JP2023056908A - Sample arrangement device and sample arrangement system - Google Patents

Abstract

To automatically arrange samples on the basis of specimen information.SOLUTION: A sample arrangement device arranges a sample in which a specimen is provided and to which identification display that is a character string or a bar code indicating specimen information that is information on the specimen, on the basis of specimen information. The sample arrangement device includes: a first sample housing section in which a plurality of samples are provided; a head that has a hand for holding or adsorbing the sample and is provided movably in a horizontal direction and vertical direction; a second sample housing section that houses the sample moved by the head; a reading section that reads the identification display; a first control section that acquires the specimen information on the basis of a result of reading the identification display by the reading section; a storage section that stores a position in the first sample housing section and the specimen information in association with each other for each of the plurality of samples; and a second control section that controls the head and the hand so as to move the samples from the first sample housing section to the second sample housing section on the basis of information stored in the storage section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a specimen organizing device and a specimen organizing system.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a specimen storage device for storing an inspected specimen plate in a storage tool capable of storing a plurality of specimen plates arranged in a row. The specimen storage device has an area including a storage space for a specific specimen plate that satisfies a predetermined condition (for example, presence or absence of inspection) related to the inspection result and an area including a storage space for other specimen plates in one storage tool. By dividing, the specific sample plate is stored in the container while distinguishing it from other sample plates.

JP 2014-70943 A

Usually, the examined specimens are organized based on the specimen information attached according to the specimen number, patient name, organ, etc., and stored in a separately placed storage shelf for collectively managing the specimens. However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the specimens are only stored separately according to the presence or absence of examination, and the specimens cannot be organized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a specimen organizing apparatus and a specimen organizing system capable of automatically organizing specimens based on specimen information.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a specimen organizing apparatus according to the present invention provides, for example, a specimen provided with a specimen, which is provided with an identification display that is a character string or a barcode indicating specimen information that is information about the specimen. A specimen arranging apparatus for arranging collected specimens based on the specimen information, the specimen arranging apparatus comprising: a first specimen storage unit in which a plurality of the specimens are provided; and a hand for gripping or sucking the specimens. a directionally movable head, a second specimen storage section for storing the specimen moved by the head, a reading section for reading the identification indication, and a result of reading the identification indication by the reading section. a first control unit that acquires the specimen information based on the information stored in the storage unit; and a second control section for controlling the head and the hand to move the specimen from the first specimen storage section to the second specimen storage section based on the information received.

According to the specimen organizing apparatus of the present invention, the specimen information is acquired by reading the identification display, which is a character string or a barcode, and the specimen is read based on the stored information in which the position in the first specimen storage section and the specimen information are associated with each other. is moved from the first specimen housing to the second specimen housing. As a result, specimens can be arranged automatically based on specimen information.

The first specimen storage unit has a plate-shaped tray on which the specimens can be arranged two-dimensionally. and ribs provided substantially parallel to the sidewalls, and the sidewalls and the ribs may have a slope that decreases in width with increasing distance from the bottom surface. This facilitates loading and unloading of specimens from the tray. In addition, it is possible to reduce problems that occur during the movement of the specimen (for example, the specimen hits the tray and falls off, the specimen cannot be accommodated in the tray, etc.).

The first specimen storage section includes a shelf on which a plurality of storage sections for storing the trays are arranged in a vertical direction, and a rail provided in each of the storage sections, the rail extending in the horizontal direction. and wherein the tray is horizontally moved along the rail, and the horizontal position of the storage section and the tray in a state in which the tray is pulled out from the storage section along the rail. The tray has a protrusion provided on its periphery, the head has a claw capable of coming into contact with the protrusion, and the second control unit causes the claw to come into contact with the protrusion. The tray may be moved along the rail by horizontally moving the head while in contact with the tray. As a result, it is possible to process the specimens provided on the trays (read identification marks, etc.) for each tray. Also, the tray can be easily moved.

The specimen is a slide glass, and the identification mark is attached to the surface of the slide glass, the hand has a suction unit that absorbs the specimen, the head has the reading unit, and the The second control unit moves the head so that the reading unit is positioned above the identification display, and the first control unit reads the identification display when the reading unit is positioned above the identification display. The reading unit may be controlled as follows. As a result, the slide glass can be reliably held by the hand. In addition, the specimen information can be obtained by reading the identification display without moving the slide glass. Also, specimen information of a plurality of slide glasses can be obtained. Note that the slide glass in the present invention is a concept including a slide glass provided with a sliced specimen.

A placement section is provided on which the cassette as the specimen is placed, the identification mark is attached to a side surface of the cassette, the hand has a grip section for gripping the specimen, and the reading section includes: The first control section is provided adjacent to the mounting section, and the first control section controls the reading section so as to read the identification display when the cassette is mounted on the mounting section, and the second control section. The unit may move the cassette from the first specimen storage section to the mounting section, and move the cassette from the mounting section to the first specimen storage section. Thereby, even if the identification mark is not exposed when the cassette is placed on the tray, it is possible to read the identification mark of the cassette and acquire the sample information. Also, specimen information of a plurality of cassettes can be acquired. Note that the cassette in the present invention is a concept including a cassette provided with a paraffin-embedded specimen.

A movably provided paraffin discharging part is provided, wherein the paraffin discharging part has a nozzle for discharging paraffin and a rotatably provided roller, and the nozzle is mounted on the mounting part. Paraffin may be dispensed onto the cassette and the roller may coat the dispensed paraffin onto the cassette. As a result, even if the specimen in the cassette is exposed, the specimen can be protected by covering the specimen with paraffin.

The head includes a first hand having a suction portion for sucking the specimen, a second hand having a gripping portion for gripping the specimen, and a rotatable body provided with the first hand and the second hand. and may have As a result, a single head can handle different types of specimens such as slide glasses and cassettes.

An imaging unit provided in the head, and a third control unit that controls the imaging unit to acquire an image by imaging the specimen when the imaging unit is positioned above the specimen, The second control unit moves the head so that the imaging unit is positioned above the specimen, and the storage unit associates and stores the specimen information and the image for each of the plurality of specimens. You may This enables centralized management of specimen information.

The second specimen storage section has a plate-shaped second tray capable of two-dimensionally arranging the specimens, and the second control section transfers the specimens from the first specimen storage section to the It may be moved to the second tray. As a result, the specimens can be organized and arranged on the second tray of the second specimen storage section. By having the doctor examine the specimens arranged in the second tray, the examination efficiency can be improved.

The storage unit stores first sort-out information in which a position in the first sample storage unit and the sample information are associated with each of the plurality of specimens, and the second control unit stores the first sort-out information. The specimen may be moved from the first specimen storage section to the second specimen storage section based on second arrangement information generated by arranging according to a predetermined rule. This allows the specimens to be organized exactly according to the desired rules.

A specimen organizing system according to the present invention includes, for example, a specimen organizing apparatus and an information processing apparatus connected to the specimen organizing apparatus, and the specimen organizing apparatus converts specimen reading information including specimen information into the information processing apparatus. An output unit for outputting to an apparatus, the information processing apparatus includes a storage unit storing sample data including the sample information, an acquisition unit for acquiring the sample read information, and the sample based on the sample information. and a sample data generator that stores the sample read information in data. As a result, specimen information can be centrally managed in the specimen organizing system.

