JP2014044049A - Analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an analyzer that can appropriately process analysis of a sample even when a chip for analytical use is fitted in a somewhat misaligned state.SOLUTION: An analyzer provided with a chip fitting part 23 to which a chip 1 for analytical use having at least one reaction chamber 12 for causing a coloring reaction to occur between a sample 3 and a reagent 13 is further provided with an area image sensor 25 capable of shooting a greater range than the reaction chamber 12. As data of images shot by the area image sensor 25, data of a main image collectively shot to include the part of coloring reaction and its peripheries can be obtained, and a data processor 28 singles out image data of the part of coloring reaction, and executes an arithmetic operation of concentration on the basis of the singled-out image data.

Description

  The present invention relates to an analyzer used for analyzing a desired sample such as blood.

Examples of conventional analyzers include those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. In this conventional analyzer, an analysis chip is used. For example, the analysis chip has a reaction chamber in which a predetermined reagent is applied to the inner surface. When a sample such as blood is supplied to the reaction chamber, the sample and the reagent are mixed and presented. Causes a color reaction. By examining the optical characteristics (for example, absorbance) of the color reaction portion, it is possible to determine the concentration of the specific component of the sample.
The conventional analyzer has a chip mounting part for mounting an analysis chip and an optical system for inspecting the optical characteristics of the color reaction part in the reaction chamber. This optical system has a light source for irradiating light to the reaction chamber and a light receiving portion for receiving light transmitted through the reaction chamber (although it may receive reflected light from the reflection chamber). , The following is omitted). The light receiving unit is configured using, for example, a photodiode, and outputs a signal having a level corresponding to the amount of received light. Based on this output signal, it is possible to determine the absorbance of the color reaction portion generated in the reaction chamber.

  However, in the past, as described below, there is still room for improvement.

That is, in the conventional analyzer, the light emitted from the light source toward the analysis chip is narrowed down using an optical lens or an optical aperture, and the light beam diameter is substantially equal to the diameter of the reaction chamber of the analysis chip. It is the same or smaller. The light receiving unit receives the light transmitted through the reaction chamber in such a narrowed state so as to output a signal corresponding to the amount of light received.
According to such a configuration, when the analysis chip is mounted on the chip mounting portion of the analysis device, the reaction chamber of the analysis chip is located in the optical path from the light source of the analysis device to the light receiving portion. Thus, it is necessary to accurately position the analysis chip at a predetermined position. If the analysis chip mounting position is deviated, the light emitted from the light source cannot be properly transmitted through the reaction chamber and reach the light receiving unit. This not only increases the analysis error, but also makes the analysis process itself difficult.
When a plurality of reaction chambers are provided on the analysis chip, it is necessary to provide a drive mechanism for moving the light source and the light receiving unit to locations corresponding to the plurality of reaction chambers. Alternatively, it is necessary to provide a plurality of optical systems corresponding to the plurality of reaction chambers. However, if such a means is adopted, the structure becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost of the entire analyzer increases. Further, the drive mechanism described above is prone to failure, and its maintenance is troublesome.

On the other hand, when a color reaction between the sample and the reagent is caused in the reaction chamber of the analysis chip, bubbles may be mixed in this portion. In some cases, dust may be mixed. Since these bubbles and dusts have different light transmittances from the normal color reaction parts of the sample and reagent, it is necessary to exclude the adverse effects of bubbles and dusts in order to improve the analysis accuracy of the sample. There is.
As a means for this, Patent Document 2 discloses that light emitted from a light source is narrowed down to a considerably smaller diameter than the reaction chamber, and the irradiation position of the light is moved, so that a plurality of light irradiation regions of the reaction chamber are obtained. Means for measuring absorbance are disclosed. This means excludes a region where the absorbance is considered to be abnormal among a plurality of light irradiation regions in the reaction chamber as a region where bubbles exist.
However, with such means, it is difficult to appropriately detect and exclude small bubbles. In addition, even if the bubble has a relatively large size, if the bubble exists across a plurality of light irradiation regions, for example, the light irradiation region including the bubble may not be excluded. There is a possibility that the absorptance of the region where there is is measured. Further, in the above-mentioned means, the absorbance is only partially calculated for a plurality of light irradiation regions with a small diameter in the reaction chamber, and the absorbance for the substantially entire reaction chamber is targeted. The calculation process is not performed. For this reason, according to the above-described means, there is still a room for improvement in terms of measurement error being relatively large and improving analysis accuracy.

JP 2011-021918 A JP 2010-276443 A

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances as described above, and it is possible to analyze a sample even when the analysis chip is mounted on the chip mounting portion with a slight displacement. An object of the present invention is to provide an analyzer that can appropriately perform the processing. In addition, even when a situation where bubbles or the like are mixed in the color reaction part is appropriately removed, and to provide an analyzer capable of performing analysis processing with high accuracy, As other issues.

