JP2009150864A - Device for humidifying embedding block, device for automatically producing thin slice, and device for automatically producing thin slice sample - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To humidify an embedding block in a short time while minimizing influences on the surface temperature of an embedding block. <P>SOLUTION: A device 11 for humidifying an embedding block B with a biological sample embedded by an embedding agent includes a steam generating mechanism 20 for generating steam E that is heated to a predetermined temperature, and a guiding mechanism 21 for guiding the generated steam to an embedding block so that the steam may come in contact with the surface of the embedding block that is set at a predetermined standby position (a position indicated by the arrow P). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an embedding block humidifying device for humidifying an embedding block in which a biological sample is embedded in an embedding agent, and automatic thin section preparation for automatically preparing a thin section by slicing a humidified embedding block. The present invention relates to an apparatus and an automatic thin section specimen preparation apparatus that automatically prepares a thin section specimen by fixing the prepared thin section on a substrate.

  Conventionally, prior to clinical trials in the development of new drugs, toxicity tests and pathological examinations using laboratory animals have been conducted. These tests and inspections are performed using a thin slice specimen in which a thin slice having a thickness of several μm (for example, 3 μm to 5 μm) is fixed on a substrate such as a slide glass. As a thin section, an experimental animal such as a mouse or a rabbit administered with a drug is necropsied and sliced for pathological examination. Moreover, it is produced for each of various parts (for example, brain, lungs, etc.).

A microtome is known as an apparatus for producing such a sliced specimen. Here, a general method for preparing a thin slice sample using a microtome will be described.
First, after replacing a biological sample such as a formalin-fixed organism or animal with paraffin, the periphery is further solidified with paraffin to make a block-shaped embedded block. Next, this embedding block is set in a microtome, which is a dedicated slicer, and rough cutting is performed. By this rough cutting, the surface of the embedding block becomes a smooth surface, and the embedded biological sample that is the object of experiment and observation is exposed on the surface.

  After rough cutting is finished, the main cutting is performed. This is a process of slicing the embedding block to the above-mentioned thickness with the cutting blade of the microtome. Thereby, a thin slice can be obtained. At this time, by slicing the embedded block as thinly as possible, the thickness of the thin slice can be brought close to the thickness of the cell level, and thus a thin slice specimen with higher quality can be obtained. Therefore, it is required to produce a thin slice as thin as possible. This main cutting is continuously performed until a required number of thin slices are obtained.

Next, an extension process for extending the thin slice obtained by the main cutting is performed. That is, since the thin slice produced by the main cutting is sliced with an extremely thin thickness as described above, it is in a wrinkled state or a rounded state (for example, U-shaped). End up. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the wrinkles and roundness by this extension process.
Generally, it is extended using water and hot water. First, the thin section obtained by the main cutting is floated on water. Thereby, the large wrinkles and roundness of a thin section can be taken, preventing the sticking of the paraffin which has embedded the biological sample. Next, float the slices in hot water. Thereby, since a thin section becomes easy to extend, the remaining wrinkles and roundness which were not able to be removed by extension by water can be removed.

Then, the thin slice that has been extended with hot water is struck with a substrate such as a slide glass and placed on the substrate. If the extension is insufficient at this point, the substrate is placed on a hot plate or the like to further heat. Thereby, a thin section can be extended more.
Finally, the substrate on which the thin section is placed is placed in a dryer and dried. By this drying, moisture attached by extension evaporates and the thin slice is fixed on the substrate. As a result, a thin slice specimen can be produced.

By the way, when preparing a sliced piece, if the surface of the embedding block is dry, wrinkles or deformation may occur on the cut surface, so it is necessary to take measures to prevent the surface of the embedding block from drying. is there. That is, it is necessary to appropriately humidify the embedding block to prevent drying.
Thus, as one of devices for humidifying the embedding block, a device that generates mist-like water droplets (hereinafter referred to as mist) by ultrasonic vibration and humidifies the embedding block with the mist is already known. (See Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-28507 A

However, the conventional apparatus described above still has the following problems.
First, the embedding block will be briefly described. As the embedding agent for embedding a biomaterial, paraffin having water repellency is usually used. Moreover, since the biomaterial itself is paraffin substituted, the surface has water repellency. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the paraffin-substituted biological sample S has an infinite number of minute cracks S1 on the surface. Therefore, in order to humidify the embedding block, it is necessary to humidify from the inside of the biological sample S using the countless folds S1.

However, these countless ridges S1 are minute ridges having a diameter of about several hundred nm to 1 μm. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, even if the mist M was generated and adhered to the surface of the embedding block, the mist M was easily repelled at the entrance of the ridge S1 due to the influence of the surface tension. Therefore, it is difficult to easily enter the mist M into the bowl S1, and a great deal of time is required.
On the other hand, when the amount of mist is increased in order to shorten the time spent for humidification, a new inconvenience occurs. That is, when the mist amount is increased, excessive mist M adheres to the surface of the embedding block. Then, due to the latent heat of vaporization when excessive mist M evaporates, the surface temperature of the embedding block is lowered (about 2 ° C.), and the embedding block is thermally contracted. As a result, the thickness of the thin slice obtained by slicing the embedded block may vary.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the purpose thereof is to embed an embedded block that can humidify the embedded block in a short time without affecting the surface temperature of the embedded block as much as possible. It is to provide an apparatus, an automatic thin-section preparation apparatus having the embedding block humidification apparatus, and an automatic thin-section specimen preparation apparatus having an automatic thin-section preparation apparatus.

The present invention provides the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention is an embedding block humidifying device that humidifies an embedding block in which a biological sample is embedded in an embedding agent, and generates a water vapor that is heated to a predetermined temperature. And a guide mechanism for guiding the water vapor to the embedding block so that the generated water vapor hits the surface of the embedding block set at a predetermined standby position. It is.

  In the embedding block humidifier according to the present invention, when the embedding block is set at the standby position, the guide mechanism guides the water vapor generated by the water vapor generation mechanism to the embedding block and embeds the water vapor. Spray to hit the surface of the block. In particular, unlike the conventional mist, since water vapor, which is a gas, is applied to the embedding block, the water vapor easily enters the minute cocoon vacant on the surface of the paraffin-substituted biological sample. At this time, since the water vapor is heated to a predetermined temperature, when it enters the cage and comes into contact with the biological sample, it becomes dewed inside the cage. Thereby, a biological sample can be moistened from the inside. As a result, the embedding block can be humidified.

