JP2012021862A - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic analyzer with which the burden of an operator such as sample exchange work can be reduced and the supplementation of a sample container of an automatic analyzer is performed as needed and the collection and disposal of the used sample container can be performed.SOLUTION: In an automatic analyzer having a reaction container in which a sample and a reagent react with each other, first reagent storage means for storing a sample to be dispensed into the reaction container, second reagent storing means for providing the first reagent storing means with reagent and reagent transporting means for transporting reagent from the second reagent storing means to the first reagent storing means, a reagent disposal tray on which a plurality of reagents extracted from the first reagent storing means can be mounted.

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that performs qualitative and quantitative analysis of biological samples such as blood and urine, and more particularly, an automatic analyzer that includes a reagent container disposal mechanism for automatically collecting and discarding reagent containers outside the analyzer. About.

  An automatic analyzer that performs qualitative and quantitative analysis of biological samples such as blood and urine has a reagent container storage that stores multiple reagents corresponding to the analysis items on the device to enable measurement of multiple analysis items. It is common to provide.

  In the reagent container storage, the system administrator manages to store the reagents necessary for the day's analysis. In the unlikely event that a reagent shortage or bubbling of the reagent occurs during the analysis, the analysis is temporarily performed. It will be interrupted and the reagent will be replaced.

  The number of analysis items of an automatic analyzer is increasing, and in order to cope with analysis of many items, one reagent container is downsized and many reagent containers can be mounted. In this case, the possibility that the reagent is insufficient during the analysis is greater than that of the conventional apparatus. In addition, the possibility of reagent bubbling or bubbles mixing due to liquid fluctuation of the reagent increases.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic analyzer equipped with a mechanism capable of automatically adding a reagent to a reagent container storage.

  In order to reduce labor costs and the like, the operator is required to reduce work as much as possible, and simplification of reagent container replacement work is desired.

JP 2003-262642 A

  In the automatic analyzer described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to automatically add a reagent during analysis. However, a reagent container with a small amount of reagent remaining is collected and discarded in a single quantity. The reagent container could not be collected at once. It was necessary for the operator to collect and discard the reagent containers discharged to the reagent discharge port provided on the front surface of the apparatus one by one. In addition, it is necessary to collect a plurality of reagent bottles when a reagent container needs to be completely replaced due to a long-term leave of a clinical laboratory or hospital, or when checking a reagent storage. The workload associated with collection and disposal was heavy.

  Reducing the space and increasing the processing capacity of the automated analyzer increases the amount of reagent consumed per hour during analysis, and the reagent holding mechanism operates without interruption. Suspending the process causes a decrease in analysis throughput. For this reason, there is a growing need to automatically replace a plurality of reagents without stopping the analysis.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer having a mechanism for automatically exchanging reagents without stopping the analysis and a mechanism for collecting and discarding reagents.

    The configuration of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.

  A reaction container for reacting a sample and a reagent, a first reagent storage means for storing a reagent to be dispensed in the reaction container, a second reagent storage means for supplying a reagent to the first reagent storage means, An automatic analyzer comprising: a reagent transport unit configured to transport a reagent from a second reagent storage unit to the first reagent storage unit, wherein a plurality of reagents taken out from the first reagent storage unit can be placed An automatic analyzer having a reagent waste tray and a reagent container storage door.

  The automatic analyzer of the present invention can automatically supply the reagent to the analyzer without interrupting the analysis, and can collect and discard the reagent.

It is a top view of the automatic analyzer in the present invention. It is the external view with the opening-and-closing cover of the automatic analyzer in the present invention closed. It is a top view of the reagent container storage mechanism of the automatic analyzer in the present invention. It is an external view of the reagent container storage mechanism of the automatic analyzer in the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic view in which a reagent container holding lever is closed. FIG. 6 is a schematic view in which a reagent container holding lever is opened.