  An analyzer provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a chip mounting portion on which an analysis chip provided with at least one reaction chamber for causing a color reaction between a sample and a reagent is mounted; An optical system for inspecting the optical characteristics of the color reaction portion when the color reaction is caused in the reaction chamber, and data in the sample based on data obtained using the optical system. A data processing unit that executes a concentration calculation process for a specific component, wherein the optical system includes an area image sensor that can capture a wider area than the reaction chamber. It is possible to obtain data of a main image in which the color reaction portion and its peripheral region are collectively imaged as data of a captured image by a sensor, and the data processing unit Elected data of an image of the color reaction portion from the motor, and is characterized by being configured to execute the density arithmetic processing based on the selected data.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to appropriately execute the concentration calculation process of the sample based on the image data of the color reaction portion selected from the data of the main image. In addition to this, the following special effects can also be obtained.
That is, in the present invention, an area image sensor capable of imaging a wider area than the reaction chamber of the analysis chip is used as means for inspecting the optical characteristics of the color reaction part. The image data of the color reaction part is selected from the data of the color reaction part imaged in a lump and the image data of the surrounding area. For this reason, when the analysis chip is mounted on the chip mounting portion, as long as the reaction chamber is located within the imageable range of the area image sensor, the color reaction portion is appropriately captured, and the image data is captured. It is possible to obtain. Even if the analysis chip is slightly displaced from the original mounting position of the chip mounting part, it is possible to obtain image data of the color reaction part without causing any particular problems. It is. For this reason, according to the present invention, even when the analysis chip is not accurately positioned at a predetermined position of the chip mounting portion, it is possible to appropriately perform the analysis process.
In the present invention, as a result of obtaining the effects as described above, the positioning structure of the analysis chip can be simplified. For this reason, the manufacturing cost of the analyzer can be reduced.
Furthermore, in the present invention, since the state of the color reaction part can be grasped two-dimensionally, it is possible to analyze only the same reaction speed part, for example, to perform a counting process of blood cells in a blood sample.

  In the present invention, preferably, when an analysis chip having a plurality of reaction chambers is used, the area image sensor includes a plurality of color reaction portions in each of the plurality of reaction chambers. It is possible to image together with the area, and the data processing unit individually selects image data of the plurality of color reaction portions from the data of the main image, and for the density calculation processing, It is possible to carry out individually corresponding to each of the color reaction portions.

  According to such a configuration, when an analysis chip having a plurality of reaction chambers is used and a color reaction between the sample and the reagent is caused in each of the plurality of reaction chambers, The color reaction portions of the image can be collectively imaged by the area image sensor, and the density calculation processing corresponding to each color reaction can be performed individually. Since it is not necessary to individually image a plurality of color reaction portions one by one, rapid processing is possible. Further, since the area image sensor may remain fixed, it is not necessary to provide a drive mechanism for moving the area image sensor. Furthermore, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of optical systems. Therefore, simplification of the overall structure and reduction of manufacturing costs can be achieved more suitably.

  In the present invention, preferably, as image data of the image captured by the area image sensor, data of sub-images in which the reaction chamber and its peripheral region are collectively imaged before the sample is supplied to the reaction chamber. The data processing unit executes a process of specifying the position of the image data in the reaction chamber in the sub-image data, and the color reaction from the main image data. The process of selecting the partial image data is performed by selecting, from the main image data, data that matches the position of the reaction chamber image data in the sub-image data. Yes.

  According to such a configuration, for example, there is no great difference in optical characteristics between the color reaction portion and the peripheral region, and it is much easier to select the image data of the color reaction portion only with the data of the main image. Even if this is not the case, by selecting the position of the reaction chamber in advance using the sub-image data, it is possible to easily and accurately select the image data of the color reaction part. Become.

  The analyzer provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a chip mounting portion on which an analysis chip provided with at least one reaction chamber for causing a color reaction between a sample and a reagent is mounted; An optical system for inspecting the optical characteristics of the color reaction portion when the color reaction is caused in the reaction chamber, and data in the sample based on data obtained using the optical system. A data processing unit that executes a concentration calculation process of a specific component, wherein the optical system includes an area image sensor that can collectively image at least approximately the entire reaction chamber, As the imaged image data obtained by the area image sensor, it is possible to obtain image data of the color reaction part in which substantially the entire color reaction part is imaged collectively, and the data processing unit color Detecting image data with abnormal optical characteristics in the image data of the response portion, and removing the detected abnormal image data from the color reaction portion image data, to the remaining data Based on this, the density calculation processing is executed.

According to such a configuration, the image data of bubbles and dusts is appropriate because the image data of abnormal optical characteristics is detected and excluded from the image data of the color reaction part. Excluded. It is possible to appropriately detect and remove these images even when the size of these bubbles and dusts is large, and even when they are quite small. It is also possible to detect abnormal color unevenness image data. The density calculation process is performed based on the remaining data after the image data with abnormal optical characteristics such as bubbles and dusts are excluded from the basic image data. It is the data of the picked-up image of the substantially whole area of a color reaction part. Moreover, as described above, abnormal image data such as bubbles and dusts are appropriately excluded. Therefore, the analytical measurement error of the sample can be reduced and the analysis accuracy can be increased.
Moreover, according to the said structure, it is not necessary to move an optical system using a drive mechanism similarly to the analyzer provided by the 1st side surface of this invention. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the size of the analyzer and reduce the manufacturing cost, and to facilitate maintenance. Since the state of the color reaction portion can be grasped in two dimensions, it is possible to analyze only the same reaction rate portion and to measure, for example, the number of blood cells in the blood sample.