  In particular, since water vapor, which is a gas, is used, water vapor can surely enter the bag even if the bag is very small. Therefore, it can be humidified in a short time. In addition, since water vapor enters the basket, it can be sufficiently humidified with a small amount of water vapor. Therefore, the temperature drop of the embedding block that has been caused by excessive evaporation of mist as in the past is unlikely to occur. Therefore, it can prevent that an embedding block heat-shrinks. As a result, the embedding block can be humidified to an optimum state, which can contribute to the production of a high quality thin section.

  Further, the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention is the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention, wherein the water vapor generating mechanism includes a tank storing liquid, a liquid heater for heating the liquid, and the liquid. A heater temperature adjuster for adjusting the temperature of the heater for use, and a pipe inserted into the tank so as to be immersed in the liquid. A bubble generating mechanism for generating the air and an air adjuster for adjusting the supply amount of the air.

In the embedding block humidifier according to the present invention, when air is supplied to the piping of the bubble generating mechanism, countless bubbles are generated in the liquid stored in the tank from the tip of the piping. And these countless bubbles come into contact with the surrounding liquid, so that a gas-liquid interface is formed between them. At this time, since the liquid is heated by the liquid heater, the liquid evaporates into the gas inside the bubble through the gas-liquid interface and humidifies the gas. In particular, since the bubbles are small and the surface area is large with respect to the volume, the gas in the bubbles is humidified to the saturation vapor pressure in a short time. Therefore, when the infinite number of bubbles bounce when reaching the upper surface of the liquid, steam heated to a predetermined temperature is generated in the tank. Thus, water vapor can be reliably generated with a simple configuration. In addition, since the temperature of the liquid heater can be adjusted by the heater temperature adjuster, the temperature of the water vapor can be freely controlled to adjust the temperature of the water vapor to a desired temperature. Therefore, the embedding block can be reliably humidified using water vapor.
Moreover, since the supply amount of air supplied to the piping can be adjusted by the air adjuster, the amount of water vapor generated can be adjusted as appropriate. Therefore, it is possible to reliably perform humidification while suppressing the surface temperature change of the embedding block as much as possible.

  Moreover, the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention is the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention, further comprising a sensor for measuring a surface temperature of the embedding block, wherein the heater temperature regulator The temperature of the liquid heater is adjusted so that the temperature is higher than the temperature of the embedding block measured by the sensor by a predetermined temperature.

  In the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention, since the sensor is provided, the surface temperature of the embedding block being humidified can be accurately known. The heater temperature adjuster adjusts the temperature of the liquid heater based on the surface temperature of the embedding block so that the temperature of the water vapor is higher than the temperature of the embedding block by a predetermined temperature. Can do. Thereby, the water vapor | steam of temperature higher than the temperature of an embedding block is not applied to an embedding block. Therefore, it is possible to reliably humidify the embedded block using water vapor while minimizing the temperature change of the embedded block.

  Moreover, the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention is the above-described embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention, wherein the air adjuster supplies the air based on the temperature of the embedding block measured by the sensor. It is characterized by adjusting the amount.

  In the embedding block humidifier according to the present invention, the air regulator adjusts the supply amount of air supplied to the piping based on the surface temperature of the embedding block, so that excessive water vapor hits the embedding block. It is possible to prevent the temperature from changing. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably suppress the temperature change of the embedded block.

  The embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention is the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention, wherein the guide mechanism guides the water vapor to the embedding block and a guide for heating the guide tube. It comprises a pipe heater and a guide pipe temperature regulator for adjusting the temperature of the guide pipe heater.

In the embedding block humidifier according to the present invention, water vapor generated by the water vapor generating mechanism is guided to the embedding block through the inside of the guide tube. At this time, since the guide tube is heated by the guide tube heater, the water vapor passing through the inside can be heated. Therefore, even if the guide tube is a long pipeline, the temperature of the water vapor does not become lower than the temperature of the embedded block before being guided by the embedded block.
Therefore, the guide tube can be designed freely, and the embedding block can be reliably humidified. Moreover, since the temperature of the guide tube heater can be freely adjusted by the guide tube temperature adjuster, it is possible to reliably guide to the embedding block while keeping the temperature of the water vapor at a predetermined temperature.

  Further, the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention is the embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention, wherein the guide mechanism releases the water vapor once accumulated and the accumulated water vapor to the outside of the accumulating portion at a time. And a discharge mechanism for guiding the discharged water vapor to the embedded block.

  In the embedding block humidifier according to the present invention, when the guide mechanism guides the water vapor generated by the water vapor generation mechanism to the embedding block, the water is once accumulated and accumulated in the accumulating unit. Then, after a predetermined amount of water vapor is accumulated, the guide mechanism releases the water vapor accumulated by the discharge mechanism at a time to the outside of the accumulation unit and guides the released water vapor to the embedding block. Thereby, since a certain amount of water vapor can be supplied to the embedding block, humidification can be performed in a shorter time. Therefore, the throughput can be improved and it can contribute to the production of a more efficient thin section.

  An automatic thin-section preparation device according to the present invention includes an embedding block humidifying device according to the present invention, a fixing base for mounting and fixing the embedding block, and a cutting blade disposed at a position spaced from the standby position. A cutting mechanism that moves the fixed base between a standby position and a cutting blade, cuts the embedded block with a predetermined thickness, and cuts out a thin section; and a thin mechanism that transports the cut out thin section. And a section conveyance mechanism.

In the automatic thin section manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, first, the embedding block is mounted and fixed on the mounting table by a manual operation or a robot. Then, when the fixed base is moved by the cutting mechanism and the placed embedding block is set at the standby position, the embedding block humidifier starts to humidify the embedding block. Thereby, the embedding block is optimally humidified while there is almost no temperature change while in the standby position.
Next, the cutting mechanism moves the fixed base toward the cutting blade, and cuts (slices) the embedding block into a sheet with a predetermined thickness (for example, 5 μm ultrathin). Thereby, a thin section can be cut out and produced. And the produced thin slice is conveyed by the thin slice production apparatus. In this way, thin sections can be automatically produced one after another and transferred to the next process.

  In particular, since the embedding block is optimally humidified in the state where there is no temperature change as described above, it is possible to produce a thin slice having a thickness as uniform as possible while suppressing variations in thickness. Therefore, a high-quality thin section can be produced. Moreover, since the embedding block can be humidified in a short time, the time spent for humidification can be shortened and the throughput can be improved.