According to the present invention, specimens can be arranged automatically based on specimen information.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a specimen organizing device 1 that is an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing specimens arranged by the specimen organizing apparatus 1, (A) showing an example of a slide glass 100, and (B) and (C) showing an example of a cassette 101. FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows an example of a schematic structure of the specimen organizing apparatus 1, (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view. It is a figure which shows the outline of the tray 11, (A) is a top view, (B), (C) is sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows the outline of the tray 12, (A) is a top view, (B), (C) is sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows the outline of the head 20, (A) and (B) are side views, (C) is a bottom view. 2A and 2B are diagrams schematically showing how a tray 11 or a slide glass 100 is moved using a head 20, where (A) shows how the tray 11 is pulled out, and (B) shows how a hand 23 sucks the slide glass 100. FIG. , and (C) shows how the tray 11 is returned. 2A and 2B are diagrams schematically showing how a head 20 is used to move a tray 12 or a cassette 101, where (A) shows how the tray 12 is pulled out, and (B) shows how a hand 24 grips the cassette 101. FIG. , (C) show how the tray 12 is returned. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the cassette 101 is placed on the placing portion 61, (A) is a side view when the cassette 101 is placed on the placing portion 61, and (B) is a placing portion; 61 is a perspective view when the cassette 101 is mounted on the mounting section 61, (C) and (D) are diagrams showing how paraffin is applied on the mounting section 61, and (E) is mounted on the mounting section 61. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how the cassette 101 that has been placed is gripped. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the specimen organizing device 1. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the software configuration of a control unit 110; FIG. (A) is a diagram showing an example of first sort-out information, and (B) is a diagram showing an example of second sort-out information. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of processing in which the specimen organizing apparatus 1 acquires specimen information of specimens provided in the specimen placing section 10. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of processing in which the specimen organizing apparatus 1 acquires specimen information of specimens provided in the specimen placing section 10. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for applying paraffin. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for sorting out samples based on sample information acquired by the sample sorting apparatus 1. FIG. (A) is a plan view of a tray 12A according to a modification, (B) is a sectional view taken along line CC of (A), and (C) is a schematic diagram of a placement section 61A according to a modification. , (D) are schematic diagrams of a mounting portion 61B according to a modification. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic configuration of a specimen organizing device 2; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a schematic structure of the specimen organizing|organizing apparatus 2, (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in which the specimen organizing apparatus 2 moves specimens provided in the specimen setting section 10 to the collection rack 80. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic configuration of a specimen organizing device 3; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of processing by which the specimen organizing device 3 acquires specimen information of specimens provided in the specimen placing section 19. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a flow of processing by which the specimen organizing device 3 acquires specimen information of specimens provided in the specimen placing section 19. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing electrical configurations of a specimen organizing apparatus 1 and an information processing apparatus 5 connected to the specimen organizing apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the software configuration of a control unit 120; FIG. It is an example of sample reading data. (A) is an example of sample data in which no data is stored, (B) is an example of sample data before storing sample reading information, and (C) is an example of sample data after storing sample reading information. is an example.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The specimen organizing apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus for automatically organizing specimens provided with specimens based on specimen information, which is information about specimens.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic configuration of a specimen organizing device 1 that is an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the horizontal direction is defined as x direction and y direction, and the vertical direction is defined as z direction. Also, the x-direction and the y-direction are orthogonal.

The specimen organizing apparatus 1 mainly includes a specimen installation section 10 (corresponding to the first specimen storage section of the present invention), a head 20, a collection rack 30 (corresponding to the second specimen storage section of the present invention), and a housing 70. and The specimen placement section 10 , the head 20 , the collection rack 30 and the like are provided inside the housing 70 . The housing 70 is provided with a door 71, a switch 72, a display light 73 that can be turned on and off, a touch panel 75, and the like.

The specimen organizing apparatus 1 uses the head 20 to move the specimen placed on the specimen placing section 10 to the collection rack 30 . Further, the specimen organizing apparatus 1 stores the specimens in the collection rack 30 in order based on the specimen information. The sample information is information about a sample, and includes at least one of a sample number, patient ID, patient's name, organ type, sample collection date and time, receipt number, sample acquisition facility number, and the like. Specimen information is attached to the specimen as an identification mark. The identification display is, for example, a character string or barcode (including one-dimensional code and two-dimensional code). In this embodiment, a character string and a two-dimensional bar code are attached to the specimen as identification marks. In addition, it is possible to attach an identification mark to the specimen in various forms such as printing, attaching a sticker, and the like.

2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of specimens arranged by the specimen arrangement apparatus 1, in which (A) shows an example of a slide glass 100, and (B) and (C) show an example of a cassette 101. FIG. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the cassette 101, and FIG. 2C is a sectional view.

The slide glass 100 is a plate material such as glass, and is provided with frost (such as paint) 100a on the surface of the edge. An identification mark is printed on the frost 100a. A sample S is smeared or pasted on the slide glass 100, and the sample S is covered with a cover glass 100b. A mounting medium 100c is provided between the slide glass 100 and the cover glass 100b. Also, the frost 100a may be printed by label printing or the like.

The cassette 101 is a box-shaped member made of resin, and generally has an identification mark printed on an inclined surface 101a. An embedded block B containing the sample S is provided on the bottom surface 101b of the cassette 101 . A sample S attached to the slide glass 100 is obtained by cutting the embedding block B into thin slices using a microtome or the like. Since the specimen S is exposed when the section is cut out from the embedding block B, the specimen S is covered with paraffin P to protect it. Also, the printing on the cassette inclined surface 101a may be label printing or the like.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing an example of a schematic configuration of the specimen organizing apparatus 1, where (A) is a plan view and (B) is a front view. In addition, in FIG. 3, the main part is seen through.

Inside the housing 70, a sample mounting section 10, a head 20, a collection rack 30, a mounting section 61, a blower section 51, a blower pipe 52, a deodorizing section 53, and the like are provided.

Specimens to be arranged (unorganized specimens) are provided in the specimen placing section 10 . The specimen installation section 10 has trays 11 and 12 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) on which specimens (slide glass 100 or cassette 101) can be two-dimensionally arranged, a shelf 13, and rails . In the shelf 13, a plurality of storage portions 13a for storing the trays 11 and 12 are arranged vertically. The rail 14 is provided in each of the storage portions 13a and extends in the horizontal direction (here, the x-direction). A tray 11 or a tray 12 is provided in the storage portion 13a, and the trays 11 and 12 are horizontally movable along rails 14. As shown in FIG.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing the outline of the tray 11, where (A) is a plan view and (B) and (C) are cross sections. 4(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4(A), and FIG. 4(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4(A). The tray 11 has a plate-like bottom surface 11a on which the slide glass 100 is placed, side walls 11b provided along the periphery of the bottom surface 11a, ribs 11c and 11d provided substantially parallel to the side walls 11b, and a convex portion 11e. and have

The tray 11 is divided into a plurality of spaces by ribs 11c and 11d, and a slide glass 100 is placed in each space. Although the slide glasses 100 are provided in two spaces in FIG. 4, the position and number of the slide glasses 100 provided in the tray 11 are not limited to this.

The side wall 11b has a slope whose width becomes narrower with distance from the bottom surface 11a. Moreover, the ribs 11c and 11d have an inclination that narrows with distance from the bottom surface 11a. This makes it easier to place the slide glass 100 on the tray 11 or remove it from the tray 11 .