  Preferably, the analyzer according to the present invention has a characteristic configuration of the analyzer provided by the first aspect of the present invention and a characteristic configuration of the analyzer provided by the second aspect of the present invention. The contents can be combined.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the processing for detecting the abnormal image data is performed by binarizing the image of the color reaction portion, so that an optical characteristic of the image data of the color reaction portion is included. Is designed to clarify the contour of the abnormal image region and to consider the image data of the contour and the inner region as the abnormal image data.

  According to such a configuration, image data of a region where bubbles or dusts exist or a region where abnormal color unevenness is present is appropriately detected by simple data processing. be able to.

  In the present invention, preferably, the optical system includes a light source capable of irradiating light toward the reaction chamber of the analysis chip and its peripheral region.

According to such a configuration, the light from the light source can be used as illumination light, and the reaction chamber of the analysis chip and its peripheral region can be appropriately imaged by the area image sensor.
In the present invention, the light reaching the area image sensor from the light source may be either transmitted light or reflected light of the analysis chip.

  In the present invention, preferably, the area image sensor and the light source are provided in an arrangement sandwiching the chip mounting unit, and the data processing unit is not mounted with the analysis chip on the chip mounting unit, In the state where the light emitted from the light source is received by the area image sensor, when the amount of light received by the area image sensor is reduced by a predetermined width or more, the analysis chip is mounted on the chip mounting portion. It is comprised so that it may be judged.

  According to such a configuration, when the analysis chip is mounted on the chip mounting portion and the light traveling from the light source toward the area image sensor is blocked by the analysis chip, this is appropriately detected. be able to. Therefore, there is no need to separately provide a dedicated switch or sensor for detecting that the analysis chip is mounted, which is reasonable.

  In the present invention, preferably, a plurality of LED light sources that emit light having different center wavelengths are used as the light source, and lighting driving of the plurality of LED light sources can be individually switched, and the area image sensor is It is for monochrome image capturing.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to appropriately select light having a center wavelength suitable for inspecting the optical characteristics of the color reaction portion from light emitted from a plurality of LED light sources. On the other hand, since the area image sensor is for monochrome image capturing, it is possible to appropriately obtain captured image data for the color reaction portion regardless of which of the plurality of LED light sources described above is selected. it can.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the brightness of the image captured by the area image sensor can be changed by controlling the lighting drive time of the light source.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to easily set the brightness of the captured image by the area image sensor to a brightness that is optimal or close to optimal for the analysis processing of the sample.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the analyzer which concerns on this invention. (A) is a top view which shows an example of the chip | tip for analysis used with the analyzer shown in FIG. 1, (b) is IIb-IIb sectional drawing of (a). It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation processing procedure of the data processing part of the analyzer shown in FIG. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows typically the example of the area | region imaged by the area image sensor of the analyzer shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the example of the captured image by an area image sensor typically. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the pixel of the row | line | column L1 of the image shown in FIG. 5, and its signal level. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement process procedure which specifies the reaction chamber in the picked-up image by an area image sensor. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence which excludes abnormal data, such as a bubble, from the picked-up image by an area image sensor. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the captured image containing a bubble typically. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows typically the example of the binarization process image of the captured image shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which excludes abnormal data from the image shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the difference in the light absorbency when not excluding abnormal data, such as a bubble, from the data of the image of a color reaction part. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the example of the histogram of the data of the image of a color reaction part.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

The analysis apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 is used for the purpose of analyzing the sample 3 using the analysis chip 1. As the sample 3, for example, blood is used. However, as will be described later, the type of the sample is not limited to this.

  For ease of understanding, the structure of the analysis chip 1 will be described first with reference to FIG. However, the basic structure of the analysis chip 1 can be the same as that of a conventionally known one (described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above). Therefore, the configuration will be briefly described.

  The analysis chip 1 is a disposable type and has a plurality of reaction chambers 12. Each reaction chamber 12 is provided with a color reaction reagent 13. When the sample 3 is supplied to each reaction chamber 12, a color reaction between the sample 3 and the reagent 13 occurs. The degree of the color reaction corresponds to the concentration of the specific component in the sample 3. Therefore, the concentration of the specific component in the sample 3 can be obtained based on the optical characteristics of the color reaction. In the drawing, an example in which four reaction chambers 12 are provided is shown, and it is possible to collectively perform inspection of four items for the sample 3. However, the number of reaction chambers 12 is not limited to this. Of the plurality of reaction chambers 12, for example, one reaction chamber 12 is a reference reaction chamber in which no reagent 13 is arranged, and the sample 3 is optically coupled with no color reaction. It can also be set as the structure which can test | inspect a characteristic.

  The analysis chip 1 is configured by laminating transparent sheet bodies 10a to 10c and a light shielding cover 14, and the plurality of reaction chambers 12 are formed in a circular shape in a plan view, for example. On the upper surface portion of the analysis chip 1, a reservoir portion 15 that communicates with a plurality of reaction chambers 12 via a plurality of flow paths 11 is provided. When the sample 3 is dropped into the opening 15a of the reservoir unit 15 and the cap 16 is attached to the reservoir unit 15 and the cap 16 is pressed and deformed, the sample 3 is transferred from the flow path 11 to the plurality of reaction chambers 12. Branch and flow. Then, the color reaction between the sample 3 and the reagent 13 starts. The end of the flow path 11 is formed as an air vent hole 11a. This hole portion 11a is useful for allowing the air in the flow path 11 to escape to the outside when the sample 3 is supplied from the reservoir portion 15 to each reaction chamber 12 and smoothing the flow of the sample 3.