  Moreover, the automatic thin-section preparation apparatus according to the present invention is the automatic thin-section preparation apparatus according to the present invention, wherein the embedded block is a position sensor that detects whether or not the embedded block is located at the standby position. And a controller that activates the water vapor generating mechanism when the position sensor detects that it is located at the standby position.

  In the automatic thin section manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, when the embedding block is positioned at the standby position, the position sensor notifies the control unit to that effect. Then, a control part receives this and operates a water vapor | steam generation mechanism. Thereby, the embedding block which has come to the standby position can be quickly humidified. In particular, since the embedding block humidifier is not operated wastefully, power saving can be achieved and the running cost can be easily suppressed.

  The automatic thin-slice preparation device according to the present invention is the automatic thin-slice preparation device according to the present invention, wherein the cutting mechanism moves the fixed base after a predetermined time has elapsed since the water vapor generation mechanism was activated. It is characterized by.

  In the automatic thin-section preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the cutting mechanism moves the fixing base after a predetermined time has elapsed since the water vapor generation mechanism has been activated, so that the thin section is prepared. Thin sections can be made from the embedded blocks. Therefore, a high-quality thin section can be produced more stably.

  The automatic thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention includes the automatic thin-section preparation apparatus of the present invention, a block transport mechanism that transports the embedded block onto the fixed table, and the transported by the thin section transport mechanism. An extension mechanism that floats and extends a thin slice on a liquid, and a transfer mechanism that transfers the stretched thin section onto a substrate to produce a thin section specimen. is there.

  In the automatic thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, since the block transport mechanism is provided, a plurality of embedded blocks can be transported on the fixed table in a simple and easy manner. In addition, the thin slice transported by the thin slice transport mechanism is floated and stretched in a liquid such as water, which the stretching mechanism has. As a result, the thin slice is stretched because it is stretched by removing the wrinkles and roundness generated during cutting due to surface tension. Then, the extended thin section is transferred onto a substrate such as a slide glass by a transfer mechanism. Thus, a thin slice specimen in which a thin slice is transferred onto a substrate can be produced.

  In particular, since the thin slice produced by the automatic thin slice production apparatus is a high-quality thin slice with a thickness as uniform as possible, a high-quality sample can be produced even for a thin-section specimen. Therefore, the accuracy of various tests and inspections using this thin slice specimen can be further increased.

According to the embedding block humidifier according to the present invention, the embedding block can be humidified in an optimum state in a short time without affecting the surface temperature of the embedding block as much as possible.
In addition, according to the automatic thin-section preparation apparatus according to the present invention, since the above-described embedding block humidification apparatus is provided, it is possible to suppress a thickness variation and prepare a thin section having a uniform thickness as much as possible from the embedding block. Can do. Therefore, a high-quality thin section can be produced. Further, since the embedding block can be humidified in a short time, the time spent for humidification can be shortened and the overall throughput can be improved.
Moreover, according to the automatic thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, since the automatic thin-section preparation apparatus described above is provided, it is possible to manufacture high-quality thin-section specimens. Therefore, the accuracy of various tests and inspections using this thin slice specimen can be further increased.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, a biological tissue S collected from a laboratory animal such as a spider will be described as an example of the biological sample.
The automatic thin-section specimen preparation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment transfers a thin section B1 prepared from an embedding block B in which a living tissue S is embedded in an embedding agent, onto a slide glass (substrate) G and thins it. This is an apparatus for producing the slice specimen H.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic thin-section sample preparation apparatus 1 includes a block handling robot (block transport mechanism) 2 for transporting the embedding block B onto the fixed base 10, and a thin section B1 from the transported embedding block B. The thin slice B1 transported by the automatic thin section preparation apparatus 3 for manufacturing the thin film and the section handling mechanism (thin section transport mechanism) 14 of the automatic thin section preparation apparatus 3 is floated and extended at least in water (liquid) W1. A mechanism 4 and a slide glass handling robot (transfer mechanism) 5 that transfers the extended thin section B1 onto the slide glass G to produce a thin section specimen H are provided.

The automatic thin section manufacturing apparatus 3 is an apparatus that cuts the embedding block B with a predetermined thickness and cuts out and manufactures a sheet-like thin section B1.
That is, the automatic thin section manufacturing apparatus 3 places the embedding block B transported by the block handling robot 2 on the fixed base 10 and the embedding block B fixed on the fixing base 10 in the standby position ( The embedding block humidifying device 11 is humidified at the position indicated by the arrow P), and the cutting blade 12 is disposed at a position separated from the standby position, and the fixed base 10 is moved between the standby position and the cutting blade 12. The cutting mechanism 13 for cutting out the thin section B1 from the embedding block B and the section handling mechanism 14 for transporting the cut out thin section B1 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the embedding block B is obtained by replacing the moisture in the formalin-fixed biological tissue S with paraffin, and then hardening the periphery into a block with an embedding agent such as paraffin. Thereby, the biological tissue S is embedded in paraffin.
As shown in FIG. 1, the embedding block B configured in this manner is placed and fixed on a cassette 15 fixed on a Z stage 52 described later. And the embedding block B is reciprocated between the standby position and the cutting blade 12 by the movement of the X stage 51 described later.

  The embedding block humidifying device 11 includes a water vapor generation mechanism 20 that generates water vapor E heated to a predetermined temperature, and the water vapor E so that the generated water vapor E hits the surface of the embedding block B set at the standby position. And a guide mechanism 21 for guiding to the embedding block B.

  The water vapor generation mechanism 20 includes a tank 25 in which water (liquid) W2 is stored, a heater (heater for liquid) 26 that heats the water W2 in the tank 25, and a temperature regulator (heater) that adjusts the temperature of the heater 26. A temperature regulator) 27 and a pipe 28 inserted into the tank 25 so as to be immersed in the water W2, and supplying air to the pipe 28 to generate innumerable bubbles in the water from the tip of the pipe 28 A generation mechanism 29 and an air adjuster 30 that adjusts the supply amount of air are provided.

The tank 25 has a sealing member 25a attached to the top thereof, and is in a state where the inside is sealed. The tank 25 is surrounded by a rubber heater 31 in which the heater 26 is built. The heater 26 is electrically connected to the temperature regulator 27, and the amount of heat generated is controlled. The temperature regulator 27 adjusts the amount of heat generated by the heater 26 in response to the measurement result from the temperature sensor 32 mounted in the tank 25. Thereby, the temperature of the water W2 stored in the tank 25 can be set to a constant temperature (for example, 40 ° C.).
Further, the surface temperature of the embedding block B is sent to the temperature regulator 27 from a temperature sensor (sensor) 80 described later. The temperature regulator 27 then increases the temperature of the water vapor E generated in the tank 25 by a predetermined temperature (for example, higher by + 2 ° C.) than the surface temperature of the embedded block B that has been sent. The temperature of the water W2 in the tank 25 is adjusted by adjusting the temperature of the heater 26.