The protrusion 11e is provided along an arbitrary side of the side wall 11b. The protrusion 11e is a rib that is higher than the side wall 11b and the ribs 11c and 11d. In the present embodiment, the projection 11e is provided so as to overlap with the side wall 11b, but the position of the projection 11e is not limited to this, and the projection 11e may be provided on the peripheral edge of the tray 11. FIG. For example, the protrusion 11e may be separated from the side wall 11b. Moreover, the shape of the convex part 11e is not restricted to this, either.

5A and 5B are schematic diagrams of the tray 12, where (A) is a plan view and (B) and (C) are cross sections. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 5A. The tray 12 has a plate-like bottom surface 12a on which the cassette 101 is placed, side walls 12b provided along the periphery of the bottom surface 12a, ribs 12c, 12d, and 12f provided substantially parallel to the side walls 12b, and convex portions. 12e.

Bottom surface 12a, sidewall 12b, ribs 12c and 12d, and projection 12e are the same in shape and arrangement as bottom surface 11a, sidewall 11b, ribs 11c, 11d, and projection 11e, respectively. The rib 12f is provided parallel to the rib 12c between the rib 12c and the side wall 12b. The rib 12f, like the rib 12c, has an inclination that narrows as the distance from the bottom surface 11a increases.

The tray 12 is divided into a plurality of spaces by ribs 12c, 12d, and 12f, and cassettes 101 are arranged in each space. Although the cassettes 101 are provided in four spaces in FIG. 5, the positions and number of the cassettes 101 provided in the tray 12 are not limited to this.

Returning to the description of FIG. The head 20 is provided in a transport section (not shown). The transport unit moves the head 20 in a horizontal direction (x direction or y direction) or a vertical direction (z direction). For example, the transport section mainly includes rails extending in the x-direction, rails extending in the y-direction, rails extending in the z-direction, and a drive section 28 (see FIG. 10) including an actuator. have A drive unit 28 moves the head 20 along the rails in the x-direction, the y-direction, or the z-direction.

6A and 6B are side views of the head 20, and FIG. 6C is a bottom view (viewed from the -z direction). The head 20 mainly has a shaft 21 and a body portion 22 . The body portion 22 is rotatably provided with respect to a rotating portion 21 a provided at the lower end of the shaft 21 . Inside the shaft 21, an actuator (not shown) for rotating the main body 22 and a transmission mechanism (not shown) for transmitting power from the actuator are provided.

Hands 23 and 24 , a claw 25 , a bar code reader 26 and an imaging section 27 are mainly provided on the lower side of the body section 22 . The hands 23 , 24 , claw 25 , barcode reader 26 and imaging section 27 rotate together with the body section 22 . By rotating the body part 22, switching between the hand 23 and the hand 24 is performed.

The hand 23 is for the slide glass 100 and has a suction portion 23 a for sucking the slide glass 100 . In addition, the number of the adsorption|suction part 23a is not restricted to two. The hand 23 has a suction portion (not shown), and the suction portion sucks air while the suction portion 23a is pressed against the surface of the slide glass 100, whereby the slide glass 100 is sucked by the suction portion 23a. Further, when air is discharged from the suction portion, the slide glass 100 is separated from the adsorption portion 23a.

The hand 24 has two claws 24a (corresponding to gripping portions of the present invention) that are movable in parallel, and grips the cassette 101 using the claws 24a. The hand 24 has an opening/closing portion (not shown) that opens and closes the claw 24a between a closed position where the cassette 101 is gripped and an open position where the cassette 101 is not gripped. The opening/closing unit has an actuator and a transmission mechanism that transmits power from the actuator.

The claw 25 is a bar-shaped or plate-shaped member. Moreover, the claw 25 is movable in the direction along the axis 21, that is, in the z-direction. In FIG. 6, the claw 25 is provided on the rotating shaft of the body portion 22, but the position of the claw 25 is not limited to this.

The barcode reader 26 reads identification marks printed or the like on the surface of the slide glass 100 and recognizes sample information included in the identification marks. The imaging unit 27 is, for example, a macro camera, and captures an image of the specimen S provided on the slide glass 100 or cassette 101 .

Returning to the description of FIG. By moving the trays 11 and 12 in the +x direction using the head 20, the trays 11 and 12 are pulled out from the storage section 13a, and by moving the trays 11 and 12 in the -x direction, the trays 11 and 12 are moved into the storage section 13a. return. When the trays 11 and 12 are pulled out from the storage portion 13a along the rails 14, the horizontal positions of the storage portion 13a and the trays 11 and 12 are different.

Further, by moving the head 20 in the horizontal or vertical direction while holding the slide glass 100 or the cassette 101 by the hand 23 or the hand 24, the slide glass 100 or the cassette 101 is moved from the sample installation section 10 to the collection rack 30. Let In addition, the cassette 101 is moved between the sample setting section 10 and the mounting section 61 by moving the head 20 in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction while the hand 24 is holding the cassette 101 .

7A and 7B schematically show how the tray 11 or the slide glass 100 is moved using the head 20. FIG. 7A shows how the tray 11 is pulled out, and FIG. 7B shows how the hand 23 moves the slide glass 100. (C) shows how the tray 11 is returned.

As shown in FIG. 7A, by moving the head 20 in the +x direction while the claw 25 is in contact with the -x side surface of the projection 11e, the tray 11 is moved along the rail 14 in the +x direction. and pull it out from the storage portion 13a (not shown in FIG. 7). Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the head 20 is moved downward in the vertical direction (-z direction), and the adsorption portion 23a is pressed against the surface of the slide glass 100 to suck air, thereby causing the hand 23 to A slide glass 100 is attracted. The slide glass 100 is moved by moving the head 20 with the hand 23 sucking the slide glass 100 . Since the side wall 11b and the ribs 11c and 11d have an inclination that narrows with increasing distance from the bottom surface 11a, when the hand 23 moves the hand 23 while holding the slide glass 100 in the +z direction, the horizontal position of the hand 23 changes. Even if the slide glass 100 is slightly displaced, it is possible to reduce the risk of the slide glass 100 coming off the hand 23 due to contact with the side walls 11b and the ribs 11c and 11d.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7(C), by moving the head 20 in the -x direction while the claw 25 is in contact with the +x side surface of the projection 11e, the tray 11 is moved along the rail 14. It is moved in the -x direction and returned to the storage section 13a. Although not shown, the identification display is read by the barcode reader 26 by moving the head 20 so that the barcode reader 26 is positioned above the identification display on the slide glass 100 in the vertical direction (+z side).

8A and 8B schematically show how the tray 12 or the cassette 101 is moved using the head 20. FIG. 8A shows how the tray 12 is pulled out, and FIG. 8B shows how the hand 24 grips the cassette 101. (C) shows how the tray 12 is returned.

As shown in FIG. 8A, by moving the head 20 in the +x direction while the claw 25 is in contact with the -x side surface of the projection 12e, the tray 12 is moved along the rail 14 in the +x direction. and pull it out from the storage portion 13a (not shown in FIG. 8). Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the head 20 is moved in the -z direction to grip the cassette 101 with the plurality of claws 24a. The cassette 101 is moved by moving the head 20 while the hand 24 is gripping the cassette 101 . Since the side wall 12b and the ribs 12c, 12d, and 12f have an inclination that narrows as the distance from the bottom surface 11a increases, the horizontal position of the hand 24 when moving the hand 24 in the +z direction while gripping the cassette 101 Even if there is a slight deviation, the risk of the cassette 101 coming off the hand 24 due to contact with the side wall 12b and the ribs 12c, 12d, and 12f can be reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8(C), by moving the head 20 in the −x direction while the claw 25 is in contact with the +x side surface of the projection 12e, the tray 12 is moved along the rail 14. It is moved in the -x direction and returned to the storage section 13a.

