the chemical solution descending along the inner peripheral wall is not Since it stays in the vicinity of the inner peripheral wall of the cassette body, the permeability of the chemical liquid is poor, and after the chemical liquid treatment process, the process cannot be shifted to the cassette block making process immediately, resulting in poor workability.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention has good chemical solution permeation and discharge properties of the cassette body and engagement (entanglement) between the paraffin and the cassette body, and can be transferred to the cassette block preparation process immediately after the chemical solution treatment process. It provides a good cassette.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a cassette body made of a chemical-resistant material and a lid, and the cassette body can open an upper surface and accommodate a specimen. A rectangular container having a large number of through holes, the lid being detachably attached to the cassette body, and a medical test cassette having a large number of through holes, the through holes contacting the inner peripheral wall of the cassette body The medical examination cassette is characterized in that is composed of a through hole selected from a rectangular shape and a semi-circular shape, and a through hole not in contact with the remaining inner peripheral wall is a through hole selected from a circular shape and an elliptical shape.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is the cassette for medical examination according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner peripheral wall surface of the cassette body is provided with a groove portion detachably fitted to the partition wall.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is the cassette for medical examination according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lid and / or the cassette body is made of a chemical-resistant transparent material.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is the cassette for medical examination according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transparent material is polypropylene resin.

  The invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is the cassette for medical examination according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transparent material is a polyester resin.

  The cassette for medical examination of the present invention has a through hole in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the cassette body as a through hole selected from a rectangular shape and a semicircular shape, so that the chemical solution near the inner peripheral wall is easily permeated and discharged. The process can be immediately transferred to the cassette block making process. On the other hand, the inner through-holes that do not contact the remaining inner peripheral wall are made through holes selected from circular and oval, so that the paraffin is well engaged (entangled) with the cassette body. Block formation is easy. Therefore, the workability of creating a microscope specimen is greatly enhanced.

  The reason why the cassette of the present invention has the above-mentioned effect is that, for example, the chemical liquid that has descended along the inner peripheral wall above the through hole does not stay on the bottom surface of the cassette body and goes straight to the outside of the cassette body through the through hole. Since it is discharged, it is considered that the permeation and discharge performance of the chemical solution is improved, and the internal through hole is formed of a circular or elliptical shape having a curved surface, so that it can be easily engaged (entangled) with paraffin.

  In addition, by providing a groove portion that is detachably fitted to the partition wall on the inner peripheral surface of the cassette body, a desired small chamber can be instantaneously formed according to the size and number of specimens by fitting and attaching the partition wall to the groove portion. Easy to make.

  Thus, the cassette which can form a small chamber with a partition wall can be implemented by removing the partition wall which prevents the permeation of paraffin in the process of making the paraffin block, so that the work efficiency of the addition can be improved. Furthermore, when arranging the obtained paraffin blocks in the storage case, by removing the partition wall, a part of the cassette block overlaps the cassette body, so that the space can be reduced by the thickness of the partition. Storage efficiency is further enhanced.

  Furthermore, by creating either the cassette body, the lid, or both with a transparent material, the state of the internal specimen can be easily recognized, and the efficiency and reliability of the preparation of the microscope specimen is improved. A highly accurate inspection result can be obtained.

  The cassette for medical examination according to the present invention comprises a cassette body made of a chemical-resistant material and a lid, and the cassette body is a rectangular container having an open upper surface and capable of accommodating a specimen, and has a large number of through holes. A cassette for medical examination in which the lid is detachably attached to the cassette body and has a large number of through holes. The cassette body has a transparent hole in which the through hole contacting the inner peripheral wall is selected from a rectangular shape and a semicircular shape. The remaining through-holes, that is, the through-holes not in contact with the inner peripheral wall are made of circular or elliptical through-holes.

  The material for the medical examination cassette of the present invention is preferably a chemical-resistant synthetic resin or metal. Examples of the synthetic resin include polyacecour, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyester, and polypropylene, and examples of the metal include stainless steel. . Further, the cassette body can be made of synthetic resin and the lid can be made of metal, and vice versa.

  Also, either the cassette body, the lid, or both are made of a transparent material, so that if only the lid is made of a transparent material, from the outside of the lid, and if only the cassette body is made of a transparent material When both the cassette body and the lid are made of a transparent material from the outside of the cassette body (side wall or bottom), the state of the internal sample can be visually recognized from both the cassette body and the lid.

  That is, the status of the sample contained in the cassette (size, number, shape, color, location within the cassette body, and the location of the filter paper when the sample is contained with the filter paper, the direction of the sample on the filter paper, etc.) It is possible to clearly see, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of the preparation of the microscope specimen and obtaining a highly accurate inspection result.

