JP2006242613A - Sample analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sample analyzer capable of performing the automatic analysis of many items with high precision by controlling the temperature of an analyzing disk at the position of a reaction chamber corresponding to the respective items to be analyzed. <P>SOLUTION: An analyzing light source 4 and a photodetector 5 are respectively moved to the radial position of the reaction chamber 103 corresponding to the respective items to be analyzed by a light source transfer motor 7 and a photodetector transfer motor 8 and, at the same time, a temperature sensor 6 is moved to the radial position of a reaction chamber 103 in the same way by a temperature sensor transfer motor 9 to perform temperature control. By this constitution, the temperature of the reaction chamber 103 can be held to the optimum temperature for the respective items to be analyzed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sample analyzer for analyzing a sample by providing a portion for accommodating a sample inside a rotating disk and irradiating the portion with a light beam to detect the transmitted light or reflected light. The present invention relates to a disk temperature control technique for the sample analyzer.

  As a conventional sample analyzer, a sample and a reagent are reacted in a reaction chamber provided on the outer periphery of a flow path formed in the radial direction of a rotating disk, and the characteristics of the obtained reaction product are analyzed on the disk. A sample analyzer has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, this sample analyzer is further improved, and information such as analysis items, analysis contents, and analysis processing procedures is recorded on the analysis disk, and the information is read by the optical reading means of the sample analyzer, There has been proposed a sample analyzer capable of automatically performing multi-item analysis by using a disk corresponding to each analysis item (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  Furthermore, a sample analyzer including a temperature adjusting unit and a heat detecting unit that are in thermal contact with the disk has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). FIG. 5A is a configuration diagram of a first conventional sample analyzer described in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the first conventional sample analyzer. Hereinafter, an analysis procedure by the first conventional sample analyzer will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the sample 2 is injected into the sample injection unit 101 provided on the analysis disk 1. Next, when the analysis disk 1 is rotated by the spindle motor 3, the sample 2 flows through the flow path 102 in the outer peripheral direction by centrifugal force and flows into the reaction chamber 103. A reagent 104 is preliminarily applied in the reaction chamber 103, and the sample 2 and the reagent 104 that have flowed in react to generate a reaction product.

  Here, the sample 2 is a biological sample such as blood or urine, for example, and the reagent 104 reacts with a specific component contained in blood or urine, for example, an antibody that reacts with a specific antigen in blood or the like. An enzyme that develops color. Next, by irradiating the reaction product in the reaction chamber 103 with the light beam 401 from the light source 4 for analysis and detecting the transmitted light or reflected light with the photodetector 5, the presence or absence of a specific antigen in the blood The presence or amount of specific components in blood or urine can be measured and used to diagnose diseases.

  FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a second conventional sample analyzer described in Patent Document 2. In FIG. The configuration of the second conventional sample analyzer is similar to the configuration of the first conventional sample analyzer, but information such as analysis items, analysis contents, and analysis processing procedure is recorded on the analysis disk 1 in advance. The difference is that the information is read by the optical reading means of the sample analyzer. Here, the information recorded on the analysis disk 1 is a procedure of processing performed at the time of analysis, for example, the analysis disk 1 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed for a predetermined time in order to separate a plasma component and a blood cell component in blood. In order to measure the characteristics of the reaction product, the parameters such as the number of revolutions, time, and position and the order of processing in the operation of moving the analysis light source 4 to the position of the reaction chamber 103 by the light source transfer motor 6 are coded. It has become.

  Since the parameters, processing order, and the like differ depending on the analysis item, it is possible to automatically perform multi-item analysis by using a disk corresponding to each analysis item by adopting the configuration as described above. It becomes. Further, in Patent Document 2, an optical disk used for video / information applications such as a CD and a DVD is used as the analysis disk 1, and a flow path 102 and a reaction chamber 103 are formed on the upper part of the optical disk and analyzed as recorded information on the optical disk. A method has been proposed in which items, analysis contents, analysis processing procedures, and the like are recorded, and information recorded on the analysis disk 1 is read using an optical disk reading pickup as the analysis light source 4. By applying this technique, a sample analyzer capable of multi-item automatic analysis can be realized with an inexpensive and simple configuration.