Although not shown in FIG. 8, the side wall 12b and the ribs 12c, 12d, and 12f have an inclination that narrows as the width of the side wall 12b and the ribs 12c, 12d, and 12f move away from the bottom surface 11a. The ribs 12c, 12d, and 12f serve as guides so that the cassette 101 can be reliably placed in the space of the tray 12. As shown in FIG.

The head 20 moves the cassette 101 to the collection rack 30 or the placing section 61 while the hand 24 is gripping the cassette 101 . 9A and 9B are diagrams schematically showing a state in which the cassette 101 is placed on the placing portion 61, FIG. 9A being a side view when the cassette 101 is placed on the placing portion 61, and FIG. is a perspective view when the cassette 101 is placed on the mounting portion 61; 6 is a diagram showing how the cassette 101 placed on the 61 is gripped. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the mounting portion 61 is provided with protrusions 61a, 61b, and 61c. The head 20 mounts the cassette 101 on the mounting portion 61 while bringing the cassette 101 into contact with the protrusions 61a, 61b, and 61c. Thereby, the cassette 101 is positioned.

As shown in FIG. 9A, a barcode reader 62 is provided adjacent to the placement section 61 . The barcode reader 62 reads identification marks printed on the inclined surface 101a of the cassette 101, and recognizes specimen information included in the identification marks.

The side surface on which the identification mark of the cassette 101 is printed is not limited to the inclined surface 101a, and may be provided on any one of the inclined surface 101a, the side surface 101c, the side surface 101d, and the side surface 101e. Moreover, the barcode reader 62 may be provided at a position corresponding to the side surface of the cassette 101 on which the identification display is printed.

After the cassette 101 is mounted on the mounting portion 61, the paraffin discharge portion 40 is used to apply paraffin P onto the embedding block B, as shown in FIGS. The sample S is covered to protect the sample S.

The paraffin discharge section 40 is provided adjacent to the mounting section 61 . The paraffin discharge unit 40 mainly includes a nozzle 41 for discharging paraffin, a sensor 42, and a roller 43 rotatably provided. A tank 41 a filled with liquid paraffin is connected to the nozzle 41 . A heater (not shown) heats the tank 41a and the nozzle 41 to about 60° C. at which the paraffin becomes liquid. Paraffin is supplied from the tank 41 a to the nozzle 41 and discharged from the nozzle 41 .

First, as shown in FIG. 9(C), the nozzle 41 is arranged on the embedded block B by horizontally moving the paraffin discharge part 40 along the rail 44 . At this time, the thickness (height) of the embedded block B is measured using the sensor 42 to adjust the height of the nozzle 41 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 9D, the paraffin P is discharged from the nozzle 41 onto the cassette 101, and the paraffin discharge section 40 is horizontally moved along the rail 44. Then, as shown in FIG. As a result, the roller 43 rolls on the embedding block B, the roller 43 spreads the discharged paraffin P on the cassette 101, and the paraffin P is applied on the embedding block B as a whole. At this time, if the roller 43 is provided with a heating portion (not shown) and warmed to a temperature (62° C. to 63° C.) at which the paraffin P melts, the roller 43 can properly stretch the paraffin P. As the roller 43 moves away from the paraffin P, the paraffin P cools and hardens.

It should be noted that there is a possibility that the top surface of the embedding block B is not horizontal (is tilted with respect to the horizontal plane) while the cassette 101 is placed on the placement portion 61 . Therefore, elastic members (not shown) such as springs are provided at both ends of the shaft 43a of the roller 43 so that the height of the roller 43 can be adjusted according to the height of the upper surface of the embedding block B. FIG.

After the paraffin P is applied onto the embedding block B and the specimen S is covered with the paraffin P in this manner, the paraffin discharge section 40 is moved horizontally along the rail 44 as shown in FIG. 9(E). After that, the head 20 is moved above the mounting portion 61 . Then, the cassette 101 placed on the placing portion 61 is gripped by the claws 24a. After gripping the cassette 101 with the hand 24, the head 20 is moved horizontally or vertically.

Returning to the description of FIG. The recovery rack 30 accommodates the samples (slide glass 100 or cassette 101) after arrangement. The recovery rack 30 mainly has a slide glass recovery section 31 that stores the slide glass 100 and a cassette recovery section 32 that stores the cassette 101 . The slide glass collecting section 31 and the cassette collecting section 32 are provided adjacent to each other.

In this embodiment, the slide glass collecting section 31 and the cassette collecting section 32 are arranged in the x direction, but the arrangement of the slide glass collecting section 31 and the cassette collecting section 32 is not limited to this. Further, the slide glass collecting section 31 and the cassette collecting section 32 may be separated.

The slide glass collecting section 31 has five box-shaped members 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d, and 31e arranged substantially along the y direction. A plurality of (for example, 100) slide glasses 100 are stacked in the z direction inside the box-shaped members 31a to 31e. A plate-like member 31k is provided on the −z side of the box-like members 31a to 31e, and the box-like members 31a to 31e are drawn out by pulling out the plate-like member 31k forward (−y direction).

The cassette collecting section 32 has ten box-shaped members 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d, 32e, 32f, 32g, 32h, 32i, 32j arranged substantially along the x-direction and the y-direction. A plurality of (for example, 50) cassettes 101 are stacked in the z-direction inside the box-shaped members 32a to 32j. A plate-like member 32k is provided on the -z side of the box-like members 32a to 32j, and the box-like members 32a to 32j are drawn to the front by pulling out the plate-like member 32k.

Although the box-shaped members 31a to 31e and the box-shaped members 32a to 32j are provided adjacent to each other in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, they may be separated from each other.

The blower section 51 , the blower pipe 52 and the deodorizing section 53 are provided in the vicinity of the sample setting section 10 . The air blower 51 blows air to the specimen installation part 10 via a plurality of air blow pipes 52 . The air blower 51 can blow warm air or cold air. The blower pipe 52 extends in the y-direction and the z-direction, and since the blower pipe 52 is provided with a plurality of holes, it is possible to blow air to each storage portion 13a (the trays 11 and 12 provided in the storage portion 13a). is. As a result, xylene and the mounting medium used in preparing the specimens (slide glass 100 or cassette 101) provided on the trays 11 and 12 are volatilized, paraffin is hardened, and the specimens can be forcibly dried. . The deodorizing part 53 sucks the air inside the housing 70 and discharges the sucked air to the outside of the housing 70 . This makes it possible to remove the odors of xylene, encapsulant, and the like.

In addition, the positions of the blower section 51, the blower pipe 52, and the deodorizing section 53 are not limited thereto. Also, the air blower 51, the air blower pipe 52 and the deodorizer 53 are not essential.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the specimen organizing device 1. As shown in FIG. The specimen organizing device 1 mainly includes a control section 110 , a storage section 113 , a communication section 114 and an input section 115 . The control unit 110 mainly includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111 and a memory 112 and operates according to a program stored in the storage unit 113 .

The control unit 110 includes the head 20 (hands 23 and 24, barcode reader 26, imaging unit 27, driving unit 28, etc.), paraffin discharge unit 40 (nozzle 41, driving unit 45, etc.), air blowing unit 51, deodorizing unit 53. , bar code reader 62, etc. are connected, and a control unit 110 controls each unit.