  The light shielding cover 14 is a black light-impermeable film, for example. An opening 14 a is provided in a portion corresponding to the position directly above each reaction chamber 12 in the light shielding cover 14. Imaging of the reaction chamber 12 by the area image sensor 25 described later is performed from above through the opening 14a. The opening 14 a has a circular shape similar to that of the reaction chamber 12, and the diameter thereof is the same as or slightly smaller than the diameter of the reaction chamber 12.

  The analysis chip 1 is provided with a two-dimensional code 17. The two-dimensional code 17 displays information such as measurement items to be executed using the analysis chip 1. The analyzer A may be provided with a code reader for reading the information of the two-dimensional code 17, but preferably, the information can be read using an area image sensor 25 described later instead of such a configuration. It is said.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the analyzing apparatus A includes a chip mounting portion 23 for mounting the analysis chip 1, an optical system OP having a light source 21 and an area image sensor 25, a data processing unit 28, and a housing for housing these. A body 20 is provided.

  The chip mounting part 23 is configured by opening an insertion port 23c on the side surface of the housing 20, and when the analysis chip 1 is inserted into the insertion port 23c, the analysis chip 1 is stabilized. There is a mounting table 23a for fixing and mounting. Preferably, the mounting table 23a is provided with a temperature adjusting heater 23b so that the temperature at which the color reaction between the sample 3 and the reagent 13 is caused can be maintained within a predetermined temperature range.

  The light sources 21 (21a to 21e) are, for example, LED light sources, and are provided below the chip mounting portion 23. The light sources 21a to 21e have different center wavelengths of light. The center wavelengths of light emitted from the light sources 21a to 21e are, for example, 405 nm, 450 nm, 535 nm, 630 nm, and 810 nm. The light sources 21a to 21e can be individually lit and driven, and light having an appropriate center wavelength is selected according to the color reaction when the sample 3 is analyzed. Note that the wavelength can be switched by using a shutter mechanism capable of individually blocking light emitted from each of the light sources 21a to 21e, for example, instead of individually lighting the light sources 21a to 21e. The light emitted from the light source 21 is diffused through the light scattering plate 22 and then irradiated to the plurality of reaction chambers 12 and the peripheral region of the analysis chip 1 from the lower side thereof substantially uniformly. The outside light is prevented from entering the housing 20 where the optical system OP is provided.

  The area image sensor 25 is a CCD image sensor for capturing a monochrome image having about 3 million pixels, for example. As the area image sensor 25, a conventionally known one can be used, and the details thereof are omitted. However, the image data signal output from the area image sensor 25 is a set of a large number of pixel signals. The greater the amount of light received, the higher the signal level (voltage signal level). The imageable range of the area image sensor 25 is set to be wider than the area where the plurality of reaction chambers 12 of the analysis chip 1 are provided. For this reason, the area image sensor 25 can collectively image the plurality of reaction chambers 12 and their peripheral regions when imaging is performed with the analysis chip 1 mounted on the chip mounting unit 23. Since the light received by the area image sensor 25 is light emitted from the light source 21 and transmitted through the analysis chip 1, a predetermined part of the analysis chip 1 is based on the signal level of the image captured by the area image sensor 25. It is possible to measure the absorbance.

  The light source 21 can change its lighting drive time in a plurality of stages. On the other hand, the area image sensor 25 has a charge accumulation function for each of the plurality of light receiving portions provided on the imaging surface, and outputs an image data signal at a level corresponding to the accumulated charge amount. . For this reason, as the captured image by the area image sensor 25, a dark captured image is obtained when the lighting drive time of the light source 21 is short, while a bright captured image is obtained when the lighting drive time of the light source 21 is long. It is done. Since the color of the color reaction portion between the sample 3 and the reagent 13 and the brightness thereof are not uniform, the light source 21 of the light source 21 is obtained so that an image having an optimum brightness for obtaining the absorbance of the color reaction portion can be obtained. The lighting drive time is controlled. Alternatively, after imaging a plurality of images having different brightness, an image that is determined to be optimal is selected from them, and the absorbance is obtained based on the selected image.

  The analog image data signal output from the area image sensor 25 is amplified by the amplification unit 26, converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion unit 27, and then input to the data processing unit 28.

  The data processing unit 25 is configured using, for example, a microcomputer, and includes a storage unit 25a for storing data of an image captured by the area image sensor 25. The data processing unit 25 functions as a control unit that performs operation control of each unit of the analysis apparatus A. In addition to this, the data processing unit 25 performs data processing for performing analysis of the sample 3 appropriately and with high accuracy. However, the specific content will be described later.

A printer 70, a display unit 71, and an operation unit 72 are connected to the data processing unit 25. The printer 70 and the display unit 71 are for outputting the analysis result data calculated by the data processing unit 25. In connection with the analysis result data, the sample 3 provider (patient), the measurement item, Other data such as measurement conditions are also output as appropriate. The display unit 71 is configured using, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL panel. The operation unit 72 includes a power switch and other operation switches, and is used for control commands and data input to the data processing unit 28. The printer 70, the display unit 71, and the operation unit 72 may be configured to be externally attached to the analyzer A.