Here, for example, when an analysis using an enzyme is performed as the reagent 104, the reaction takes time because the enzyme activity is low in a low-temperature environment. If the temperature is not controlled, the analysis accuracy will deteriorate. Therefore, as described in Patent Document 3, a sample analyzer that includes a temperature adjusting unit and a heat detecting unit that are in thermal contact with the disk 1 and that can control the temperature of the disk 1 has been proposed.
JP-A-2-232563 JP 2000-515632 A JP-T-2002-503331

  However, when performing multi-item automatic analysis, the position of the reaction chamber is not necessarily the same depending on the analysis item (the reaction chamber may be able to have the same position, but the degree of freedom in designing the flow path is reduced). Also, it is difficult to keep the temperature of the rotating disk uniform over the entire surface of the disk, and a temperature difference often occurs between the inner and outer peripheral sides of the disk. Also in Patent Document 3, a specific method and configuration for performing accurate temperature control at the position of the reaction chamber corresponding to each analysis item is not disclosed, and in the conventional configuration, analysis accuracy is improved. There was a problem that it was difficult to secure.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and provides a sample analyzer capable of performing multi-item automatic analysis with high accuracy by performing temperature control at a reaction chamber position corresponding to each analysis item. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the present invention provides a reaction chamber that contains a sample and a reagent inside an analysis disk, and transmits light or reflected light generated based on a light beam irradiated on the reaction chamber to a photodetector. In the sample analyzer for detecting a sample and analyzing the sample, the temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the analysis disk is configured to be movable in the radial direction of the analysis disk.

  Further, the present invention is characterized by comprising a changing means for changing the temperature of the analysis disk and a control means for controlling the changing means based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that a temperature sensor and a photodetector are integrally formed.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by comprising a stepping motor for moving the temperature sensor in the radial direction of the analysis disk, and coefficient means for counting the number of pulses output when the stepping motor rotates.

  The present invention further includes a detection switch for detecting the presence of the temperature sensor, and a stopping unit for stopping the stepping motor when the detection switch detects the presence of the temperature sensor, and the detection switch is at least within a moving range of the temperature sensor. It is provided at one end.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the temperature sensor is a thermal infrared sensor.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the position information of the reaction chamber in the analysis disk is recorded as digital information on the analysis disk.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by comprising reading means for reading position information and moving means for moving the temperature sensor based on the position information.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the reading means irradiates the reaction chamber with a light beam and optically reads the position information.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the reading means is an optical pickup for optical disc recording or reproduction.

  According to the sample analyzer of the present invention, it is possible to perform appropriate temperature control at a position corresponding to each analysis item on the disk, and high-accuracy multi-item automatic analysis can be realized.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a sample analyzer of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that parts having the same functions as those of the conventional sample analyzer are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a sample analyzer in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an analysis disk 1 is configured to be rotatable by a spindle motor 3. An analysis light source 4 is a light source transfer motor 7, a photodetector 5 is a photodetector transfer motor 8, and a temperature sensor 6 is a temperature sensor transfer motor. 9 is configured to be movable in the disk radial direction. During the analysis, the analysis disk 1 is rotated by the spindle motor 3 so that the portion of the analysis disk 1 at the same radial position has substantially the same temperature, but the temperature is different at different portions of the radial position. Is expected.

  Therefore, at the time of analysis, the light source 4 for analysis and the light detector 5 are moved to the radial position of the reaction chamber 103 corresponding to each analysis item by the light source transfer motor 7 and the light detector transfer motor 8, respectively, and at the same time, the temperature sensor is transferred. Similarly, by controlling the temperature by moving the temperature sensor 6 to the radial position of the reaction chamber 103 by the motor 9, the temperature of the reaction chamber 103 can be maintained at an optimum temperature for each analysis item.

  Here, the heating means for heating the analysis disk 1 based on the output of the temperature sensor 6 and the cooling means (both not shown) for cooling the analysis disk 1 are various, such as a heating wire heater, a planar heating heater, and a Peltier element. However, in the present invention, the method is not particularly limited.

  In the above description, the configuration in which the light detector 5 detects the transmitted light of the light beam irradiated to the analysis chamber 103 of the analysis disk 1 from the light source for analysis 4 is provided. A reflection member is provided on the top surface of the analysis chamber 103. The present embodiment can also be applied to a method in which the light beam irradiated from the light source 4 for analysis to the analysis chamber 103 is analyzed using the reflected light from the reflecting member. In that case, a light branching means (half mirror or the like) that guides the light reflected by the reflecting member on the top surface of the analysis chamber 103 to the photodetector 5 may be provided inside the light source 4 for analysis. .

  Further, in order to move the analysis light source 4, the photodetector 5, and the temperature sensor 6 by the respective transfer motors, a guide member is required in each moving direction, but the illustration is omitted because the figure becomes complicated. . (The same applies to Examples 2 and after)

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram of the sample analyzer of Example 2 of the present invention. The present embodiment is similar to the configuration of the first embodiment, but differs in that the temperature sensor and the light detector are integrally configured to be movable in the disk radial direction.