The storage unit 113 is composed of a hard disk or the like. The storage unit 113 stores various programs and information necessary for execution of processing in the control unit 110, and information on processing results. The communication unit 114 is configured by a communication interface or the like for communicating with an external device (for example, an information processing device connected to the specimen organizing device 1). Input unit 115 includes switch 72 and touch panel 75 , receives input from the outside, and outputs the input to control unit 110 .

Note that the configuration of the specimen organizing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 10 has been described as the main configuration for describing the features of this embodiment, and does not exclude, for example, the configuration provided in a general information processing apparatus. Further, the specimen organizing device 1 may be composed of a single information processing device, or may be composed of a plurality of information processing devices distributed over a communication network.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing the software configuration of the control unit 110. As shown in FIG. The specimen organizing apparatus 1 uses at least a head control unit 110a, a hand control unit 110b, a barcode reader control unit 110c, an imaging control unit 110d, and a paraffin ejection unit as software resources by an arithmetic unit such as the CPU 111 and a memory 112. It has a control section 110e, a ventilation control section 110f, a deodorization control section 110g, an arrangement information generation section 110h, an integrated control section 110i, and an output section 110j. A first control section of the present invention includes a barcode reader control section 110c, a second control section of the present invention includes a head control section 110a and a hand control section 110b, and a third control section of the present invention includes an imaging control section 110d. include. Also, the second control unit of the present invention may include the sort-out information generation unit 110h. Also, the first control unit, the second control unit, and the third control unit of the present invention may include the integrated control unit 110i.

Note that each functional unit of the control unit 110 may be configured by a single information processing device, or may be configured by a plurality of information processing devices distributed over a communication network.

The head control section 110a is a functional section that controls the driving section 28 to move the head 20 in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. For example, the head control section 110 a moves the slide glass 100 and the cassette 101 held by the hands 23 and 24 from the sample setting section 10 to the collection rack 30 . Further, the head control section 110 a moves the cassette 101 gripped by the hand 24 from the sample placement section 10 to the placement section 61 and from the placement section 61 to the sample placement section 10 .

The head controller 110a moves the trays 11 and 12 along the rails 14 by horizontally moving the head 20 with the claws 25 in contact with the projections 11e and 12e. Further, the head control unit 110a moves the head 20 so that the barcode reader 26 is positioned above the identification display in the vertical direction. Further, the head control unit 110a moves the head 20 so that the imaging unit 27 is positioned above the specimen S in the vertical direction.

The hand control unit 110b is a functional unit that controls the hands 23 and 24. FIG. For example, the hand control unit 110b sucks air from the suction unit 23a with the suction unit in a state in which the suction unit 23a is pressed against the surface of the slide glass 100 by the head control unit 110a. Absorb. Further, the hand control unit 110b releases the slide glass 100 from the hand 23 by discharging air from the suction unit. Further, the hand control unit 110b uses a drive mechanism (not shown) to horizontally move the claw 24a to grip the cassette 101 with the hand 24 or release the cassette 101 from the hand 24. FIG. Further, the hand control section 110b rotates the body section 22 to switch between the hands 23 and 24. FIG.

The barcode reader control unit 110c is a functional unit that reads the identification display using the barcode readers 26 and 62 and acquires sample information based on the read result. For example, the barcode reader control unit 110c controls the barcode reader 26 to read the identification display when the barcode reader 26 is positioned above the identification display on the surface of the slide glass 100 in the vertical direction. Further, the barcode reader control unit 110c controls the barcode reader 62 to read the identification display when the cassette 101 is placed on the placement unit 61. FIG. Then, the barcode reader control unit 110c acquires specimen information based on the read identification display. Note that various known methods can be used for the processing in which the barcode reader control unit 110c acquires the sample information based on the identification display, so the description thereof is omitted.

The imaging control unit 110d is a functional unit that controls the imaging unit 27 so as to acquire an image by imaging the specimen when the imaging unit 27 is positioned above the specimen. The imaging control unit 110d also determines whether the specimen S is covered with paraffin P (whether the specimen S is exposed) based on the image obtained by imaging the cassette 101 by the imaging unit 27. can also Since the determination can be made using a known image processing technique, the description is omitted.

The paraffin ejection control unit 110 e is a functional unit that controls the paraffin ejection unit 40 . For example, the paraffin discharge control unit 110e controls the driving unit 45 to move the paraffin discharge unit 40 horizontally along the rail 44, and based on the detection result of the sensor 42, the nozzle 41 and the roller 43 are vertically moved. move to Further, the paraffin ejection control unit 110 e causes the nozzle 41 to eject paraffin.

The air blow control unit 110 f is a functional unit that controls the air blow unit 51 and causes the air blow unit 51 to output air. The air blow control unit 110f may blow air from the air blow unit 51 when an instruction is input from the input unit 115, or may blow air when a sensor (not shown) detects that the door 71 is closed. good. The deodorizing control unit 110g is a functional unit that controls the deodorizing unit 53, sucks air from the deodorizing unit 53 when air is blown from the blower unit 51, and discharges the sucked air to the outside of the housing 70.

The sort-out information generation unit 110h stores first sort-out information that associates the sample information acquired by the barcode reader control unit 110c, the image acquired by the imaging control unit 110d, and the position of the specimen that is the basis of this sample. 113 is a function unit for storing data. The sort-out information generation unit 110h is a functional unit that generates second sort-out information, which is information for sorting out specimens, based on the first sort-out information. At this time, the sort-out information generator 110h sorts out the first sort-out information according to a predetermined rule (for example, ascending order of specimen information, descending order of date and time) to generate second sort-out information. For example, when arranging samples in ascending order of specimen information, the arrangement information generation unit 110h rearranges the first arrangement information in ascending order of specimen information to generate the second arrangement information.

Note that the rule for generating the second sort-out information may be input from the input unit 115 or stored in the storage unit 113 .

Also, the rule for generating the second sort-out information is not limited to the ascending order of specimen information or the descending order of date and time. For example, when the second sorting information is generated using the rule of sorting by patient number, the patient number to be sorted is input from the input unit 115 or the like. In this case, the sort-out information generation unit 110h may extract data including the patient number for which sample information is specified from the first sort-out information to generate the second sort-out information.

The integrated control unit 110i includes a head control unit 110a, a hand control unit 110b, a barcode reader control unit 110c, an imaging control unit 110d, a paraffin discharge control unit 110e, a ventilation control unit 110f, a deodorization control unit 110g, and a sorting information generation unit 110h. Control. The output unit 110j outputs various information via a communication network or the like. Note that the output unit 110j is not essential.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing an example of first sort-out information, and FIG. 12B is a diagram showing an example of second sort-out information. FIG. 12 illustrates a case where the slide glass 100 is the specimen.

In the first sorting information, the information about the position of the specimen, the specimen information, and the information about the image are associated in the order in which the specimen information was read. In addition, IDs are assigned in the order in which sample information is read when data is stored in the first sorting information. Therefore, in the first sorting information, the data are arranged in numerical order of ID and position.

Here, the information about the position of the specimen includes the number of the tray 11 on which the specimen is placed and the position of the specimen on the tray 11 . For example, if the position is 1-1, it indicates that the sample was placed in the lower leftmost space of the topmost tray 11 . The specimen information includes the number of the patient who obtained the specimen, the number of the cassette 101 (including the patient's number) in which the specimen that is the basis of the specimen on the slide glass 100 is provided, and the number of the specimen created from the cassette. This includes information indicating whether the slide glass is a printed slide. For example, if the specimen information is 12345-1-a, the slide glass prepared first (referred to as a) from the specimen provided in the first cassette 101 of the patient numbered 12345 is indicates that there is In addition, as the information about the image, the file name of the image stored in the storage unit 113 is stored.