  FIG. 1 is a top view of the automatic analyzer of the present invention. A plurality of reaction vessels 3 are regularly arranged on the circumference of a reaction disk 2 that can rotate in one direction on the housing 1. A reagent disk 4 is disposed on the housing 1 so as to be rotatable in both directions, and a necessary reagent rotates in a direction close to the reagent probe 5. Each reagent probe 5 is connected to a reagent pump not shown in the figure. In the reagent disk 4, reagent containers 6 for storing a plurality of various reagents used for analysis can be placed on the entire circumference.

  A transport mechanism 8 for moving a rack 9 on which a sample container 7 is placed is installed near the reaction disk 2. A sample probe 10 that can rotate and move up and down is installed between the reaction vessel 3 and the transport mechanism 8. Each of the sample probes 10 is connected to a sample pump not shown in the figure. Around the reaction disk 2, a stirrer 11, a light source 12, a detection optical device 13, and a container cleaning mechanism 14 are arranged. The container cleaning mechanism 14 is connected to a cleaning pump not explicitly shown in the figure. Washing ports 15, 16, and 17 are installed in the operation ranges of the sample probe 10, the reagent probe 5, and the stirring device 11.

  A replenishment reagent storage 18 which is a reagent storage means for replenishment is installed on the housing 1. A plurality of reagent containers 6 can be mounted in the replenishment reagent storage 18. A reagent container transport arm 30 is arranged on the replenishing reagent storage 18 and the reagent disk 4. The reagent container transport arm 30 is provided with a reagent container holding means 19 and a reagent cap opening means 20 that are movable in three axial directions. A reagent container erection port 21 is installed in front of the replenishment reagent storage 18. A reader 22 is installed in the vicinity of the reagent container erection port 21 to read reagent information. A discard hole 26 for discarding the reagent cap is provided in the vicinity of the replenishing reagent storage 18. A reagent container storage mechanism 23 for collecting and discarding the used reagent container 6 is installed between the replenishing reagent storage 18 and the reagent disk 4. The reagent container storage mechanism 23 is provided with a reagent container storage tray 28 so that the user can pull it out.

  Sample pump, reagent pump, washing pump, detection optical device 13, reaction container 3, reagent disk 4, reagent probe 5, sample probe 10, reagent container holding means 19, reagent cap opening not shown in the figure The means 20 and the reading device 22 are connected to the controller 24, respectively.

  FIG. 2 shows an external view of the automatic analyzer according to the present invention covered with an opening / closing cover 31. The reagent container installation port 21 and the reagent container storage door 29 provided in the opening / closing cover 31 are areas accessible to the user. The opening / closing cover 31 cannot be opened in a state in which the mechanism unit in the analyzer is operating. The operation of each drive unit in the analyzer is checked, and the interlock 32 of the open / close cover 31 is released when the drive is off. The reagent container storage tray 28 is also checked for operation of the reagent container holding means 19 and the interlock of the reagent container storage tray 28 is released when it is off. In a state where the interlocks 40 and 41 are released, the reagent container storage door 29 can be opened and the reagent container storage tray 28 provided in the reagent container storage mechanism 23 can be pulled out.

  An analysis procedure will be described using this apparatus. Before starting the analysis, the equipment is first maintained. For maintenance, in addition to inspection of the detection optical device 13, cleaning of the reaction container 3, cleaning of various probes such as the sample probe 10, etc., the most important one is used for analysis in the reagent container 6 mounted on the reagent disk 4. This is a reagent check. Information on the reagent container 6 is stored in a control computer in which the reagent mounting position, lot, expiration date, reagent remaining amount, etc. in the reagent disk 4 are not clearly shown in the figure.

  The user checks the state of the reagent container 6 in the reagent disk 4 with a CRT or the like not explicitly shown in the figure. A reagent that has a small remaining amount of reagent and is likely to be lost during one day of analysis is set in the reagent container installation port 21. For the set reagent, the reagent information is read by the reading device 22 and conveyed to the replenishing reagent storage 18 by the reagent container holding means 19. The read reagent information and the loading position loaded in the replenishment reagent storage 18 are output to a control computer not shown in the figure. All of the reagents that are assumed to be insufficient are implemented by the above procedure.