  In FIG. 2, the temperature sensor 6 and the photodetector 5 are integrated, and it is possible to move the temperature sensor 6 and the photodetector 5 at the same time by driving the photodetector transfer motor 8. The same effect can be obtained with a simpler configuration than that of 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the photodetector 5 and the temperature sensor 6 are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the analysis disk 1, the curvature of the rotation trajectory of the reaction chamber 103 changes depending on the radial position of the reaction chamber 103. Since a slight shift occurs in the respective radial positions of the photodetector 5 and the temperature sensor 6 with respect to the analysis disk 1, the photodetector 5 and the photodetector 5 are located in the middle of the radial position range in which the reaction chamber 103 is disposed in the analysis disk 1. It is preferable to determine the positional relationship between the photodetector 5 and the temperature sensor 6 so that the radial position of the temperature sensor 6 with respect to the analysis disk 1 matches. If the radial position deviation between the photodetector 5 and the temperature sensor 6 cannot be ignored, the radial position of the temperature sensor 6 relative to the radial position of the photodetector 5 may be geometrically calculated and corrected.

  In addition, the present embodiment is applicable only to a configuration in which the transmitted light of the light beam irradiated from the light source 4 for analysis to the reaction chamber 103 of the analysis disk 1 is received by the photodetector 5, and a system using reflected light. Not applicable to

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of a sample analyzer of Example 3 of the present invention. In the first and second embodiments, in order to accurately move the temperature sensor 6 to the position of the reaction chamber corresponding to each analysis item, the temperature sensor transfer motor 9 is recognized by recognizing the current position of the temperature sensor 6. Must be driven appropriately.

  The present embodiment discloses a specific configuration example for accurately recognizing the current position of the temperature sensor 6. The configuration of the sample analyzer according to the present embodiment is similar to the sample analyzer described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, except that a detection switch is provided at at least one end of the moving range of the temperature sensor. It is different.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a detection switch, which is configured such that the detection switch 10 operates when the temperature sensor 6 comes to the inner peripheral end of the movement range. The temperature sensor transfer motor 9 is a stepping motor, and can transfer the temperature sensor 6 with high accuracy in accordance with the drive pulse.

  In order to actually recognize the current position radius of the temperature sensor 6, the analysis disk 1 is set in the apparatus, and before entering the analysis operation, the temperature sensor transfer motor 9 is driven to connect the temperature sensor 6 to the analysis disk 1. The temperature sensor transfer motor 9 is stopped when the detection switch 10 is activated.

  Next, the temperature sensor 6 can be transferred to the position of the reaction chamber 103 of the set analysis disk 1 by rotating the temperature sensor drive motor 9 by a predetermined number of pulses in the opposite direction. For example, the reaction chamber 103 is located at a radius of 50 mm of the analysis disk 1, the number of drive pulses per rotation of the temperature sensor transfer motor 9 is 20 pulses, and the feed screw formed on the shaft of the temperature sensor transfer motor 9 When the detection switch 10 is arranged to operate when the temperature sensor 6 is at the radial position 25 mm, the predetermined number of drive pulses is (50−25) / 3 × 20 = 167 pulses. Thus, the temperature sensor 6 can be accurately transferred to the position of the reaction chamber 103 by driving the temperature sensor transfer motor 9 by 167 pulses after the detection switch 10 is operated.

  In FIG. 3, the procedure for recognizing the position of the temperature sensor using the detection switch and the stepping motor based on the configuration of the first embodiment has been described. However, as in the second embodiment, the temperature sensor 6 and the photodetector 5 are used. The present embodiment can be similarly applied to a configuration in which these are integrated. Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the detection switch 10 is installed on the innermost periphery of the movement range of the temperature sensor 6 has been described. However, the detection switch 10 is installed on the outermost periphery of the movement range of the temperature sensor 6, and Needless to say, the same effect can be obtained by rotating the temperature sensor transfer motor 9 in the opposite direction.

  Further, instead of detecting the innermost (outer) circumferential movement of the temperature sensor 6 using the detection switch 10, a stopper is provided at at least one end of the movement range of the temperature sensor 6, so that the entire movement range of the temperature sensor 6 is increased. It is possible to move the innermost (outer) circumference by driving the temperature sensor transfer motor 9 with the number of pulses corresponding to a distance equal to or longer than the distance, and hitting the temperature sensor 6 against the stopper. There is a risk that a distance error corresponding to an electrical angle of 360 ° of the motor may occur.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration diagram of a sample analyzer of Example 4 of the present invention. The sample analyzer according to the present embodiment is similar to the sample analyzers described in the first to fourth embodiments, but the position information of the reaction chamber 103 in the analysis disk 1 is recorded as digital data on the analysis disk 1. The difference is that the position information data is read from the analysis disk 1 and the position of the temperature sensor 6 is moved based on the position information at the time of analysis.