  As the transparent resin, for example, a polypropylene resin and a polyester (particularly PET) resin are preferable, and a polypropylene resin is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of excellent chemical resistance and low cost.

The cassette body of the present invention is provided with a through hole selected from a rectangular shape and a semicircular shape in contact with the inner peripheral wall. These through-holes are not sufficient for the permeation and discharge of the chemical solution only on one side of the cassette body, and therefore are provided on at least two sides, preferably three sides, more preferably four sides. In the case of two sides, two opposing sides may be used, or two adjacent sides may be used. The semicircular through hole is provided so that the straight line portion which is the largest side is on the inner peripheral wall side. When the rectangle is a rectangle, it is preferable to provide the long side on the inner peripheral wall side. In addition, it is desirable that the chemical solution flowing down the inner peripheral wall is provided directly below (in a plane with) the inner peripheral wall so that the chemical solution does not stay on the bottom surface of the cassette main body and is immediately discharged from these through holes to the outside of the cassette main body. If the distance is small enough to prevent the stagnation of the chemical solution, it may be separated from the inner peripheral wall. The permeation / discharge of the chemical liquid is reduced mainly by flowing down the inner peripheral wall and the chemical liquid staying in the cassette body. Since production can be started immediately, the work efficiency is greatly increased.
The rectangular and semicircular through holes may be used alone or in combination.

On the other hand, the remaining through holes other than the above-mentioned through holes in contact with the inner peripheral wall, that is, through holes not in contact with the inner peripheral wall are provided with through holes selected from a circular shape and a semi-elliptical shape. When creating the cassette block, the paraffin is engaged (entangled) with the cassette body mainly because it engages (entangles) with a through hole closer to the inner side than the inner peripheral wall. By disposing the shape of the through hole, the engagement with the paraffin (entanglement) can be enhanced.
The circular and semi-elliptical through holes may be used alone or in combination.

Moreover, the cassette main body of this invention can be provided with the groove part for detachably fitting a partition wall to the inner peripheral wall surface of the vertical direction and / or horizontal direction. The groove is a groove having a width slightly larger than the thickness of the partition wall, and the number of the grooves is not particularly limited, and is appropriately determined according to the size of the specimen to be stored. The groove portions do not necessarily have an equal interval, and may have different intervals. When provided at equal intervals, small chambers of the same size are formed, and when provided at different intervals, chambers of different sizes are formed.
The number of vertical grooves and horizontal grooves is not particularly limited and is appropriately determined depending on the size of the specimen and the desired number of chambers. Usually, there are about 1 to 4 vertical grooves, and the horizontal grooves. Is preferably about 1 to 5.

  The groove portion is usually provided on the opposing inner peripheral wall surface, but the groove portion may be provided on one inner peripheral wall surface, and a fixing means in place of the groove portion may be provided on the other inner peripheral wall surface. Examples of such fixing means include a support portion that is provided in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the partition wall and is larger than the thickness of the partition wall. Although the size of the support portion depends on the size of the cassette body, the purpose of the support portion is usually achieved at about 2 to 10 mm, and the partition wall is prevented from inadvertently falling down. Further, by providing a spring function to the support portion, the partition wall is pressed against the groove portion, and inadvertent movement can be prevented. Such a spring function is easily provided by, for example, bending the support portion outwardly in an arc shape at an angle of about 5 degrees or less, or by corrugating, and utilizing these flexibility and elasticity. The fixing effect described above can be obtained.

  The partition walls are usually a vertical partition wall that partitions the cassette body in the vertical direction (short side direction), a horizontal partition wall that partitions the cassette body in the horizontal direction (long side direction), and a partition wall that crosses both partition walls in a cross shape. Consists of.

  A partition wall in which a vertical partition wall and a horizontal partition wall are crossed in a cross shape is formed by integrally molding or bonding each, and each crossing point is divided by a depth approximately half of the height of the partition wall. Any combination of recesses slightly larger than the width of the wall and assembly of both recesses can be used suitably, but the latter assembly type allows the desired size and the desired number of chambers to be formed freely. Are preferred.

  Further, by forming a part of the groove part into a mushroom type having an extension part and fitting the bulge part provided at the end part of the partition wall to the extension part, variation in the dimensions of the cassette member, Even if some disengagement due to secular change or the like occurs, or even if an external force such as the flow pressure of the drug solution acts on the partition wall, the partition wall does not separate from the groove portion of the cassette body.

  Since the partition wall of the cassette for medical examination provided with the groove portion is detachably fitted to the cassette body, the number and size of the small chambers can be freely changed by appropriately removing or reassembling. That is, it is possible to form a small chamber by crossing the vertical partition wall and the horizontal partition wall in a cross shape as well as the partition wall can be formed only by the vertical partition wall or the horizontal partition wall. is there.