The second sorted information shown in FIG. 12B is obtained by rearranging the first sorted information shown in FIG. 12A according to the rule (in the example shown in FIG. 12, the specimen information is in ascending order). Therefore, in the second sorting information, the data are arranged in numerical order of the specimen information, and the data are not arranged in numerical order of ID and position.

13 and 14 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing for the specimen organizing apparatus 1 to acquire specimen information of specimens provided in the specimen placing section 10. FIG. 13 shows the case where the tray 11 is placed (the sample is the slide glass 100), and FIG. 14 shows the case where the tray 12 is placed (the sample is the cassette 101). 13 and 14 are performed after the tray 11 or tray 12 is placed in the storage section 13a, the door 71 is closed, and an instruction to start processing is input from the input section 115, for example. The integrated control unit 110 i determines whether the sample placed on the sample placement unit 10 is the slide glass 100 or the cassette 101 based on an instruction input from the input unit 115 or the like.

First, the process of acquiring sample information on the slide glass 100 shown in FIG. 13 will be described. The head controller 110a draws out the tray 11 by horizontally moving the head 20 with the claws 25 in contact with the protrusions 11e to move the tray 11 along the rails 14 (step S10). .

Next, the head control unit 110a positions the barcode reader 26 vertically above the identification display on the slide glass 100, and the barcode reader control unit 110c controls the barcode reader 26 to read the identification display (step S11). . Thereby, the barcode reader control unit 110c acquires sample information associated with the read identification display.

Next, the head control unit 110a positions the imaging unit 27 vertically above the identification display on the slide glass 100, and the imaging control unit 110d controls the imaging unit 27 to acquire an image of the specimen (step S14).

Note that the order in which steps S11 and S14 are performed is not limited to this. For example, the process of step S11 may be performed after the process of step S14 is performed.

Next, the sort-out information generation unit 110h generates the sample information acquired in step S11, the image acquired in step S14, and the position where the slide glass 100 was placed (where this sample was placed). The position of the tray 11 and the position of the slide glass 100 on the tray 11 are associated and stored in the storage unit 113 (step S16). As a result, the data is added to the first sorting information.

Then, the integrated control unit 110i determines whether or not the processes of steps S11, S14 and S16 have been performed for all the slide glasses 100 provided on the tray 11 (step S17). If the processes of steps S11, S14 and S16 have not been performed for all the slide glasses 100 provided on the tray 11 (NO in step S17), the overall control unit 110i returns the process to step S11.

When the processes of steps S11, S14 and S16 have been performed for all the slide glasses 100 provided on the tray 11 (YES in step S17), the head control unit 110a causes the claws 25 to hit the protrusions 11e. The tray 11 is returned to the storage section 13a by moving the head 20 in the horizontal direction in the contact state to move the tray 11 along the rail 14 (step S18).

Next, the overall control unit 110i determines whether or not the identification indications of all the specimens have been read (specimen information has been acquired), that is, whether or not all the trays 11 provided in the specimen placement unit 10 are read in steps S10 and S11. , S14, S16, S17 and S18 are performed (step S19). If the specimen information of all specimens has not been acquired (NO in step S19), the overall control unit 110i returns the process to step S10. When the specimen information of all specimens has been acquired (YES in step S19), the central control unit 110i ends the processing shown in FIG.

It should be noted that even if the process of reading the identification mark (here, steps S11 to S17) is performed, it is not always possible to read all the placed specimens. have a nature. In such a case, the overall control unit 110i may repeat the processing of reading the identification indications of the specimen whose identification indications could not be read by the set number of times of re-reading. The number of times of rereading can be input via the input unit 115 . For a sample whose identification mark cannot be read even after repeating the process of reading the identification mark the number of times of re-reading, the process may be terminated at that point.

Next, the process of acquiring sample information of the cassette 101 shown in FIG. 14 will be described. The head control unit 110a moves the head 20 in the horizontal direction while the claws 25 are in contact with the protrusions 12e to move the tray 12 along the rails 14, thereby pulling out the tray 12 (step S10). .

Next, the integrated control section 110i uses the head 20 and the hand 24 to move the cassette 101 from the tray 12 to the placement section 61 (step S12). Specifically, the head controller 110 a moves the hand 24 above the cassette 101 , and the hand controller 110 b moves the claw 24 a to grip the cassette 101 with the hand 24 . Then, the cassette 101 is taken out from the tray 12 by moving the head 20 upward by the head control unit 110a. Thereafter, the cassette 101 is moved from above the tray 12 to above the mounting portion 61 by the head control section 110a, and the hand 24 is released from the cassette 101 by the hand control section 110b. Thereby, the cassette 101 is mounted on the mounting portion 61 .

After the cassette 101 is placed on the placement portion 61, the barcode reader control portion 110c controls the barcode reader 62 to read the identification display (step S13). Thereby, the barcode reader control unit 110c acquires sample information associated with the read identification display.

Next, the head control unit 110a positions the imaging unit 27 vertically above the identification display of the cassette 101, and the imaging control unit 110d controls the imaging unit 27 to acquire an image of the specimen (step S14).

Next, the integrated control unit 110i uses the head 20 and hand 24 to move the cassette 101 to the tray 12 (step S15). Specifically, the hand 24 is moved above the cassette 101 by the head controller 110a, and the claw 24a is moved by the hand controller 110b to grip the cassette 101 with the hand 24. FIG. Then, the cassette 101 is returned to the original position of the tray 12 by the head controller 110a, and the hand 24 is released from the cassette 101 by the hand controller 110b.

Then, the integrated control unit 110i controls the sample information acquired in step S13, the image acquired in step S14, and the position where the cassette 101 was placed (the position of the tray 12 where this sample was placed). The position and the position of the cassette 101 on the tray 12 are associated and stored in the storage unit 113 (step S16). As a result, the data is added to the first sorting information.

Note that the order in which steps S13 to S16 are performed is not limited to this. For example, the process of step S13 may be performed after the process of step S14 is performed. Alternatively, for example, after performing the process of step S10, the processes of steps S14, S12, S13, S15, and S16 may be performed in this order.

Next, the integrated control unit 110i determines whether or not the processes of steps S12, S13, S14, S15 and S16 have been performed for all the cassettes 101 provided on the tray 12 (step S17). If the processes of steps S12, S13, S14, S15 and S16 have not been performed for all the cassettes 101 provided on the tray 12 (NO in step S17), the overall control unit 110i advances the process to step S12. return.

When the processes of steps S12, S13, S14, S15 and S16 have been performed for all the cassettes 101 provided on the tray 12 (YES in step S17), the head control unit 110a causes the claws 25 to move to the convex portions. The tray 12 is returned to the storage section 13a by moving the head 20 in the horizontal direction while being in contact with the tray 12e to move the tray 12 along the rail 14 (step S18).

Next, the overall control unit 110i determines whether or not the identifiers of all samples have been read (sample information has been acquired), that is, whether or not all the trays 12 provided in the sample setting unit 10 have been read in steps S10 and S12. , S13, S14, S15, S16, S17 and S18 are performed (step S19). If the specimen information of all specimens has not been acquired (NO in step S19), the overall control unit 110i returns the process to step S10. When the specimen information of all specimens has been acquired (YES in step S19), the overall control unit 110i ends the processing shown in FIG.