  Next, the operation of the analyzer A will be described. In addition, an example of an operation processing procedure of the data processing unit 28 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[Outline of operation process until analysis process is completed]
First, when a predetermined operation is performed in the operation unit 72 in a state where the analysis chip 1 is not mounted on the chip mounting unit 23, the light source 21 is driven to light and the area image sensor 25 is also started to be driven (S1: YES, S2). At this time, the area image sensor 25 only images the transparent mounting table 23a and its lower region, and the captured image has a large amount of light received from the light source 21, so that the entire image is nearly white. is there.

  When the analysis chip 1 is mounted on the chip mounting portion 23, the light emitted from the light source 21 is blocked by the light shielding cover 14 of the analysis chip 1. As a result, the amount of light received by the area image sensor 25 decreases with a large width that is greater than or equal to a predetermined width, and the level of the image data signal output from the area image sensor 25 is greatly reduced. Then, the data processing unit 28 determines that the analysis chip 1 is mounted on the chip mounting unit 23 at that time (S3: YES, S4). The drive of the area image sensor 25 up to this point is a drive for determining whether or not the analysis chip 1 is mounted on the chip mounting unit 23, and thus it is necessary to switch and drive the light sources 21a to 21e one by one. Alternatively, only one of the light sources 21a to 21e may be driven to light. Further, the sample 3 is not yet supplied to the reaction chamber 12 of the analysis chip 1.

  The area image sensor 25 performs an imaging operation even after the analysis chip 1 is mounted on the chip mounting unit 23, and as shown in FIG. 4A, the area image sensor 25 includes a plurality of reaction chambers 12 in the analysis chip 1. Data of the sub-image Ia obtained by collectively capturing all and the peripheral area is acquired (S5). In this figure, since the periphery of a part of the analysis chip 1 is also within the imaging range, the outline of the analysis chip 1 can be determined. May not be included in the imaging range.

  The peripheral region of each reaction chamber 12 is a black light-shielding cover 14, whereas each reaction chamber 12 is a portion having translucency although having a reagent 13 therein. The data processor 28 specifies the position of each reaction chamber 12 in the data of the sub-image Ia using the difference in translucency between each reaction chamber 12 and its surrounding area (S6). The details will be described later. Since the sample 3 is not yet supplied to each reaction chamber 12 at the timing of capturing the sub-image Ia, the difference in translucency between each reaction chamber 12 and its peripheral region is considerably large. It is preferable to specify. Even when the sub-image Ia is captured, only one of the light sources 21a to 21e may be driven to light. In the present embodiment, the image data of the two-dimensional code 17 is also included in the data of the sub image Ia, and this data is read and processed by the data processing unit 28.

Thereafter, when the sample 3 is supplied to each reaction chamber 12, the sample 3 and the reagent 13 are mixed in each reaction chamber 12 to cause a color reaction. Even in the state where the color reaction has occurred, the area image sensor 25 captures an image. As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, data of the main image Ib obtained by collectively capturing all of the color reaction portion 12a (reaction chamber 12) and its peripheral region is acquired (S7: YES). , S8). The main image Ib and the sub-image Ia have the same imaging range, and are different only in whether or not they are images that cause a color reaction in each reaction chamber 12. The determination as to whether or not the sample 3 has been supplied to each reaction chamber 12 (S7) can be made to determine by the data processing unit 28 based on the change in the captured image of each reaction chamber 12. Of course, different from this, a means for causing the data processor 28 to input data to that effect by performing a specific switch operation by the user may be adopted.

  After capturing the main image Ib, the data processing unit 28 selects image data of each color reaction portion 12a from the image data (S9). This selection process is performed by selecting, from the data of the main image Ib, data having the same position as the image data of each reaction chamber 12 specified in step S6. In the data of the main image Ib, there is a possibility that the brightness difference between each color reaction portion 12a and the surrounding area may be small, and the process of accurately specifying the position of each color reaction portion 12a becomes complicated. According to the processing method of the present embodiment, such a problem is solved.

  Next, the data processing unit 28 executes processing for removing abnormal data such as bubble image data from the image data of the color reaction portion 12a (S10). Details of this process will be described later. The data processing unit 28 calculates the concentration of the specific component of the sample 3 based on the remaining data after eliminating the abnormal data from the image data of the color reaction portion 12a (S11). This calculation process is performed by first obtaining the absorbance of the color reaction portion 12a and then comparing the absorbance with the data of the calibration curve stored in the storage unit 28a. The calculation result data is output using the display unit 71 or the printer 70 (S12).

[Position identification processing of each reaction chamber 12]
Of the above-described series of operation procedures, the position specifying process of each reaction chamber 12 in step S6 is executed using, for example, the following method.