The pipe 28 has a distal end penetrating through the sealing member 25 a and is immersed in the water W <b> 2 stored in the tank 25, and an air supply source such as a compressor whose proximal end is disposed away from the tank 25. 35. The pipe 28 and the air supply source 35 function as a bubble generation mechanism 29.
An electromagnetic valve 37 that is opened and closed by an open / close controller 36 is interposed in the pipe 28 between the air supply source 35 and the tank 25. That is, the supply amount of air supplied from the air supply source 35 can be adjusted by opening and closing the electromagnetic valve 37 in response to a signal from the open / close controller 36. That is, the electromagnetic valve 37 and the opening / closing controller 36 function as the air regulator 30.
Similarly to the temperature regulator 27, the surface temperature of the embedding block B is sent from the temperature sensor 80 to the opening / closing controller 36. The opening / closing controller 36 adjusts the air supply amount based on the surface temperature of the embedding block B. Note that water vapor E is generated in the tank 25 in proportion to the air supply amount.

The tip of the pipe 28 is formed in a rounded substantially spherical shape, and an infinite number of minute openings 28a are formed on the surface. Therefore, the air that has passed through the pipe 28 leaks to the outside through the countless minute openings 28a when reaching the tip. Thereby, innumerable bubbles V can be generated in the water. Moreover, since the water W2 in the tank 25 is heated by the heater 26, the water W2 is heated until the countless bubbles V rise to the water surface. Therefore, the gas inside the bubble V is in a heated state. As a result, when the infinite number of bubbles V bounces on the water surface, water vapor E heated to a predetermined temperature is generated in the tank 25.
The operation of the air supply source 35 and the opening / closing controller 36 of the water vapor generation mechanism 20 configured as described above is controlled by a control unit 82 described later.

Here, the base end of the guide tube 40 is inserted into the tank 25 through the sealing member 25 a separately from the pipe 28. At this time, the guide tube 40 is inserted so as not to touch the water W2 stored in the tank 25. And the guide tube 40 is extended so that the front-end | tip may be located in the vicinity of the embedding block B set to the standby position. At this time, the distal end of the guide tube 40 is formed in a divergent shape, and is set so as to be covered from above by the embedding block B set at the standby position.
Thus, since the guide tube 40 is set between the tank 25 and the embedding block B, the water vapor E generated in the tank 25 is guided to the embedding block B through the guide tube 40. The surface of the embedding block B is sprayed.

By the way, in the middle of the guide tube 40, a rubber heater 42 having a heater (guide tube heater) 41 for heating the guide tube 40 is attached so as to cover the periphery of the guide tube 40. The heater 41 is electrically connected to a temperature adjuster (guide tube temperature adjuster) 43, and the amount of heat generated is controlled. The temperature adjuster 43 adjusts the heat generation amount of the heater 41 in response to the measurement result from the temperature sensor 44 attached to the inside of the guide tube 40. As a result, the temperature of the water vapor E passing through the guide tube 40 can be guided to the embedding block B while maintaining the temperature when it is generated in the tank 25.
The guide tube 40, the heater 41, and the temperature adjuster 43 described above function as the guide mechanism 21.

By the way, the fixing base 10 for fixing the embedding block B is mounted on the X stage 51 movable along the guide rail 50 extending in the X direction toward the cutting blade 12, and mounted in the vertical direction. The Z stage 52 is movable in the Z direction.
The guide rail 50 is attached in a state extending to the opposite side beyond the cutting blade 12. The X stage 51 reciprocates on the guide rail 50 by a motor (not shown) or the like. Further, the Z stage 52 incorporates a piezo element (not shown) and the like, and the height is controlled so as to rise by a certain amount in the Z direction when a voltage is applied. At this time, the Z stage 52 is controlled to rise by a certain amount each time the X stage 51 reciprocates the guide rail 50 once.

  As a result, the embedding block B placed and fixed on the Z stage 52 via the cassette 15 moves toward the cutting blade 12 as the X stage 51 moves, and is cut by the cutting blade 12. It is like that. At this time, since the height is controlled by the Z stage 52, the surface is cut at a predetermined thickness (for example, 5 μm). As a result, a sheet-like thin section B1 is produced. This will be described in detail later. A plurality of thin slices B1 are successively produced from the embedding block B by the reciprocating motion of the X stage 51 and the ascent of the Z stage 52 synchronized with the reciprocating motion. The guide rail 50, the X stage 51, the Z stage 52, and the cutting blade 12 described above constitute the cutting mechanism 13.

  Above the fixed base 10, a horizontal guide rail 55 extending in the same X direction as the guide rail 50 is attached by a support portion (not shown). Also, below the horizontal guide rail 55, a water tank 56 that stores water (liquid) W1 in order from the guide rail 50 side, a slide glass storage shelf 57 that stores unused slide glass G, and a thin film produced. A storage shelf 58 for storing the section specimen H is provided.

A horizontal stage 60 that is movable along the horizontal guide rail 55 is attached to the horizontal guide rail 55. The horizontal stage 60 is attached with an arm portion 61 that can move in the Z direction and can adsorb the thin slice B1 cut out from the embedding block B to the tip using, for example, static electricity. . In addition, it is not restricted to static electricity, You may capture thin section B1 using a suction force, an adhesive agent, etc.
The arm part 61 conveys the adsorbed thin section B1 to the water tank 56 and floats on the stored water W1. That is, the horizontal guide rail 55, the horizontal stage 60, and the arm portion 61 constitute the section handling mechanism 14.

  In addition to the horizontal stages 60 and 65, another horizontal stage 65 that can move along the horizontal guide rail 55 is attached to the horizontal guide rail 55. The horizontal stage 65 can be rotated not only in the horizontal direction but also around the Z axis. A slide glass gripping robot 66 is attached to the horizontal stage 65 so as to be rotatable around one axis orthogonal to the Z direction. Further, the slide glass gripping robot 66 includes a pair of arm portions 66a that are arranged in parallel in a state of being separated by a certain distance and that can adjust the distance to each other so as to be close to and away from each other.