  A sample container 7 is filled with a sample to be examined such as blood, urine, etc., placed on a rack 9 and carried by a transport mechanism 8. A sample collected by the sample probe 10 is dispensed into the reaction container 3 arranged in a certain amount on the reaction disk 2, and a certain amount of reagent is dispensed by the reagent probe 5 from the reagent container 6 installed on the reagent disk 4. Then, after stirring with the stirring device 11 and reacting for a certain period of time, the absorbance, spectrum, etc. of the reaction vessel 3 are measured by the detection optical device 13, and the measurement result is output to a control computer not explicitly shown in the figure. . If more measurement items are requested, the above sampling is repeated. Similarly, the process is repeated until sampling of the set measurement items is completed for all the samples on the rack 9.

  If the reagent in the reagent disk 4 is likely to run out of reagents during analysis, the reagent is replenished by the following procedure. Since the remaining amount of the reagent in the reagent disk 4 is stored by a control computer not explicitly shown in the figure, it is known in advance how many times the measurement will be insufficient. Further, the number of corresponding items requested by the apparatus is also stored by the control computer. Therefore, the reagent can be replenished before the reagent shortage occurs.

  Since the reagent for which the reagent replenishment request has been made is previously loaded in the replenishing reagent storage 18, it is loaded from the replenishing reagent storage 18 to the reagent disk 4 by the reagent container holding means 19. The reagent container holding means 19 takes out the requested reagent from the replenishment reagent storage 19 and installs it once at the reagent container erection position 25. The reagent information is read by the reading device 22, and it is confirmed whether or not it is the reagent. If the reagent is correct, the reagent cap opening means 20 opens the cap of the reagent container 6. The opened cap is discarded in the disposal port 26. Further, the reagent disk 4 is rotated, and the designated arrangement position is set on the reagent loading port 27 to stand by. The opened reagent container 6 is carried to the reagent loading port 27 by the reagent container holding means 19 and loaded on the reagent disk 4.

  The replenished reagent container 6 is used when the apparatus determines that a reagent that is likely to cause a reagent shortage is insufficient. The lack of reagent in the apparatus judgment does not mean that there is really no reagent, but it means that normal analysis may not be possible if the reagent is used any more. Actually, a small amount of reagent remains in the reagent container 6. .

  On the other hand, the used reagent container 6 is ejected from the reagent disk 4 by the reagent container holding means 19 at the timing of loading the replenishing reagent, transported to the reagent container storage mechanism 23, and discarded by the user.

  Further, after the reagent container 6 determined to be unusable by the reagent information reading device 22 is installed in the reagent container storage 19, it is controlled by bubbling of the liquid surface due to the liquid fluctuation of the reagent or mixing of bubbles in the reagent. The reagent container 6 determined to be unusable by the computer is discharged by the reagent container holding means 19 and conveyed to the reagent container storage mechanism 23.

  A procedure for discharging the reagent container 6 that has been determined to be empty or unusable in the reagent disk 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. The reagent disk 4 is rotated, and the empty reagent container 4 is put on the reagent loading port 27 and waits. The reagent container holding means 19 takes out the reagent container 6 from the reagent loading port 27 and moves to the reagent container storage installation position 36 of the reagent container storage mechanism 23. The reagent container storage mechanism 23 has two or more lanes 231 and 232. The emptied reagent container 6 is discharged preferentially from the reagent container installation position 361. When a predetermined amount of the reagent container 6 is discharged to the lane 231, the reagent container 6 is then discharged to the reagent container installation position 362. On the other hand, the reagent container 6 determined to be unusable is preferentially discharged from the reagent container installation position 362 to the lane 232. As described above, the operator 23 can easily identify the reagent container 6 determined to be unusable by classifying the reagent container installation positions 361 and 362 provided in the reagent container storage mechanism and switching the lanes 231 and 232 to be discharged. Is possible. The reagent container storage mechanism 23 detects that the reagent container 6 is mounted, and performs a recovery operation of the reagent container 6 by the reagent container storage arm 33. The reagent container storage mechanism 23 is provided with a sensor 38 for detecting the reagent container 6, counts the number of collected reagent containers 6, and inputs the number of collected reagent containers to the control computer 24.