  Hereinafter, although the Example of the cassette for medical examinations of this invention is described based on drawing, this invention is not limited at all by these.

Example 1
1 is a perspective view of a cassette for medical examination according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a top view of the cassette body, and FIG.

As shown in these drawings, the medical examination cassette of this embodiment includes a cassette body 1 and a lid 2.
The cassette body 1 is a rectangular container having an open upper surface, and has a plate-like recording portion 4 that is inclined outwardly toward the bottom on the outer side of one side wall of the short side, and a locking groove 5 is formed on the inside thereof. And has a locking portion 6 on the outside of the other side wall.

  In addition, a through hole 13 is provided on both sides of the locking groove 5 so that the cassette body 1 can easily settle in the liquid, and the central portion of the outer corner of the side wall having the locking portion 6 on the opposite side is locked. A cutout 14 is provided so that the piece 11 is smoothly guided and reaches the locking portion 6, and chamfers 15 are provided on both sides thereof.

  A rectangular through hole 3a is provided at the bottom of the cassette body 1 in contact with the inner peripheral wall, and a circular through hole 3b is provided on the inner side not in contact with the remaining inner peripheral wall.

  The lid 2 fitted to the upper surface of the cassette body 1 is a detachable plate-like body having a large number of through holes 7 on the plate surface, and a recording portion of the locking groove 5 on one side of the short side. 4 has an inclined locking piece 9 that fits and engages along the back surface, and has a protruding edge 10 that is slightly larger than the cassette body 1 on the other side of the short side, It has the latching piece 11 to engage. Further, notches 16 are provided on both sides of the inclined locking piece 9 so as not to block the through holes 13 of the cassette body 1.

  In order to prepare a microscope specimen using the cassette, first, the collected specimen 12 is accommodated in the cassette body 1 and the lid 2 is attached, and the name of the subject is recorded in the recording unit 4. The inclined locking piece 9 of the lid 2 engages with the locking groove 5 of the cassette body 1, and the locking piece 11 engages with the locking portion 6 of the cassette body 1 to fix the lid 2.

  Subsequently, the specimen 12 is washed with water through the through holes 7, 3a, 3b, and then the moisture of the specimen 12 is removed with alcohol, and affinity with liquid paraffin to be described later is imparted with xylene. At this time, since the chemical solution descending along the inner peripheral wall is discharged to the outside of the cassette body 1 straight through the through hole 3a as indicated by the arrow, it can immediately move to the next paraffin attaching step.

Subsequently, although not shown, liquid paraffin is put in a stainless steel tray, and the specimen 12 is taken out from the cassette body 1 and placed on the liquid paraffin. Subsequently, the cassette body 1 is placed on the tray, and liquid paraffin is poured onto the specimen 12 until the bottom of the cassette body 1 is immersed in liquid paraffin. By removing the tray after the liquid paraffin has solidified, a cassette block is obtained in which the paraffin embedded with the specimen 12 adheres to the bottom of the cassette body 1.
At this time, since the inner through hole not in contact with the inner peripheral wall is formed of a circular through hole 3b, paraffin easily engages (entangles) with the curved surface of the through hole 3b, and the paraffin embedded with the specimen 12 is the cassette body 1. A cassette block firmly attached to the bottom of the sheet is obtained.

  Next, although not shown in the figure, the cassette block in which the paraffin embedded with the specimen 12 adheres to the bottom of the cassette body 1 is sliced into a portion where the paraffin specimen 12 is embedded with a microtome, and the sliced slice is stained. The microscope specimen is obtained by performing other predetermined processing.

  In addition, although the latching piece 11 was provided in the approximate center part of the lid | cover 2, it guided through the notch part 14 of the cassette main body 1, and the example engaged with the latching | locking part 6 was shown, it is not a center part but both ends. When the locking piece 11a is provided, it is guided through the chamfer 15 of the cassette body 1 and engages with the locking portion 6 (see FIG. 4).

Example 2
FIG. 5 is a top view of the cassette body of the medical examination cassette of this embodiment, FIG. 6 is a right side view thereof, and the upper outer corner of the side wall provided with the locking portion 6 is chamfered over substantially the entire length. Other than the above, the cassette is the same as that of the first embodiment.
In the case of this example, the locking piece 11 provided at the center portion of the lid and the locking pieces 11a provided at both ends are both guided and engaged with the locking portion 6 of the cassette body 1 through the chamfer 15. (See FIG. 6).