Then, by operating these horizontal stage 65 and slide glass gripping robot 66 appropriately, the unused slide glass G is gripped from the slide glass storage shelf 57 and the thin slice B1 floating in the water tank 56 is gripped. The thin slice specimen H can be prepared by transferring onto the slide glass G. Further, the prepared thin slice specimen H can be stored in the storage shelf 58. This will be described in detail later.
The above-described horizontal guide rail 55, horizontal stage 65, and slide glass gripping robot 66 constitute the slide glass handling robot 5. In the present embodiment, the horizontal guide rail 55 is a dual-purpose component that constitutes both the section handling mechanism 14 and the slide glass handling robot 5.

  Further, on the side opposite to the water tank 56, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, a Z-axis guide rail 70 extending in the Z direction is attached adjacent to the guide rail 50. An elevating stage 71 movable along the Z-axis guide rail 70 is attached to the Z-axis guide rail 70. A horizontal guide rail 72 extending in the horizontal direction is attached to the lifting stage 71. A horizontal stage 73 that is movable along the horizontal guide rail 72 is attached to the horizontal guide rail 72. The horizontal stage 73 is not only moved in the horizontal direction but also rotatable around the Z axis.

  Further, the horizontal stage 73 is attached with a gripping robot 74 having a pair of arm portions 74a that are arranged in parallel in a state of being spaced apart by a certain distance and that can adjust the distance to each other so as to be freely approached and separated. And the embedding block B can be conveyed on the fixed base 10 by operating the raising / lowering stage 71, the horizontal stage 73, and the holding robot 74 appropriately. This will be described in detail later. The Z-axis guide rail 70, the lifting stage 71, the horizontal guide rail 72, the horizontal stage 73, and the gripping robot 74 described above function as the block handling robot 2.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, a temperature sensor 80 for measuring the surface temperature of the embedding block B when the embedding block B is located at the standby position is provided on the distal end side of the guide tube 40. ing. The temperature sensor 80 is, for example, a sensor that measures the surface temperature of the embedding block B in a non-contact manner, and outputs the measurement results to the temperature regulators 27 and 43, respectively.
The guide rail 50 is provided with a position sensor 81 that detects whether the embedding block B is located at the standby position. The position sensor 81 is a sensor that optically detects a position, for example, and outputs a measurement result to the control unit 82. On the other hand, the control unit 82 operates the water vapor generating mechanism 20 when receiving a signal from the position sensor 81 that the embedding block B is positioned at the standby position. That is, the air supply source 35 and the opening / closing controller 36 are operated.

  In addition, when the water vapor generating mechanism 20 is operated, the control unit 82 controls the cutting mechanism 13 so that the fixed base 10 is moved from the standby position after a predetermined time has elapsed. Thereby, after the humidification of the embedding block B is performed reliably, it is possible to produce the thin slice B1.

Next, the case where several thin slice specimens H are produced from the embedding block B by the automatic thin slice specimen preparation apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described below.
First, the operator positions the embedding block B between the pair of arm portions 74 a included in the gripping robot 74 of the block handling robot 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the gripping robot 74 holds the cassette 15 on which the embedding block B is placed between the pair of arm portions 74a, and receives the embedding block B from the operator. Then, after receiving the embedded block B, the block handling robot 2 appropriately operates the elevating stage 71 and the horizontal stage 73 while sandwiching the cassette 15 to fix the embedded block B as shown in FIG. 10 to be placed on the fixed base 10.

When the embedding block B is placed on the fixed base 10, the X stage 51 moves to set the embedding block B at the standby position. At the same time, the horizontal stage 60 of the section handling mechanism 14 moves along the horizontal guide rail 55 so that the tip of the arm portion 61 is in a standby state near the cutting start position of the embedding block B.
By the way, when the embedding block B is set at the standby position, it is detected that the position sensor 81 is set at the standby position, and this is notified to the control unit 82. In response to this, the control unit 82 operates the air supply source 35 and the open / close controller 36.

  Then, the air supply source 35 starts supplying air to the inside of the pipe 28, and the opening / closing controller 36 opens the electromagnetic valve 37 and sends the supplied air toward the tip of the pipe 28. Then, when the supplied air reaches the tip side through the pipe 28, it is discharged to the outside through a myriad of minute openings 28a. Thereby, countless bubbles V are generated in the water stored in the tank 25. Since these countless bubbles V are in contact with the surrounding liquid W2, a gas-liquid interface is formed between them. At this time, since the liquid W2 is heated by the heater 26, the liquid W2 evaporates into the gas inside the bubble V through the gas-liquid interface and humidifies the gas. In particular, since the bubbles V are small and the surface area is large with respect to the volume, the gas in the bubbles V is humidified to a nearly saturated vapor pressure in a short time. Therefore, the water vapor E heated to a predetermined temperature is generated in the tank 25 by innumerable bubbles V repelling on the water surface.

  On the other hand, the water vapor E generated in the tank 25 advances toward the tip of the guide tube 40 through the guide tube 40 and is guided to the embedding block B. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, water vapor E can be sprayed so as to hit the surface of the embedding block B. In particular, unlike the conventional mist, since the vapor E, which is a gas, is applied to the embedding block B, as shown in FIG. 6, the minute ridge S1 that is vacant on the surface of the biological tissue S that has been paraffin-substituted. Water vapor E easily enters the inside. At this time, since the water vapor E is heated to a predetermined temperature, when it enters the heel S1 and comes into contact with the living tissue S, the water vapor E is in a dewed state inside the heel S1. Thereby, the biological tissue S can be moistened from the inside. As a result, the embedding block B can be humidified.

  In particular, since the water vapor E, which is a gas, is used, the water vapor E can surely enter the soot S1 even if the soot S1 is very small. Therefore, the embedding block B can be humidified in a short time. In addition, since the water vapor E enters the bowl S1, humidification can be sufficiently performed with a small amount of water vapor E. Therefore, the temperature drop of the embedding block B, which has been caused by excessive evaporation of mist as in the past, is unlikely to occur. Therefore, it is possible to continue humidifying the embedded block B to an optimum state while preventing the thermal contraction of the embedded block B.

  In particular, during the humidification described above, the temperature sensor 80 accurately measures the surface temperature of the embedding block B, and outputs that effect to the temperature regulators 27 and 43, respectively. The temperature regulator 27 controls the amount of heat generated by the heater 26 based on the surface temperature of the embedding block B, so that the temperature of the water vapor E is about 2 ° C. higher than the temperature of the embedding block B. The temperature of the water W2 inside is adjusted. Thereby, the water vapor E having a temperature that is excessively higher than the temperature of the embedding block B is not applied to the embedding block B. Therefore, the embedding block B can be reliably humidified using the water vapor E while suppressing the temperature change of the embedding block B.