Note that, in the same manner as the processing shown in FIG. 13, if there is a sample whose identification display cannot be read even though the processing for reading the identification display (steps S12 to S17) is performed, the overall control unit 110i , the process of reading the identification display may be repeated for a set number of times of rereading.

Note that the overall control unit 110i may apply paraffin between steps S14 and S15 based on the input from the input unit 115 or the image captured by the imaging unit 27, for example. FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for applying paraffin.

First, the head controller 110a moves the head 20 so that the head 20 is not positioned above the cassette 101 (step S20). Next, the paraffin discharge control unit 110 e controls the driving unit 45 to horizontally move the paraffin discharge unit 40 along the rails 44 to move the nozzle 41 above the embedded block B, thereby causing the sensor 42 to move. Based on the detection result, the nozzle 41 is vertically moved to move the nozzle 41 directly above the embedded block B (step S21). Then, the paraffin ejection control unit 110e ejects paraffin from the nozzle 41 (step S22).

Next, the paraffin discharge control unit 110e moves the roller 43 in the vertical direction based on the detection result of the sensor 42 to bring the roller 43 into contact with the embedded block B, and then moves the paraffin discharge unit 40 horizontally. Paraffin is applied onto the embedding block B by moving in the direction (step S23). The paraffin discharged from the nozzle 41 is applied onto the embedding block B by the roller 43 .

Then, the integrated control unit 110i determines whether or not a certain period of time has passed since step S23 ended, that is, whether or not the applied paraffin has hardened (step S24). If the predetermined time has not passed (NO in step S24), the process of step S24 is continued. If the predetermined time has passed (YES in step S24), the process of applying paraffin is terminated.

Note that the process of applying paraffin shown in FIG. 15 may be performed at a timing other than between steps S14 and S15 shown in FIG. Also, the treatment of applying paraffin is not essential. For example, the process of applying paraffin may be performed only when the imaging control unit 110d determines that the specimen S is not covered.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for sorting out samples based on sample information acquired by the sample sorting apparatus 1 . The processing shown in FIG. 16 may be performed continuously after the processing in FIG. 13 or 14, or an instruction to start processing is input from the input unit 115 after the processing in FIG. 13 or 14. It may be done after

First, the sort-out information generation unit 110h generates the second sort-out information based on the first sort-out information stored in the storage unit 113 and the rule input from the input unit 115 (step S30). Then, the overall control section 110i moves all the specimens from the specimen setting section 10 to the collection rack 30 based on the second sorting information (steps S31 to S35). When performing the processing of steps S31 to S35 first, the overall control unit 110i performs the processing of steps S31 to S35 second on the sample stored in the first row of the second sorting information. performs the processing of steps S31 to S35 on the sample stored in the second row of the second sorting information.

The processing of steps S31 to S35 will be described below. First, the head control unit 110a acquires the position of the sample to be processed from the second arrangement information (step S31), and pulls out the tray 11 or tray 12 on which the sample to be processed is placed (step S32). Since the process of step S32 is the same as that of step S10, the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the head control unit 110a takes out the specimen at the position obtained in step S31 (step S33). When the sample is the slide glass 100, the head control unit 110a places the hand 23 on the slide glass 100 and moves the hand 23 downward, and the hand control unit 110b moves the slide glass 100 with the suction unit 23a. to adsorb. If the specimen is the cassette 101, the cassette 101 is gripped by the hand 24 in the same manner as in step S12, so the description is omitted.

Next, the head control unit 110a returns the tray 11 or the tray 12 to the storage unit 13a while holding the specimen with the head 20 (step S34). Since the processing of step S34 is the same as that of step S18, the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the head control unit 110a stores the held specimen in the recovery rack 30 (step S35). The step S35 will be described in detail below.

When the sample is the slide glass 100, the head control unit 110a moves the head 20 so that the slide glass 100 is placed in the slide glass collection unit 31, and the hand control unit 110b moves from the adsorption unit 23a. Release the slide glass 100 . As a result, the slide glass 100 is stored in the slide glass collecting section 31 . Note that the head control unit 110a first places the slide glasses 100 in the box-shaped member 31a, and when the predetermined number of slide glasses 100 are accommodated in the box-shaped member 31a, the slide glasses 100 are placed in the box-shaped member 31b. The head 20 is moved so as to place the slide glass 100 thereon. For example, when the specified number of slide glasses 100 placed on the box-shaped members 31a to 31e is ten, and the head control unit 110a moves the eleventh slide glass 100, the head control unit 110a moves the box-shaped members 31a to 31e. A slide glass 100 is placed in the shaped member 31b. Similarly, when the prescribed number of slide glasses 100 are accommodated in the box-shaped members 31b to 31d, the head control unit 110a causes the slide glasses 100 to be placed in the box-shaped members 31c to 31e, respectively. The head 20 is moved as follows.

When the sample is the cassette 101, the head control unit 110a moves the head 20 so that the cassette 101 is placed in the cassette collecting unit 32, and the hand control unit 110b moves the claws 24a to move the hand. Remove cassette 101 from 24 . As a result, the cassette 101 is accommodated in the cassette recovery section 32 . First, the cassettes 101 are placed in the box-shaped member 31a, and when the predetermined number of cassettes 101 are stored in the box-shaped member 32a, the cassettes 101 are placed in the box-shaped member 32b. Move the head 20 . Similarly, when a specified number of cassettes 101 are accommodated in the box-shaped members 32b to 32i, the head control unit 110a causes the cassettes 101 to be placed in the box-shaped members 32c to 32j. Move the head 20 .

Next, the overall control unit 110i determines whether or not the processing of all the samples (whose identification information has been acquired) stored in the second sort-out information has been completed. has been moved from the sample placement unit 10 to the recovery rack 30 (whether the processes of steps S31 to S35 have been performed) (step S39). If all the specimens have not been moved from the specimen installation section 10 to the collection rack 30 (NO in step S39), the overall control section 110i returns the process to step S31. When all the specimens have been moved from the specimen setting section 10 to the collection rack 30 (YES in step S39), the overall control section 110i ends the processing for arranging the specimens.

According to the present embodiment, for each of a plurality of specimens, the specimen information acquired based on the result of reading the identification display and the first sorting information in which the positions in the specimen placement section 10 are associated with each other are displayed. is moved from the sample installation section 10 to the collection rack 30, the samples can be arranged automatically. In particular, since the specimens are moved from the specimen installation section 10 to the collection rack 30 based on the second arrangement information generated by arranging the first arrangement information according to a predetermined rule, the specimens are arranged accurately according to the rules. be able to.

Further, according to this embodiment, since the head 20 has a rotatable body portion 22 and the hands 23 and 24 are provided on the body portion 22, different types of specimens such as the slide glass 100 and the cassette 101 can be handled. can respond.

Since the hand 23 has the suction portion 23 a that suctions the slide glass 100 , the hand 23 can easily hold the slide glass 100 . Further, since an identification mark is attached to the surface of the slide glass 100 and the head 20 has the barcode reader 26, the head 20 is moved so that the barcode reader 26 is positioned above the identification mark. At 26 the identification can be read. That is, without moving the slide glass 100, the identification display can be read and the specimen information can be acquired.