Example 3
FIG. 7 is a top view of the cassette body of the cassette for medical examination of this embodiment, FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the assembled state of the vertical partition wall and the horizontal partition wall, and FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the vertical partition wall and the horizontal partition wall on the cassette body. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore and formed eight small chambers.

  In FIG. 7, it is the same as that of the cassette of Example 1 except that three grooves 16a and 16b are formed at positions facing the inner peripheral wall on the short side and the long side of the cassette body 1, respectively.

8 and 9, the short side is fitted with a recess 18a in which the partition wall 17a is provided at a depth of approximately ½ in the central groove 16a, and the long side is provided with three grooves. A recess 18b provided with a partition wall 17b having a depth of approximately ½ in 16a is directed downward and assembled with the recess 18a to form eight small chambers.
In FIG. 9, by increasing or decreasing the partition walls 17a and 17b, a desired small chamber is formed in the range of 1 to 16, and a cassette that can be handled according to the number of samples can be provided.
In FIGS. 8 and 9, both end portions of the partition walls 17a and 17b are notched, but this is for receiving ribs 8 protruding from the inside of the lid 2, as shown in FIG. Therefore, when using the lid 2 that does not have the rib 8 on the inside, such a notch is not necessary.

Example 4
FIG. 10 is a top view of the cassette main body of the cassette for medical examination of this embodiment, and is the same as the cassette of the first embodiment except that the through hole 3a in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the cassette main body 1 has a semicircular shape.

Example 5
FIG. 11 is a top view of the cassette main body of the cassette for medical examination of this embodiment, and is the same as the cassette of the second embodiment except that the through hole 3a in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the cassette main body 1 has a semicircular shape.

Example 6
12 and 13 are a top view of the cassette body of the medical examination cassette of this embodiment and a perspective view showing a state in which the partition wall is fitted and mounted. The through hole 3a in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the cassette body 1 is a semicircle. Except for the shape, it is the same as the cassette of the third embodiment.

In the above embodiment, a rectangular or semi-circular through hole is shown as a through hole in contact with the inner wall, and a circular through hole is shown as a through hole not in contact with the inner peripheral wall. Even if the through holes are used, substantially the same effect can be obtained.
As described above, according to the present invention, the through hole that contacts the inner peripheral wall of the cassette body is rectangular or semicircular, and the through hole that does not contact the remaining inner peripheral wall is circular or elliptical. In addition, it is characterized by improved engagement (entanglement) with paraffin.
Thus, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the cassette having the shape as shown in the above embodiment, but can be applied to all cassettes including the lid and the cassette body.

    As described above, the medical examination cassette of the present invention has improved chemical permeation and drainage and paraffin engagement (entanglement), and can immediately shift from the chemical treatment process to the paraffin block preparation process. Workability at the time of creation is greatly improved.

It is a perspective view which shows the Example of the cassette of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of the cassette of FIG. It is a top view of the cassette main body of the cassette of FIG. It is a right view of the cassette main body of the cassette of FIG. It is a top view of the cassette main body which shows the other Example of the cassette of this invention. It is a right view of the cassette main body of the cassette of FIG. It is a top view of the cassette main body which shows another Example of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the assembly | attachment state of the partition wall fitted in the groove part of the cassette main body of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the partition wall to the cassette main body of FIG. It is a top view of the cassette main body which shows the further another Example of this invention. It is a top view of the cassette main body which shows the further another Example of this invention. It is a top view of the cassette main body which shows another Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the state which attached the partition wall to the cassette main body of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the conventional cassette.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cassette main body 2 Cover 3, 3a, 3b Through-hole 4 Recording part 5 Locking groove 6 Locking part 7 Through-hole 8 Rib 9 Inclined locking piece 10 Projection edge 11 Locking piece 12 Sample 13 Through-hole 14 Notch Part 15 Chamfer 16a, 16b Groove 17a, 17b Partition wall 18a, 18b Recess

Claims (5)

  A cassette body made of a chemical-resistant material and a lid. The cassette body is a rectangular container that can open a top surface and accommodate a specimen, and has a large number of through holes. The lid is attached to the cassette body. In a medical examination cassette that is detachably attached and has a large number of through holes, the through holes in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the cassette body are made of rectangular or semicircular through holes, and are in contact with the remaining inner peripheral wall. A medical examination cassette characterized in that the non-perforated through hole comprises a circular hole or an elliptical through hole.   The medical test cassette according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a groove portion detachably fitted to the partition wall is provided on an inner peripheral wall surface of the cassette body.   The cassette for medical examination according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lid and / or the cassette body is made of a chemical-resistant transparent material.   The cassette for medical examination according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transparent material is a polypropylene resin. The cassette for medical examination according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transparent material is a polyester resin.

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