  Similarly, the opening / closing controller 36 constituting the air adjuster 30 adjusts the opening / closing degree of the electromagnetic valve 37 based on the surface temperature of the embedding block B sent from the temperature sensor 80, thereby The supply amount is controlled. That is, the amount of water vapor E generated is adjusted. Therefore, it can prevent that the excessive water vapor | steam E hits the embedding block B, and temperature will change. Therefore, also in this respect, it is possible to effectively suppress the temperature change of the embedded block B.

  Further, since the guide tube 40 that guides the water vapor E to the embedding block B is heated by the heater 41, the water vapor E passing through the inside can be heated. Therefore, even if the guide tube 40 is a long pipeline, the temperature of the water vapor E may be lower than the temperature of the embedded block B before being guided to the embedded block B. Instead, the temperature generated in the tank 25 can be guided to the embedding block B. Therefore, the guide tube 40 can be designed freely, and the embedding block B can be reliably humidified.

  In addition, since the humidification is started by operating the water vapor generation mechanism 20 in response to the signal from the position sensor 81, the embedding block B that has reached the standby position can be quickly humidified, and the water vapor generation mechanism. 20 is not operated wastefully. Therefore, power saving can be achieved and the running cost can be easily suppressed.

As described above, the embedded block B is optimally humidified in the state where there is almost no temperature change by the embedded block humidifier 11 while in the standby position.
Then, the control unit 82 moves the X stage 51 from the standby position toward the cutting blade 12 along the guide rail 50 after the predetermined time has elapsed after the water vapor generating mechanism 20 is activated, and is embedded by the cutting blade 12. The block B is sliced into a sheet with a predetermined thickness (for example, 5 μm). Thereby, the thin slice B1 is cut out from the embedding block B.

  On the other hand, the arm portion 61 whose tip is waiting in the vicinity of the cutting start position of the embedding block B adsorbs the thin slice B1 started to be cut out from the embedding block B by the cutting blade 12 by static electricity. Then, the horizontal stage 60 to which the arm portion 61 is attached moves along the horizontal guide rail 55 in accordance with the movement of the X stage 51. Thereby, the thin slice B1 can be reliably adsorbed to the tip of the arm portion 61 without applying an external force to the thin slice B1.

  The section handling mechanism 14 adsorbs the thin section B1 to the tip of the arm portion 61, and then moves the horizontal stage 60 to transport the thin section B1. And when the arm part 61 reaches above the water tank 56 which the extension mechanism 4 has, this arm part 61 is lowered | hung to a Z direction and a front-end | tip is put in the water W1. As a result, the thin slice B1 that has been adsorbed to the tip of the arm portion 61 is released from the adsorption and floated in the water W1. The thin slice B1 floating in the water W1 is stretched and stretched by removing the wrinkles and roundness generated during cutting due to surface tension.

On the other hand, the slide glass handling robot 5 appropriately operates the horizontal stage 65 and the slide glass gripping robot 66 in accordance with the above-described cutting and transporting of the thin slice B1, and removes the unused slide glass G from the slide glass storage shelf 57. One is taken out and is waiting above the water tank 56.
That is, first, the horizontal stage 65 and the slide glass gripping robot 66 are operated as appropriate, and the pair of arm portions 66 a of the slide glass gripping robot 66 are inserted into the slide glass storage rack 57. Next, the pair of arm portions 66a are operated so as to approach each other, and one unused slide glass G is sandwiched and fixed. Then, while holding the slide glass G, the horizontal stage 65 and the slide glass gripping robot 66 are actuated again as appropriate to pull out the slide glass G and move it above the water tank 56. And it waits until thin section B1 is conveyed by the water tank 56 with this state.

  Then, as described above, after the thin slice B1 is transported into the water tank 56 and the state of floating in the water W1 has passed for a certain period of time, the slide glass handling robot 5 includes the horizontal stage 65 and the slide as shown in FIG. The glass gripping robot 66 is appropriately operated to scoop up the thin slice B1 floating in the water W1 using the gripping slide glass G. As a result, the thin slice B1 is transferred onto the slide glass G. As a result, a thin slice specimen H is produced. Finally, the slide glass handling robot 5 transports the prepared thin section specimen H to the storage shelf 58 and stores it in the storage shelf 58.

As described above, according to the automatic thin-section specimen preparation apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the thin-section specimen H is automatically prepared from the embedding block B, and the prepared thin-section specimen H is stored in the storage shelf 58. be able to. Therefore, the burden on the operator can be reduced. Further, by reciprocating the X stage 51 along the X guide rail 50, a necessary number of thin sections B1 can be automatically manufactured from one embedded block B, and a thin section specimen H can be manufactured. .
The block handling robot 2 transports the used embedding block B from the fixed base 10 after the preparation of the required number of thin slices B1 is completed. Thus, the operator can replace the used embedded block B with a new next embedded block B. Then, the necessary number of thin slice specimens H can be automatically produced from the next embedded block B by repeating the steps described above.

In particular, according to the automatic thin-section sample preparation device 1 of the present embodiment, since the automatic thin-section preparation device 3 having the embedding block humidification device 11 is provided, the package that is optimally humidified with almost no temperature change. A thin slice B1 can be produced from the buried block B. Therefore, it is possible to produce a thin slice B1 having a thickness as uniform as possible while suppressing variations in thickness. Therefore, a high quality thin slice B1 can be produced. Further, since the embedding block B can be humidified in a short time at the standby position, the time spent for humidification can be shortened and the throughput can be improved.
Moreover, since the thin-section sample H is produced using the above-described high-quality thin section B1, a high-quality one can also be produced for the thin-section specimen H. Therefore, the accuracy of various tests and inspections using this thin slice specimen H can be further increased.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that in the first embodiment, the water vapor E generated by the water vapor generation mechanism 20 is always guided to the embedding block B, but in the second embodiment, The water vapor E generated by the water vapor generation mechanism 20 is once accumulated and accumulated, and then a certain amount of water vapor E can be guided at a stretch.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the embedding block humidifier 90 of the present embodiment has a storage unit 92 that temporarily stores the water vapor E and a discharge that releases the stored water vapor E to the outside of the storage unit 92 at a time. And a guide mechanism 91 including a mechanism 93.
The accumulation part 92 is a cylinder formed in a cylindrical shape, and is attached in a state of being interposed in the middle of the guide tube 40. Specifically, the guide tube 40 on the side inserted into the tank 25 and the guide tube 40 on the side extending to the vicinity of the embedding block B are connected to one end side of the accumulating portion 92, respectively. Yes. That is, the water vapor E generated by the water vapor generation mechanism 20 flows into the accumulation unit 92 from the tank 25 side and is stored. The accumulated water vapor E is pushed toward the embedded block B by being pushed out by the discharge mechanism 93 to the guide tube 40 extending from the inside of the storage portion 92 to the vicinity of the embedded block B. It has become.