First, an image Ia ′ shown in FIG. 5 schematically shows a part of the sub-image Ia (images of the two reaction chambers 12 and the surrounding area), and is an aggregate of a plurality of pixels 40. (Each of the fine cells enclosed by the grid in FIG. 5 is a pixel 40). In FIG. 6, the signal level of each pixel 40 in the column L1 is as shown in FIG. In the figure, the level of the signal level is indicated by a “count value”. This “count value” is a numerical value that represents the level of the analog signal output from the area image sensor 25 according to a certain rule ( This is a digitized value. The larger the count value, the higher the signal level of the pixel 40 (the pixel 40 is brighter).
In FIG. 6, among the plurality of pixels 40 in the column L1, the signal level of the pixels 40 located between the pixels 40a and 40b corresponding to the region of the reaction chamber 12 and between the pixels 40c and 40d is high, and the other pixels The signal level of 40 is low. This is because the reaction chamber 12 has translucency, whereas the light shielding cover 14 is located in the peripheral region of the reaction chamber 12.

The data processing unit 28 performs an operation process as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 under the above situation.
That is, after taking in the data of the sub-image Ia, the data processing unit 28 sets a predetermined count value (for example, the count value “100,000” in FIG. 6) as the threshold value TH1, and sets the plurality of pixels 40. Pixel data having a signal level exceeding the threshold value TH1 is selected from the data (S20, S21). As a result, pixel data having a large amount of received light is selected. Next, the data processing unit 28 obtains the average value or median value of the signal levels of the pixel data thus selected, and then sets a divergence range (dispersion range) based on the average value or median value. A set of pixel data within the deviation range is provisionally determined to be image data of the reaction chamber 12 (S22, S23).

Thereafter, the validity of the provisional determination is determined (S24). In this determination, for example, it is determined whether or not the size and position of the data temporarily determined to be the image data of the reaction chamber 12 are not greatly deviated from a predetermined range. Is apparently abnormal, it is determined that the data is not image data of the reaction chamber 12 (S24: NO, S27). Thereby, for example, it is avoided that the air vent hole 11a of the analysis chip 1 and the area around the analysis chip 1 are erroneously determined to be the reaction chamber 12. If it is determined that the provisional determination is valid, the determination is confirmed, and the position of the image data of the reaction chamber 12 is stored in the storage unit 28a (S24: YES, S25). The above-described process is repeatedly executed until all the data of the sub-image Ia is completed (S26). For this reason, each position of the plurality of reaction chambers 12 is appropriately specified.

[Abnormal data exclusion processing such as bubbles]
The process of excluding abnormal data such as bubbles in step S10 in FIG. 3 is performed in the following procedure, for example. This procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows an image Ic of the color reaction portion 12a (the image selected in step S9 in FIG. 3, more precisely, a part of the image). This image Ic includes an image of bubbles. 5 is included. When bubbles are mixed in the color reaction portion 12, the peripheral portion of the bubbles reflects the light traveling from the light source 21 with a high reflectance. Accordingly, in the image Ic, the peripheral portion of the bubble image 5 becomes an image darker than the image region 12a ′ of the normal color reaction portion. On the other hand, the portion near the center of the bubble has a characteristic of transmitting much light traveling from the light source 21, and the portion near the center of the bubble image 5 is a so-called white-out image. Therefore, it is not preferable that the bubble image 5 is included in the image Ic in order to accurately obtain the absorbance of the color reaction portion 12a.

  The data processing unit 28 first executes binarization processing of the image Ic of the color reaction portion 12a (S30). In this binarization processing, pixels with a signal level exceeding a predetermined threshold are set to white, and pixels with a signal level below the threshold are set to black. By this binarization processing, a binarized image is obtained in which only the outline of the bubble image 5 is black and the other areas are white, as in an image Id shown in FIG. However, only with such binarization processing, there is a possibility that the outline does not appear in a beautiful ring shape, for example, the outline of the bubble image 5 becomes notched. Therefore, the data processing unit 28 further executes a filtering process of the binarized image data (S31). This filtering process is a process of correcting image data so that the contour line becomes a continuous ring shape when the contour line of the bubble 5 has a notch shape, for example. As a result, the outline of the bubble image 5 is clarified as in the image Id ′ shown in FIG.

  Next, the data processing unit 28 performs a labeling process (S32). This labeling process is a process of detecting the contour line of the bubble image 5 and the region surrounded by the contour line in the image Id ′ after the filtering process and specifying the position and size thereof. Regions AR1 and AR2 surrounded by a rectangle in FIG. 10B are regions identified as the bubble image 5 by such labeling processing. In the labeling process, preferably, the areas AR1 and AR2 are specified so as to be slightly larger than the actual size of the bubble image 5. In this way, it is possible to improve the reliability of removing the data of the bubble image 5 almost completely.

An image of relatively small bubbles is not an image having a ring-shaped outline when the above-described binarization processing or filter processing is performed, but is a minute black dot-shaped image. The same applies to dust images having low translucency. However, since the image of such minute bubbles and dusts becomes a minute black dot shape and its existence is clarified as noise in the binarized image, the labeling process is also as described above. Like the bubble image 5, it is detected as abnormal data, and its position is specified. Furthermore, when extreme color unevenness occurs in the reaction colored portion 12a, the image data of the uneven color portion can be processed as abnormal data.

