JP2008032412A - Autoanalyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate lowering of reproducibility in an analytical result caused by deposition of drops of a reagent and a reaction liquid onto a reactor inner wall face in an upper part of a reaction liquid level. <P>SOLUTION: An autoanalyzer has a reactor dispensed with the reagent and a sample, a stirring member inserted into the reactor to stir the reagent and the sample, and a measuring mechanism for measuring a reaction of the reaction liquid mixed in the reactor, The stirring member has a volume of a degree in which a liquid level elevation of the reaction liquid brought by the insertion of the stirring member reaches the position of deposited drops of the reagent and the sample splashed by the dispensing to be deposited on the inner wall of the reactor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that performs analysis by stirring and mixing a sample and a reagent in a reaction vessel, and particularly relates to an improvement in stirring for mixing a sample and a reagent dispensed in the vessel.

  In automated analyzers for clinical tests, samples such as blood, plasma, serum, urine, and other body fluids and reagents are dispensed into a reaction container, and the absorbance of the reaction solution obtained by stirring and mixing the sample and reagent is measured. Analyze by measuring.

  In the field of automatic analyzers, with the increase in analysis items, the amount of sample that can be divided into one item has become smaller, and in terms of reagent running costs, the reduction of sample and reagent is eagerly desired. Has been.

  As the amount of sample and reagent decreases, the amount of sample and reagent mixture that adheres to the stirring member after the stirring operation, and the amount of water that is brought into the reaction solution for the next analysis item, such as cleaning water that adheres to the stirring member after the stirring member is washed There is a relative increase in the number of carryover issues that affect the analysis results.

  Against the background as described above, uniformly stirring and mixing the specimen and the reagent without carryover is particularly important in order to perform analysis with good reproducibility, and various stirring systems are known.

  In conventional automatic analyzers, a stirring member such as a spatula or screw is lowered into the reaction solution of the sample and reagent in the reaction vessel, and is stirred or mixed by rotating or vibrating, and the stirring member after stirring is washed by a washing mechanism. In preparation for the next analysis item.

  However, such an agitation method has a carry-over problem, and it is impossible to completely remove the pre-analyte, the reagent reaction solution and the washing water adhering to the agitation member in an analysis process that is increasingly accelerated. Is possible.

  As a means for solving this problem, in the automatic analyzer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-242177 (Patent Document 1), ultrasonic waves are irradiated from the outside of the reaction container and flow into the mixed liquid of the specimen and the reagent itself. To avoid carry-over.

  In addition, bubbles entrained in the reaction liquid when the reagent is discharged or stirred are attached to the region where the inner wall of the reaction vessel and the measurement light intersect, and the attached bubbles block the measurement light or diffusely reflect, There is a problem that prevents normal measurement.

  In order to solve this problem, in the automatic analyzer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-45113 (Patent Document 2), the ultrasonic wave is attached to the intersecting region between the inner wall of the reaction vessel and the measurement light. Air bubbles are removed from the measurement light path.

JP 2001-242177 A JP 2004-45113 A

  Other than the above, a major problem due to the small amount of specimens and reagents is that the dispensing volume becomes unstable due to scattering and adhesion of reagents and reaction droplets to the inner wall of the reaction container that occurs when the reagent is dispensed into the reaction container. In addition, the reproducibility of the analysis result may be reduced due to destabilization of the reaction caused by the adhering droplets being dropped into the reaction solution during the reaction.

  In addition, there is a problem that the liquid level capable of photometry is lowered due to bubbles near the liquid level generated by stirring.

  The present invention addresses the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate a decrease in reproducibility of analysis results due to adhesion of reagents and reaction droplets to the inner wall surface of the reaction vessel above the reaction liquid surface.

  It is another object of the present invention to reduce the amount of effective reaction solution due to foaming by stirring, to eliminate bubbles attached to the reaction vessel wall below the reaction solution surface, and to carry over.