At this time, valves 94 and 95 for restricting the flow of the water vapor E in one direction are provided at the connection portion between the storage portion 92 and the guide tube 40, respectively. Among these, the valve 94 provided at the connecting portion between the guide tube 40 on the side inserted into the tank 25 and the accumulating portion 92 allows the water vapor E to flow into the accumulating portion 92 and the accumulating portion. It is attached so as to regulate the outflow of water vapor E from 92 to the tank 25 side. Thus, the water vapor E can surely flow into the accumulating portion 92, and can be prevented from flowing back to the tank 25 side when the accumulated water vapor E is discharged.
On the other hand, the valve 95 provided in the connecting portion between the guide tube 40 on the side extending to the vicinity of the embedding block B and the accumulating portion 92 allows water vapor E to flow out from the accumulating portion 92 to the embedding block B side. While being allowed, it is attached so as to restrict the water vapor E from flowing into the storage portion 92 from the outside. Thus, the water vapor E can be reliably accumulated in the accumulating portion 92, and the accumulated water vapor E can be reliably discharged to the embedding block B side.

  A piston 96 in which a piston shaft 96a is inserted from the other end side of the storage unit 92 is movably accommodated inside the storage unit 92 configured as described above. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a wire 98 wound around a pulley 97 that rotates around a rotation axis L by a motor M is connected to the piston shaft 96 a. Thus, by rotating the motor M, the piston 96 can be drawn and the water vapor E can be stored inside the accumulating portion 92. The accumulation unit 92 is capable of storing about 1 L to 5 L of water vapor E therein.

By the way, a clutch 99 capable of releasing the connection between the motor M and the pulley 97 is attached, so that the pulley 97 can be separated from the motor M at an arbitrary timing. In addition, a coil spring 100 is provided between the piston 96 and the accumulating portion 92, and the piston 96 is constantly urged toward one end side of the accumulating portion 92. Therefore, by separating the pulley 97 from the motor M, the piston 96 can be pushed out to one end side of the accumulating portion 92 using the spring force of the coil spring 100. Thereby, it is possible to discharge the water vapor E accumulated in the accumulation unit 92 to the outside of the accumulation unit 92 at a time.
That is, the piston 96, the pulley 97, the wire 98, the motor M, the clutch 99, and the coil spring 100 described above function as a discharge mechanism 93 that discharges the accumulated water vapor E to the outside of the accumulation unit 92 at a time.

  Further, the control unit 82 of the present embodiment controls the operation timing of the motor M and the separation timing of the motor M and the pulley 97 by the clutch 99.

When the embedded block humidifying device 90 configured as described above is provided, the control unit 82 operates the air supply source 35 and the open / close controller 36 before the embedded block B is set at the standby position. . Then, the air supply source 35 starts supplying air to the inside of the pipe 28, and the opening / closing controller 36 opens the electromagnetic valve 37 and sends the supplied air toward the tip of the pipe 28. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, water vapor E is generated in the tank 25 and flows into the guide tube 40.
At the same time, the controller 82 drives the motor M to rotate the pulley 97. Then, since the wire 98 is wound, the piston 96 is drawn through the piston shaft 96a and moves to the other end side of the accumulating portion 92. At this time, it is preferable that the speed at which the piston 96 is pulled is substantially equal to the flow rate (for example, 1 to 5 L / min) generated and generated by the water vapor E.

  When the piston 96 is retracted, the water vapor E flows into the storage portion 92 from the guide tube 40 inserted into the tank 25. Thereby, the water vapor E can be temporarily accumulated in the accumulating portion 92 and accumulated. When the piston 96 has been pulled to the capacity of the storage unit 92, the control unit 82 stops the motor M and closes the electromagnetic valve 37. In addition, since the inside of the accumulation | storage part 92 is a little negative pressure, the valve 95 is closed. Therefore, the accumulated water vapor E does not leak.

In such a state, when the embedding block B is set at the standby position, the control unit 82 disconnects the clutch 99 and disconnects the motor M and the pulley 97. Then, since the piston 96 is biased by the spring force of the coil spring 100, the piston 96 is pushed out toward the one end side of the accumulating portion 92 at a stretch. As a result, the accumulated water vapor E passes through the valve 95 and is discharged to the outside of the accumulation unit 92 at a time. At this time, since the valve 94 is closed, the water vapor E does not flow backward to the tank 25 side.
The discharged water vapor E is guided to the embedding block B through the guide tube 40. Thereby, since the steam E collected to some extent can be supplied to the embedding block B, humidification can be performed in a shorter time. Therefore, the throughput can be improved, and a thin slice can be produced more efficiently than in the case of the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, it is preferable to insulate the storage part 92 as much as possible by forming the storage part 92 with a material having low thermal conductivity or by devising the storage part 92 with a heat insulating material. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the water vapor E from being lowered as much as possible when the water vapor E is stored.

  In the second embodiment, a rubber heater 42 with a built-in heater 41 may be provided in the middle of the guide tube 40 (in the middle of the storage portion 92 and the tank 25), as in the first embodiment.

Moreover, in the said 2nd Embodiment, although the cylinder type was mentioned as an example as an example of the storage part 92, it is not limited to this case.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the storage unit 92 may be a flexible container. Even in this case, the water vapor E can be stored inside. In this case, the discharge mechanism 93 may be configured so that the accumulating portion 92 that is a container can be sandwiched and crushed. By doing so, the accumulated water vapor E can be discharged at once. Therefore, the same operation effect can be produced.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the storage unit 92 may be configured in a bellows shape that can extend in the axial direction. In this case, the water vapor E can be stored inside by pulling the other end side of the storage unit 92 with the wire 98. When the clutch 99 is disengaged and the connection between the motor M and the pulley 97 is disconnected, the accumulating portion 92 is naturally contracted by the contraction force of the bellows, so that the accumulated water vapor E can be discharged at once. Therefore, the same operation effect can be produced.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in each said embodiment, although it was set as the structure which only provided the water tank 56 which stores the water W1 as the extension mechanism 4, it is not restricted to this case. For example, the extension mechanism 4 provided with a water tank for storing hot water and a hot plate adjacent to the water tank 56 may be used.
In this case, the slide glass handling robot 5 places the thin slice B1 on which the water has been extended on the slide glass G, and then transports the thin slice B1 to another water tank in which hot water is stored. Float in. Since the thin slice B1 is easily stretched by this hot water stretching, the remaining wrinkles, roundness, etc. that could not be removed by the stretching with the water W1 can be removed. Therefore, a further high quality thin slice specimen H can be produced.