  When the presence of an abnormal image such as the bubble image 5 is confirmed as a result of the above series of processing, as shown in FIG. 11, the abnormal data areas AR1 and AR2 specified by the labeling processing are An image Ic ′ excluded from the original image Ic for the color reaction portion 12 is obtained (S33: YES, S34). The absorbance of the color reaction portion 12a is obtained based on the data of the image Ic ′. As a specific method for obtaining the absorbance, a method of calculating an average value of signal levels of a plurality of pixels constituting the image Ic ′ and obtaining the absorbance based on the average value is used.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of the absorbance of the color reaction part. The present inventor performs a test for generating a color reaction for measuring total cholesterol in blood, and performs abnormal data exclusion processing such as bubble image data on an image actually captured using an area image sensor And the difference in absorbance from the case where the test was not carried out. An example is shown in FIG. As understood from this data, when the abnormal data such as the bubble image is excluded, the absorbance is higher than that when the abnormal data is not excluded. This is considered to mean that the abnormal data exclusion process as described above is quite effective in eliminating the adverse effect of light reflection due to bubbles and the like.

[Action]
As described above, according to the analyzer A of the present embodiment, each color reaction portion is selected from the data of the main image Ib obtained by imaging the wide area of the analysis chip 1 by the area image sensor 25. The image data 12a is selected. This selection process is performed based on the difference in absorbance between the reaction chamber 12 and its surrounding area. For this reason, even when the analysis chip 1 is mounted on the chip mounting portion 23, even if the analysis chip 1 is slightly inclined from a predetermined position due to, for example, being inclined, each color is displayed. It is possible to accurately select the image data of the reaction portion 12a and obtain the absorbance. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the analysis process of the sample 3 becomes difficult due to the poor mounting method of the analysis chip 1. The structure of the chip mounting part 23 can also be simplified.

  In the present embodiment, the absorbance of each of the plurality of color reaction portions 12a is obtained individually, and the analysis processing of a plurality of items is performed almost simultaneously, so that the processing efficiency is good. Prior to such processing, The area image sensor 25 images a plurality of color reaction portions 12a together with their peripheral regions. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to sequentially move the optical system OP to a position corresponding to the plurality of reaction chambers 12 using a drive mechanism including a motor. Further, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of optical systems corresponding to the plurality of reaction chambers 12. As a result, the structure of the analyzer A can be simplified and downsized, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Failure can also be made difficult to occur.

  Further, in the analysis apparatus A, absorbance calculation processing and the like are performed based on the remaining data after excluding abnormal data such as bubble image data from the image data of the color reaction portion 12a. However, abnormal data is detected with high accuracy based on optical characteristics such as bubbles. Also, abnormal data exclusion processing is performed precisely. Furthermore, since the image data from which the abnormal data is excluded is the imaged image data of substantially the entire color reaction portion 12a, the image data after the abnormal data is excluded is the normal color reaction state. Is accurately reflected. For this reason, the analysis accuracy of the sample 3 can be further increased. In this embodiment, binarization processing of the image of the color reaction portion 12a is used as a method for detecting abnormal data. However, according to such a method, abnormal data such as bubbles and dusts can be easily obtained. And it becomes more preferable when it detects appropriately.

  Although the detailed description is omitted in the above-described embodiment, since the light source 21 uses a plurality of light sources 21a to 21e having different center wavelengths, the light having the center wavelength suitable for the color reaction is used. Absorbance can be measured accurately. Moreover, since the area image sensor 25 is a monochrome type, it can cope with any light emitted from the light sources 21a to 21e. Furthermore, by controlling the lighting drive time of the light source 21, it is possible to obtain a plurality of captured images with different brightness (signal levels) as captured images by the area image sensor 25. As described above, it is possible to obtain data that is optimal for analysis processing or data that is close thereto. Therefore, it is more preferable for performing highly accurate analysis processing.

  The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the analyzer according to the present invention can be variously modified within the scope intended by the present invention.

In the present invention, as a technique for excluding abnormal data such as bubbles, for example, a technique of making image data of the color reaction portion 12a into a histogram can be used. This method is as follows.
That is, FIG. 13 is a histogram of the relationship between the signal level of each pixel in the image of the color reaction portion 12a and the number of pixels having the same signal level. FIG. 6A shows a case where bubbles are mixed in the color reaction portion 12a. In the region where the signal level is low, a data group D1 in which the number of pixels deviates from the normal distribution curve La is generated. This is due to the fact that the absorbance at the peripheral edge of the bubble is considerably higher than the other parts. FIG. 5B shows a case where no bubbles are mixed in the color reaction portion 12a, and the data group D1 is not generated. As can be understood from this, it is possible to detect that bubbles are mixed in the color reaction portion 12a due to the presence of the data group D1. It is also possible to specify the position of the bubble based on the pixel data belonging to the data group D1.
Of course, in the present invention, abnormal data such as bubbles may be detected and excluded by a method different from the method described above.

In the embodiment described above, the process of specifying the position of the reaction chamber 12 is performed in a state where the sample 3 is not supplied to the reaction chamber 12 as means for specifying the image data of the color reaction section. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the position of the reaction chamber 12 (the position of the color reaction portion 12a) may be specified based on the captured image after the sample 3 is supplied to the reaction chamber 12. If the peripheral region of the reaction chamber 12 is black or a color close to it, it is possible to make the difference in contrast with a sample such as blood relatively large and appropriately distinguish the colored reaction portion 12a from the peripheral region. is there.
As a method for specifying the position of the reaction chamber 12, a center position of a bright image region is obtained from the captured images of the reaction chamber and its surrounding region, and a region within a predetermined radius from this center is determined as the reaction chamber. Can be used. Furthermore, as a different method, a difference (or differentiation) between the signal levels of a plurality of pixels arranged in succession is obtained, and a place where the value suddenly changes with a predetermined width or more is defined as a reaction chamber and its peripheral region. It is also possible to use a method of defining the boundary portion of. This is because the signal level of the pixel data changes abruptly at the boundary between the reaction chamber and the surrounding area due to the difference in the optical characteristics thereof.