  The present invention includes a reaction container into which a reagent and a sample are dispensed, a stirring member that is inserted into the reaction container to mix the reagent and the sample, and a measurement mechanism that measures the reaction of the reaction solution mixed in the reaction container. The volume of the reaction liquid rising by the insertion of the stirring member is such that the reaction liquid scatters due to the dispensing and reaches the reagent or sample adhering droplets adhering to the inner wall of the reaction container. The stirring member has a feature.

  According to the present invention, the liquid level rises to the position of the adhering liquid droplets adhering to the inner wall of the reaction vessel due to the scattering of dispensing by inserting the stirring member, so that the reagent or reaction liquid droplets on the inner wall surface of the reaction vessel The decrease in the reproducibility of the analysis results due to adhesion could be resolved.

  In addition, by stirring only with the up and down motion of the stirring member, foaming of the reaction liquid during stirring can be reduced, and bubbles attached to the inner wall of the reaction container at the lower part of the reaction liquid surface due to the flow of the reaction liquid from the bottom to the upper part of the reaction container Is realized.

  Furthermore, since the stirring member is disposable, the problem of carry-over has been solved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, an overall outline of the automatic analyzer will be described with reference to FIG.

  The automatic analyzer shown in FIG. 1 includes a specimen disk 102 that houses a plurality of specimen containers 101 containing specimens, and a reagent disk that contains a plurality of reagent bottles 103 containing reagents for mixing and reacting with the specimen. 104.

  The automatic analyzer also includes a reaction disk 106 in which a plurality of reaction vessels 105, which are places where the sample and the reagent are reacted, and the temperature of the reaction solution in the reaction vessel 105 in order to promote the reaction between the sample and the reagent. It has the reaction tank 107 controlled to constant.

  Further, the automatic analyzer is supplied to the sample dispensing mechanism 108 for supplying the sample in the sample container 101 to the reaction container 105, the reagent dispensing mechanism 109 for supplying the reagent in the reagent bottle 103 to the reaction container 105, and the reaction container 105. A stirring mechanism 110 that stirs and mixes the sample and the reagent.

  Furthermore, the automatic analyzer includes an agitation member supply mechanism 114 that supplies the agitation member 113 to the agitation mechanism 110, an agitation member disposal box 115 for discarding the used agitation member 113 (agitation member disposal), It has a photometric mechanism 111 that measures the reaction of the reaction solution by irradiating the reaction solution with light and measuring the absorbance at a specific wavelength.

  The automatic analyzer includes a reaction vessel cleaning mechanism 112 for cleaning the reaction vessel 105, a display unit 116 for displaying various screens such as analysis items and analysis results, an input unit 117 for inputting various information such as analysis items, and analysis items. And a control unit 119 for controlling each component in accordance with the sequence stored in the storage unit 118. The storage unit 118 stores various information such as the above and a sequence (program) for controlling each mechanism.

  The analysis operation of the automatic analyzer will be described below.

  The sample dispensing mechanism 108 dispenses the sample from the sample container 101 positioned at the sample suction position by the rotation of the sample disk 102 to the reaction container 105 positioned at the sample dispensing position by the rotation of the reaction disk 106.

  The reaction container 105 into which the sample has been dispensed is positioned at the reagent dispensing position by the rotation of the reaction disk 106, and the reagent is dispensed by the reagent dispensing mechanism 109 from the reagent bottle 103 positioned at the reagent suction position by the reagent disk 104. Is done.

  The reaction container 105 into which the reagent has been dispensed is positioned at the stirring position by the rotation of the reaction disk 106, and the sample and reagent dispensed into the reaction container 105 are stirred and mixed by the stirring mechanism 110.

  After the stirring is completed, the reaction vessel 105 is transferred to the photometric position by the rotation of the reaction disk 106, and the absorbance of the reaction solution in the reaction vessel 105 is measured by the photometric mechanism 111. After completion of the measurement, the reaction vessel 105 is positioned at the reaction vessel washing position by the rotation of the reaction disk 106 and is washed by the reaction vessel washing mechanism 112.