  Furthermore, after extending the hot water, by placing the slide glass G on which the thin slice B1 is placed on a hot plate, the thin slice B1 can be further heated through the slide glass G. As a result, it is possible to further remove wrinkles, roundness, etc. that could not be removed by hot water spreading. Thus, it is more preferable to provide a high-quality thin slice specimen H by providing a water tank and hot plate in which hot water is stored.

It is a block diagram which shows the automatic sliced piece preparation apparatus of 1st Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of the embedding block used with the automatic thin section sample preparation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the block handling robot of the automatic thin section sample preparation apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view of the block handling robot shown in FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows the state which is applying the water vapor | steam to the surface of an embedding block by the embedding block humidification apparatus which comprises the automatic thin section sample preparation apparatus shown in FIG. It is the figure which expanded the surface of the embedding block shown in FIG. 5, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state into which the water vapor | steam has penetrated in the micro sputum vacated on the surface of the biological tissue. It is a block diagram which shows the automatic thin slice sample preparation apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged view of an embedding block humidifying device that constitutes the automatic thin-section specimen preparation device shown in FIG. 7. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the pulley which comprises the embedding block humidification apparatus shown in FIG. 8, a clutch, and a motor. It is a figure which shows the modification of the embedding block humidification apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows another modification of the embedding block humidification apparatus shown in FIG. It is the figure which expanded the surface of the embedding block. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional humidification method, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state which made mist (mist-like water droplet) adhere to the surface of the embedding block shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

B ... Embedded block E ... Water vapor G ... Slide glass (substrate)
H ... Thin section specimen S ... Biological tissue (biological sample)
W1 ... Water (liquid) in the tank
W2 ... Water (liquid) in the tank
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic thin section sample preparation apparatus 2 ... Block handling robot (block conveyance mechanism)
3 ... Automatic thin section preparation device 4 ... Extension mechanism 5 ... Slide glass handling robot (transfer mechanism)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Fixed stand 11, 90 ... Embedding block humidifier 12 ... Cutting blade 13 ... Cutting mechanism 14 ... Section handling mechanism (thin section conveyance mechanism)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Water vapor generation mechanism 21, 91 ... Guide mechanism 25 ... Tank 26 ... Heater (heater for liquids)
27 ... Temperature controller (heater temperature controller)
28 ... Piping 29 ... Bubble generation mechanism 30 ... Air regulator 40 ... Guiding tube 41 ... Heater (heater for guiding tube)
43 ... Temperature adjuster (guide tube temperature adjuster)
80 ... Temperature sensor (sensor)
81: Position sensor 82 ... Control unit 92 ... Storage unit 93 ... Release mechanism

Claims (10)

An embedding block humidifying device for humidifying an embedding block in which a biological sample is embedded in an embedding agent,
A water vapor generating mechanism for generating water vapor heated to a predetermined temperature;
An embedding block comprising: a guide mechanism for guiding the water vapor to the embedding block so that the generated water vapor hits the surface of the embedding block set at a predetermined standby position. Humidifier. In the embedding block humidification device according to claim 1,
The water vapor generation mechanism includes a tank in which a liquid is stored,
A liquid heater for heating the liquid;
A heater temperature controller for adjusting the temperature of the liquid heater;
A bubble generation mechanism having a pipe inserted into the tank so as to be immersed in the liquid, supplying air to the pipe and generating innumerable bubbles in the liquid from the tip of the pipe;
An embedding block humidifier comprising an air adjuster for adjusting the air supply amount. In the embedding block humidification device according to claim 2,
Comprising a sensor for measuring the surface temperature of the embedding block;
The heater temperature adjuster adjusts the temperature of the liquid heater so that the temperature of the generated water vapor is higher by a predetermined temperature than the temperature of the embedding block measured by the sensor. An embedding block humidifier characterized by. In the embedding block humidification device according to claim 3,
The embedding block humidification device, wherein the air adjuster adjusts the supply amount of the air based on the temperature of the embedding block measured by the sensor. In the embedding block humidification device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The guide mechanism includes a guide tube that guides the water vapor to the embedded block;
A guide tube heater for heating the guide tube;
An embedding block humidifier comprising a guide tube temperature controller for adjusting the temperature of the guide tube heater. In the embedding block humidification device according to claim 1,
The guide mechanism includes a storage unit that temporarily stores the water vapor, and a discharge mechanism that discharges the stored water vapor to the outside of the storage unit at a time,
An embedding block humidifying device characterized by guiding the released water vapor to the embedding block. The embedding block humidification device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A fixing base for mounting and fixing the embedded block;
Cutting that has a cutting blade arranged at a position spaced from the standby position, moves the fixed base between the standby position and the cutting blade, cuts the embedded block at a predetermined thickness, and cuts out a thin section Mechanism,
An automatic thin-section preparation apparatus, comprising: a thin-section transport mechanism that transports the cut-out thin section. In the automatic sliced piece preparation apparatus according to claim 7,
A position sensor for detecting whether or not the embedding block is located at the standby position;
An automatic thin section manufacturing apparatus comprising: a control unit that operates the water vapor generating mechanism when the position sensor detects that the embedded block is positioned at the standby position. In the automatic thin section preparation apparatus according to claim 7 or 8,
The automatic thin-section manufacturing apparatus, wherein the cutting mechanism moves the fixed base after a predetermined time has elapsed since the water vapor generating mechanism is activated. An automatic thin-section preparation apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
A block transport mechanism for transporting the embedded block onto the fixed table;
An extension mechanism that floats and extends at least the thin section conveyed by the thin section transport mechanism;
An automatic thin-section specimen preparation apparatus, comprising: a transfer mechanism that transfers the extended thin section onto a substrate to prepare a thin-section specimen.

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