  The area image sensor may be configured to image the analysis chip using light reflected by the analysis chip, instead of imaging the analysis chip using light transmitted through the analysis chip. When inspecting the optical characteristic of the color reaction between the sample and the reagent, instead of or in addition to the light absorption characteristic of the color reaction part 12a, the inspection is based on the light reflectance and color of the color reaction part 12a. You can also.

  The area image sensor of the present invention is not limited to a CCD image sensor. For example, a CMOS type image sensor can also be used. As the sample, for example, urine can be used other than blood, and the specific type thereof is not limited.

A Analyzer OP Optical system Ia Sub-image Ib Main image 1 Analysis chip 3 Sample 12 Reaction chamber 12a Color reaction part (reaction chamber)
13 Reagent 21 Light source 25 Area image sensor 28 Data processing unit

Claims (10)

A chip mounting portion on which an analysis chip provided with at least one reaction chamber for causing a color reaction between the sample and the reagent is mounted;
An optical system for inspecting the optical characteristics of the color reaction portion when the color reaction is caused in the reaction chamber;
A data processing unit that executes concentration calculation processing of a specific component in the sample based on data obtained using the optical system;
An analysis device comprising:
The optical system includes an area image sensor capable of imaging a wider range than the reaction chamber,
As the data of the image captured by the area image sensor, it is possible to obtain data of the main image in which the color reaction portion and its peripheral region are imaged collectively,
The data processing unit is configured to select image data of the color reaction part from the data of the main image, and to execute the density calculation process based on the selected data. Analytical device. The analyzer according to claim 1,
When a chip having a plurality of reaction chambers is used as the analysis chip, the area image sensor can collectively image a plurality of color reaction portions in each of the plurality of reaction chambers together with their peripheral regions. And
The data processing unit individually selects image data of the plurality of color reaction portions from the data of the main image, and the density calculation processing corresponds to each of the plurality of color reaction portions. An analyzer that can be performed individually. The analyzer according to claim 1 or 2,
As the imaged image data by the area image sensor, it is possible to further obtain sub-image data in which the reaction chamber and its peripheral region are collectively imaged before the sample is supplied to the reaction chamber. And
The data processing unit executes a process of specifying the position of the image data of the reaction chamber in the sub-image data,
The process of selecting the image data of the color reaction portion from the main image data is performed by selecting, from the main image data, data that matches the position of the reaction chamber image data in the sub image data. An analyzer that is configured to be selected. A chip mounting portion on which an analysis chip provided with at least one reaction chamber for causing a color reaction between the sample and the reagent is mounted;
An optical system for inspecting the optical characteristics of the color reaction portion when the color reaction is caused in the reaction chamber;
A data processing unit that executes concentration calculation processing of a specific component in the sample based on data obtained using the optical system;
An analysis device comprising:
The optical system includes an area image sensor capable of collectively imaging at least substantially the entire reaction chamber,
As the image data of the image captured by the area image sensor, it is possible to obtain data of the color reaction part image in which substantially the entire color reaction part is imaged collectively,
The data processing unit detects data of an image having an abnormal optical characteristic in the image data of the color reaction portion, and detects the detected abnormal image data as image data of the color reaction portion. The analyzer is configured to execute the concentration calculation process based on the remaining data. The analyzer according to claim 4,
The area image sensor can image a wider area than the reaction chamber,
As the data of the image captured by the area image sensor, it is possible to obtain data of the main image in which the color reaction portion and its peripheral region are imaged collectively,
The data processing unit is an analysis apparatus capable of executing a process of selecting image data of the color reaction portion from data of the main image. The analyzer according to claim 4 or 5, wherein
The process of detecting the abnormal image data is performed by binarizing the image of the color reaction portion, so that the contour of an image region having an abnormal optical characteristic among the image data of the color reaction portion is processed. The analysis apparatus is configured to clarify the image and to consider the data of the image of the contour and the inner region as data of the abnormal image. The analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The optical system includes an analysis device having a light source capable of irradiating light toward a reaction chamber of the analysis chip and a peripheral region thereof. The analyzer according to claim 7,
The area image sensor and the light source are provided in an arrangement sandwiching the chip mounting portion,
The data processing unit is configured to receive light from the area image sensor in a state where the analysis chip is not mounted on the chip mounting unit and light emitted from the light source is received by the area image sensor. The analyzer is configured to determine that the analysis chip is mounted on the chip mounting portion when the pressure drops by a predetermined amount or more. The analyzer according to claim 7 or 8, comprising:
As the light source, a plurality of LED light sources that emit light having different center wavelengths are used, and lighting driving of the plurality of LED light sources can be individually switched,
The area image sensor is for analyzing monochrome images. The analyzer according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
An analyzer that can change brightness of an image captured by the area image sensor by controlling a lighting drive time of the light source.

Images