  In FIG. 4, the position information data 105 is digital data formed on the surface of the analysis disk 1 or inside the analysis disk 1, and the digital data encodes the position information of the reaction chamber corresponding to each analysis item. Is.

  In the analysis procedure by the sample analyzer of this embodiment, first, after the analysis disk 1 is mounted on the apparatus, the position information data 105 recorded on the analysis disk 1 is read. The form of the position information data 105 and the means for reading the position information data 105 can take various methods. For example, the position information data 105 is formed on the analysis disk 1 as recording pits of the optical disk, and is analyzed. By using an optical pickup for recording or reproducing an optical disk as the light source 4, the position information data 105 can be optically read by the analysis light source 4 while the analysis disk 1 is rotated by the spindle motor 3. .

  Next, based on the read position information data 105, the temperature sensor 6 is transferred to a predetermined position by the temperature sensor transfer motor 9, and temperature control is started. Further, for example, the sample 2 is centrifuged or the sample is transferred in the analysis disk 1. When the sample 2 flows into the reaction chamber 103, the temperature of the reaction chamber 103 is controlled to a predetermined temperature. The analysis by the photodetector 5 is performed.

  In this embodiment, the position information data 105 is formed on the analysis disk as recording pits of the optical disk, and the example in which the optical pickup for recording or reproducing the optical disk is used as the light source for analysis has been described. The configuration of 105 and the light source for analysis 4 is not limited. For example, the configuration of the apparatus is complicated, but a non-contact IC chip or the like can also be used.

  In FIG. 4, the method for recording and using the position information data 105 on the analysis disk 1 based on the configuration according to the first embodiment has been described. However, the configuration according to the second or third embodiment is also used. It is also possible to apply this embodiment.

  The sample analyzer according to the present invention can perform a multi-item automatic analysis corresponding to various analysis items with high accuracy with a single device, and can be used for, for example, hyperlipidemia diagnosis, diabetes diagnosis, etc. This is useful as a medical analyzer.

1 is a configuration diagram of a sample analyzer in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Configuration diagram of a sample analyzer in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Configuration diagram of a sample analyzer in Embodiment 3 of the present invention Configuration diagram of a sample analyzer in Embodiment 4 of the present invention Configuration diagram of first conventional sample analyzer Configuration diagram of second conventional sample analyzer

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Analysis disc 101 Sample injection part 102 Flow path 103 Reaction chamber 104 Reagent 105 Position information data 2 Sample 3 Spindle motor 4 Light source for analysis 401 Light beam 5 Photo detector 6 Temperature sensor 7 Light source transfer motor 8 Photo detector transfer motor 9 Temperature Sensor transfer motor 10 Detection switch

Claims (10)

In a sample analyzer for analyzing a sample by providing a reaction chamber containing a sample and a reagent inside an analysis disk and detecting transmitted light or reflected light generated based on a light beam irradiated on the reaction chamber with a photodetector A sample analyzer comprising: a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the analysis disk configured to be movable in a radial direction of the analysis disk. The sample analysis according to claim 1, further comprising: a changing unit that changes the temperature of the analysis disk; and a control unit that controls the changing unit based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. apparatus. The sample analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor and the photodetector are integrally formed. 4. A stepping motor for moving the temperature sensor in a radial direction of the analysis disk, and coefficient means for counting the number of drive pulses applied when the stepping motor is driven. The sample analyzer according to any one of the above. A detection switch that detects the presence of the temperature sensor; and a stop unit that stops the stepping motor when the detection switch detects the presence of the temperature sensor, and the detection switch is at least one of the movement ranges of the temperature sensor. The sample analyzer according to claim 4, wherein the sample analyzer is provided at an end of the sample analyzer. The sample analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the temperature sensor is a thermal infrared sensor. 7. The sample analyzer according to claim 1, wherein position information of the reaction chamber in the analysis disk is recorded as digital information on the analysis disk. A sample analyzer comprising: reading means for reading the position information from the analysis disk according to claim 7; and moving means for moving the temperature sensor based on the position information. The sample analyzer according to claim 8, wherein the reading unit optically reads the position information by irradiating the reaction chamber with a light beam. The sample analyzer according to claim 9, wherein the reading unit is an optical pickup for recording or reproducing an optical disc.

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