  A series of analysis operations are controlled and executed by the control unit 119 in accordance with a sequence stored in the storage unit 118. Such a series of analysis operations is performed on each reaction vessel 105, and analysis is performed by the automatic analyzer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The stirring mechanism 110 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The stirring mechanism 110 according to the present embodiment includes a stirring member 113 that performs stirring, a stirring member attaching / detaching mechanism 204 that connects the stirring member 113 and the stirring arm 203, and attaches / detaches the stirring member 113, a cushion mechanism 205, and rotation of the stirring arm. It comprises a mechanism 206 and a stirring arm up / down mechanism 207.

  The material of the stirring member 113 is preferably a fluororesin that has chemical resistance to various reagents, has water repellency so that the reaction solution is difficult to adhere, and has a softness that does not damage the reaction vessel 105.

  Moreover, the shape of the stirring member 113 should have a horizontal cross-section that can be inserted into the reaction vessel 105 and a tip shape that can be in close contact with the bottom shape of the reaction vessel. As an example of the tip shape of the agitating member 113, a spherical convex shape that is difficult to entrain air bubbles when the agitating member 113 is pushed into the reaction liquid 208 and inserted can be considered.

  The stirring operation of the above stirring mechanism will be described below.

  The agitation member 113 is positioned at the agitation position by the rotation of the agitation arm rotation mechanism 206 in accordance with the arrival of the agitation position of the reaction vessel 105 to be agitated to which the sample and the reagent are dispensed.

  Thereafter, the stirring member 113 is lowered into the reaction vessel 105 by the stirring arm up-and-down mechanism 207 and pushed into the reaction solution 208 and inserted.

  The stirring member 113 reaches the bottom of the reaction vessel 105 as it is, and is slowly lowered by the cushion mechanism 205 until the front end surface of the stirring member 113 and the bottom surface of the reaction vessel 105 come into close contact with each other.

  By reliably lowering to the bottom of the reaction vessel 105, stirring and mixing can be reliably performed up to the reaction solution at the bottom.

  Then, the stirring is completed by pulling out the stirring member 113 from the reaction liquid 208 by the stirring arm up-and-down mechanism 207.

  In a series of analysis operations of the automatic analyzer, when there is a time that can be used for stirring, stirring can be performed more reliably by performing the up-and-down operation a plurality of times.

  At this time, if the agitation member 113 is not completely pulled out of the reaction liquid 208 but is moved up and down with the tip surface of the agitation member 113 immersed in the reaction liquid 208, generation of bubbles due to agitation can be suppressed. it can.

  An embodiment in which a mechanism for rotating the stirring member 113 is provided in the stirring arm 203 and the stirring efficiency is improved by rotating the stirring member 113 is also conceivable.

  After the agitation, the agitation member rotating mechanism 206 positions the agitation member 113 at the disposal position, and the agitation member attaching / detaching mechanism 204 discards the agitation member 113 in the agitation member disposal box 115 (disposition mechanism).

  After the agitating member 113 is discarded, the agitating member rotating mechanism 206 is rotated so that the agitating member attaching / detaching mechanism 204 is positioned at the supply position of the agitating member 113 of the agitating member supplying mechanism 114 shown in FIG. The attaching / detaching mechanism 204 is lowered, and the unused stirring member 113 is attached to the stirring member attaching / detaching mechanism 204.

  When the agitating member 113 is reused after being cleaned by an agitating member cleaning mechanism 503 as shown in FIG. .

  In a case where a minimum carry-over is allowed, an embodiment in which the stirring member 113 is not attached and detached but the stirring member is washed to prepare for the next stirring is also conceivable.

  The stirring operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  The above-described stirring arm up-and-down mechanism 207 shown in FIG. 2 pushes and inserts the stirring member 113 into the reaction liquid 208 composed of the specimen and the reagent, so that the surface of the reaction liquid rises and scatters during dispensing, and the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 The reagent or the droplet 304 of the reaction liquid adhering to is taken in.