  FIG. 4 shows an external view of the reagent container storage mechanism 23. The reagent container storage mechanism 23 is provided with a linear motion guide 37. When the used reagent container 6 collects the reagent container 6 determined to be unusable at the request of the user, the reagent container storage tray 28 can be pulled out with the handle 35. The reagent container storage mechanism 23 is provided with a reagent container holding lever 34. When the user pulls out the reagent container storage tray 28, the reagent container 6 can be prevented from being overturned by pressing the reagent container 6 from the upper surface.

  FIG. 5 shows an external view of the reagent container holding lever 34. FIG. 5A shows a schematic diagram in which the reagent container holding lever 34 is closed, and FIG. 5B shows a schematic diagram in which the reagent container holding lever 34 is opened. By the reaction force of the torsion spring 39, the reagent container holding lever 34 can be opened and closed to prevent the reagent container 6 from falling. The user can remove the reagent container 6 placed on the reagent container collection tray 28 by opening the reagent container holding lever 34, collect it when necessary, and discard it.

  As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the analytical reagent storage means, the supplementary reagent storage means, the reagent container holding means, and the reagent container recovery means are provided to reduce the burden on the user due to reagent management. At the same time, analysis interruption due to reagent registration and replacement can be minimized, many reagents can be loaded, and automatic analysis with high processing capacity per hour can be performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Reaction disk 3 Reaction container 4 Reagent disk 5 Reagent probe 6 Reagent container 7 Specimen container 8 Conveyance mechanism 9 Rack 10 Specimen probe 11 Stirring device 12 Light source 13 Detection optical device 14 Container washing mechanism 15 Washing tank (reagent probe)
16 Washing tank (specimen probe)
17 Washing tank (stirring device)
18 Reagent storage 19 Reagent container holding means 20 Reagent cap opening means 21 Reagent container installation port 22 Reading device 23 Reagent container storage mechanism 24 Controller 25 Reagent container installation position 26 Disposal port 27 Reagent loading port 28 Reagent container storage tray 29 Reagent container storage door 30 Reagent container transfer arm 31 Open / close cover 32 Interlock (open / close cover)
33 Reagent container storage arm 34 Reagent container holding lever 35 Handle 36 Reagent container storage installation position 37 Linear motion guide 38 Detection sensor 39 Torsion spring 40 Interlock (open / close door)
41 Interlock (reagent container tray)

Claims (9)

A reaction vessel for reacting the sample and the reagent;
First reagent storage means for storing a reagent to be dispensed into the reaction container;
Second reagent storage means for supplying a reagent to the first reagent storage means;
Reagent transport means for transporting a reagent from the second reagent storage means to the first reagent storage means;
An automatic analyzer equipped with
An automatic analyzer comprising a reagent disposal tray on which a plurality of reagents taken out from the first reagent storage means can be placed. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the reagent waste tray is provided on the reagent transport path of the reagent transport means and between the first reagent storage means and the second reagent storage means. . The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The reagent transporting means includes a reagent container holding means for holding a reagent container, and a rail for moving the reagent container holding means on a predetermined path, and the reagent container holding means opens a plug of the reagent container. An automatic analyzer characterized by having an opening mechanism. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The reagent waste tray includes a plurality of reagent collection lanes,
An automatic analyzer comprising a mechanism for switching and sorting and collecting reagent container discharge lanes based on reagent information obtained from a control computer. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the reagent waste tray is provided with a mechanism for taking it out of the automatic analyzer through an opening having an openable / closable lid. The automatic analyzer according to claim 5, wherein
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the openable / closable lid includes an interlock mechanism that can be opened when the mechanism of the automatic analyzer is not operating. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the reagent waste tray is provided with an interlock mechanism that allows the reagent waste tray to be taken out of the automatic analyzer when the operation of the reagent transporting unit is stopped. In the automatic analyzer in any one of Claims 1-7,
2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the reagent waste tray has a control lever for preventing the reagent container from falling. The automatic analyzer according to claim 8,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the holding lever includes a reagent container pressing member that is rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the upper side of the reagent container.

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