  In other words, the volume of the stirring member 113 is such that the rise in the liquid level of the reaction liquid 208 due to the insertion of the stirring member 113 is scattered by dispensing and reaches the attached droplets of the reagent and sample that adhere to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105. Therefore, the adhered droplet is taken into the droplet 304 of the reaction liquid.

  The volume of the stirring member 113 is set such that the reaction liquid does not overflow from the reaction vessel 105 when the tip of the stirring member 113 reaches the bottom of the reaction vessel 105.

  When the reagent or sample droplet 304 takes in the reaction liquid 208, the bubbles 305 attached to the inner wall of the reaction container 105 can be removed by the reaction liquid flow (lower to upper) 306 from the bottom of the reaction container 105 to the liquid surface direction. .

  After the stirring member 113 comes into contact with the bottom of the reaction vessel 105, when the stirring member 113 is pulled up by the stirring arm up-and-down mechanism 207, a reaction liquid flow (upper to lower) 307 from the reaction liquid surface toward the bottom of the reaction vessel 105 is generated. Due to the vertical movement of the stirring member 113, the reaction liquid 208 moves up and down to be stirred and mixed.

  The stirring member supply mechanism 114 (shown in FIG. 1) will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The stirring member supply mechanism 114 of the present embodiment includes a stirring member magazine rack 405 mounted with a stirring member magazine 404 formed by rolling a magazine belt 403 on which a plurality of stirring members 113 are fixed, a magazine belt drive mechanism 406, a magazine A belt winding mechanism 407 and a tension roller 408 are included.

  The stirring member 113 to be supplied is fixed in a continuous manner by a belt-shaped magazine belt 403. The method of fixing the stirring member 113 to the magazine belt 403 includes a hook-shaped method, a method using an adhesive member, and the like. Conceivable.

  The operation of the stirring member supply mechanism 114 will be described below.

  As the magazine belt driving mechanism 406 rotates, the stirring member 113 fixed to the magazine belt 403 is positioned at the stirring member attaching / detaching position, and the stirring member (mounting position) 412 of the stirring mechanism 110 is synchronized with the timing. The mounting operation 113 is performed.

  Thereafter, the stirring operation is performed by the stirring arm (stirring position) 410, and the stirring member 113 is discarded by the stirring arm (discarding position) 411 to the stirring member disposal box 115 (discarding mechanism).

  After the stirring member 113 is removed, the magazine belt drive mechanism 406 rotates to position the stirring member 113 used for the next stirring at the stirring member mounting position. The magazine belt 403 is taken up by the magazine belt take-up mechanism 407 without being loosened by the tension roller 408.

  In addition to this embodiment, an embodiment in which the stirring member is attached and detached by a stirring arm that can operate three-dimensionally with a higher degree of freedom from a magazine in which stirring members are arranged on a flat surface is also conceivable.

  By performing the above-described series of stirring member supply operations one after another, stable stirring can be performed without carryover.

  The stirring member cleaning mechanism will be described with reference to FIG.

  The stirring member cleaning mechanism of this embodiment includes a stirring member cleaning disk 503 for transferring the stirring member 113, a cleaning tank (detergent) 504 for cleaning the stirring member 113 with a detergent, and the stirring member 113 with cleaning water. A washing tank (washing water) 505 for washing and a drying mechanism 506 for drying the washed stirring member 113 are configured.

  The operation of the stirring member cleaning mechanism will be described below.

  After the completion of stirring at the stirring arm (stirring position) 410 of the stirring mechanism 110, the contaminated stirring member 113 is removed from the stirring arm (removal position) 508 and attached to the stirring member cleaning disk 503.

  By rotating the stirring member cleaning disk, the contaminated stirring member 113 is transferred to the cleaning tank (detergent) 504 and cleaned, and at the same time, the cleaned stirring member 113 is transferred to the stirring member attaching / detaching position and cleaning is performed. The completed stirring member 113 is attached to the stirring arm (attachment / detachment position) 508 to prepare for the next stirring.

  The stirring member 113 cleaned in the cleaning tank (detergent) 504 is transferred to the cleaning tank (cleaning water) 505 and cleaned as the stirring member cleaning disk 503 rotates.

  The stirring member 113 cleaned in the cleaning tank (washing water) 505 is transferred to the drying mechanism 506 and dried by the rotation of the stirring member cleaning disk 503.

  By performing the above series of stirring member cleaning operations one after another, there is almost no influence of carry-over, and stable stirring can be performed.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the stirring mechanism concerning the Example of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the stirring operation | movement concerning the Example of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the stirring member supply mechanism concerning the Example of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the stirring member washing | cleaning mechanism concerning the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Sample container, 102 ... Sample disk, 103 ... Reagent bottle, 104 ... Reagent disk, 105 ... Reaction container, 106 ... Reaction disk, 107 ... Reaction tank, 108 ... Sample dispensing mechanism, 109 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism, 110 ... Stirring mechanism, 111 ... Photometric mechanism, 112 ... Reaction vessel cleaning mechanism, 113 ... Stirring member, 114 ... Stirring member supply mechanism, 115 ... Stirring member waste box, 116 ... Display unit, 117 ... Input unit, 118 ... Storage unit, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 119 ... Control part, 203 ... Stirring arm, 204 ... Stirring member attaching / detaching mechanism, 205 ... Cushion mechanism, 206 ... Stirring arm rotation mechanism, 207 ... Stirring arm up / down mechanism, 208 ... Reaction liquid, 304 ... Droplet, 305 ... Bubble, 306 ... Reaction liquid flow (lower part → upper part), 307 ... Reaction liquid flow (upper part → lower part), 403 ... Magazine belt, 404 ... Stirring member magazine, 4 5 ... stirring member magazine rack, 406 ... magazine belt drive mechanism, 407 ... magazine belt winding mechanism, 408 ... tension roller, 410 ... stirring arm (stirring position), 411 ... stirring arm (discarding position), 412 ... stirring arm ( Mounting position), 503... Stirring member cleaning disk, 504. Cleaning tank (detergent), 505. Cleaning tank (washing water), 506. Drying mechanism, 508.

Claims (11)

A reaction vessel into which reagents and samples are dispensed;
A stirring member that is inserted into the reaction vessel to mix the reagent and the sample;
Having a measurement mechanism for measuring the reaction of the reaction mixture mixed in the reaction vessel;
The stirring member has such a volume that the rise in the liquid level of the reaction liquid due to the insertion of the stirring member is scattered by the dispensing and reaches the adhered droplets of the reagent and sample that adhere to the inner wall of the reaction vessel. An automatic analyzer characterized by that. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the stirring operation of the stirring member is a reciprocating operation of approach and retreat. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the stirring member has a spherical convex shape at a tip inserted into the reaction vessel. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
The reciprocating operation of the stirring member is an automatic analyzer characterized in that the tip of the stirring member remains immersed in the reaction solution. In the automatic analyzer as described in any one of Claims 1-4,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that the stirring member is rotated in the reaction vessel. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
An automatic analyzer, wherein the stirring member is inserted until the tip of the stirring member reaches the bottom of the reaction vessel. The automatic analyzer according to claim 6,
An automatic analyzer characterized by having a cushion mechanism in which the tip of the stirring member gently arrives at the bottom of the reaction vessel. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
A stirring arm of a stirring mechanism for supporting the stirring member;
An automatic analyzer comprising a stirring member attaching / detaching mechanism that detachably supports the stirring member on the stirring arm. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An agitation mechanism for agitating and driving the agitation member;
An automatic analyzer having a stirring member supply mechanism for supplying the stirring member to the stirring mechanism. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An agitation mechanism for agitating and driving the agitation member;
An automatic analyzer having a disposal mechanism for discarding the agitating member detached from the agitating mechanism after the agitation operation is completed. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An agitation mechanism for agitating and driving the agitation member;
An automatic analyzer having a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the stirring member detached from the stirring mechanism after completion of the stirring operation.

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