Since the hand 24 has the claw 24a, the cassette 101 can be gripped by the hand 24. FIG. Further, by moving the head 20 while holding the cassette 101 with the hand 24, the cassette 101 is moved from the sample setting section 10 to the mounting section 61 or the collection rack 30, and the cassette 101 is moved to the mounting section 61. can be moved from the specimen placement unit 10 from the Further, an identification mark is attached to the side surface of the cassette 101, and a barcode reader 62 is provided adjacent to the mounting portion 61 on which the cassette 101 is mounted. The identification display of the cassette 101 can be read by the barcode reader 62 . That is, even if the identification mark is not exposed when the cassette 101 is placed on the tray 12 due to the configuration, the identification mark of the cassette 101 can be read and the specimen information can be acquired.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the sample placement section 10 has trays 11 and 12, and the side walls 11b and 12b and ribs 11c having slopes that narrow as the trays 11 and 12 move away from the bottom surfaces 11a and 12a, 11d, 12c, 12d, and 12f reduce problems that occur during sample movement (for example, the sample hits the trays 11 and 12 and the sample drops from the hands 23 and 24, the sample cannot be accommodated in the tray 12, etc.). be able to.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the trays 11 and 12 are moved horizontally by bringing the claws 25 into contact with the projections 11e and 12e provided on the peripheral edges of the trays 11 and 12 to move the head 20 horizontally. 14 can be moved. In addition, when the trays 11 and 12 are drawn out from the storage section 13a along the rails 14, the horizontal positions of the storage section 13a and the trays 11 and 12 are different, so the processing of the specimens provided on the trays 11 and 12 is difficult. (Reading of the identification display by the barcode reader 26, imaging of the image by the imaging unit 27, etc.) can be performed for each of the trays 11 and 12. FIG.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the paraffin discharge unit 40 is provided movably, and paraffin is discharged from the nozzle 41 onto the cassette 101 mounted on the mounting unit 61, and the paraffin is discharged onto the cassette 101. By applying the ejected paraffin with the roller 43, even if the sample S in the cassette 101 is exposed, the sample S can be protected by covering the sample S with the paraffin P.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the imaging unit 27 is provided in the head 20, and when the imaging unit 27 is positioned above the sample, the sample is captured to obtain an image, and the sample information and the sample information are obtained for each of the plurality of samples. Since the image is associated with the image and stored as the first sorting information, the information of the specimen can be centrally managed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, by providing the air blowing unit 51 and the deodorizing unit 53 in the vicinity of the specimen mounting unit 10, the specimen mounted on the specimen mounting unit 10 is dried, and xylene, a mounting medium, or the like is used. Odors due to volatilization can be removed.

Although the rib 12f is provided on the side wall 11b in this embodiment, the rib 12f may be detachable. For example, the side wall 11b is provided with a concave portion (not shown), and the convex portion (not shown) of the rib 12f is provided in the concave portion (not shown) so that the rib 12f is provided on the side wall 11b. good too. As a result, the tray can be made compatible with both the slide glass 100 and the cassette 101 . Similarly, by adding two removable ribs 12 f to the tray 11 , the tray can be made compatible with both the slide glass 100 and the cassette 101 .

Also, the shape of the rib 12d is not limited to this. 17A and 17B are schematic diagrams of a tray 12A according to a modification, where (A) is a plan view and (B) is a sectional view taken along line CC of (A). Tray 12A has ribs 12d' with recesses 12g. Therefore, when the cassette 101 is gripped by the hand 24, the claw 24a is inserted into the recess 12g, and the rib 12d' and the claw 24a do not come into contact with each other.

Moreover, the shape of the mounting part 61 is not restricted to this, either. FIG. 17C is a schematic diagram of a mounting section 61A according to a modification. In order to reduce the possibility that the protrusion 61c may cause problems in reading the identification mark, the mounting portion 61A may have a low protrusion 61d. Also, FIG. 17D is a schematic diagram of a mounting section 61B according to a modification. A concave portion 61e may be provided on the bottom surface of the mounting portion 61, and the cassette 101 may be provided in the concave portion.

Further, in this embodiment, the hands 23 and 24 are not provided with sensors, but the hands 23 and 24 may be provided with sensors so that the processing is stopped when the sample drops from the hands 23 and 24 .

<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention has a collection rack on which the trays 11 and 12 can be placed. A second embodiment will be described below. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic configuration of the specimen organizing device 2 that is one embodiment of the present invention. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing an example of a schematic configuration of the specimen organizing apparatus 2, where (A) is a plan view and (B) is a front view. In addition, in FIG. 19, the main part is seen through.

Inside the housing 70, there are provided a specimen setting section 10, a head 20, a collection rack 30, an air blowing section 51, an air blowing pipe 52, a deodorizing section 53, a mounting section 61, and a collection rack 80 (the second specimen storage section of the present invention). equivalent) are provided.

The collection rack 80 mainly has shelves 83 and rails 84 . Similar to the shelf 13, the shelf 83 has a plurality of storage units 83a arranged in the vertical direction in which the trays 11 and 12 (the tray 11 is shown in FIG. 19) are provided. The trays 11 and 12 provided on the collection rack 80 correspond to the second tray of the present invention.

The rail 84 is provided in each of the storage portions 83a and extends in the horizontal direction (here, the x-direction). Rail 84 and rail 14 are connected, and trays 11 and 12 are movable from rail 84 to rail 14 .

Like the specimen organizing device 1, the specimen organizing device 2 acquires specimen information provided in the specimen placing section 10, and moves the specimen from the specimen placing section 10 to the collection rack 30 based on the specimen information. Further, the specimen organizing device 2 moves the specimen from the specimen placing section 10 to the collection rack 80 based on the specimen information.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for moving the specimen provided in the specimen setting section 10 to the collection rack 80 by the specimen organizing apparatus 2 . The processing shown in FIG. 20 may be performed continuously after the processing in FIG. 13 or 14, or after the processing start instruction is input from the input unit 115 after the processing in FIG. 13 or 14. may be done. It should be noted that whether the specimen organizing apparatus 2 moves the specimen provided in the specimen setting section 10 to the collection rack 30 (performs the processing shown in FIG. 16) or to the collection rack 80 (performs the processing shown in FIG. 20) is , based on the information input from the input unit 115, the overall control unit 110i determines.

First, the sort-out information generation unit 110h generates the second sort-out information based on the first sort-out information stored in the storage unit 113 and the rule input from the input unit 115 (step S40).

Then, the overall control section 110i moves all the specimens from the specimen setting section 10 to the collection rack 80 based on the order of the second sorting information (steps S41 to S48). When performing the processing of steps S41 to S45 first, the overall control unit 110i performs the processing on the sample stored in the first row of the second sorting information.

The processing of steps S41 to S48 will be described below. First, the head control unit 110a acquires the position of the sample to be processed from the second arrangement information (step S41), and pulls out the tray 11 or tray 12 on which the sample to be processed is placed (step S42). Next, the head control unit 110a takes out the specimen at the position acquired in step S41 (step S43), and returns the tray 11 or tray 12 to the storage part 13a while holding the specimen by the head 20 (step S44). The processing of steps S41 to S44 is the same as that of steps S31 to S34.

Next, the head control section 110a stores the held specimen in the recovery rack 80 (steps S46 to S48). First, the head control unit 110a is provided in the collection rack 80, and pulls out the tray 11, 12 located at an arbitrary position, for example, the topmost tray 11, 12 from the storage unit 83a among the trays 11, 12 having a space for placing a sample. (Step S46). Since the process of pulling out the trays 11 and 12 from the storage section 83a is the same as that of step S10, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the head controller 110a and the hand controller 110b place the specimens in the empty spaces of the trays 11 and 12 (step S47). The position where the specimen is placed is, for example, the first space on the -x side and the -y side of the trays 11 and 12, the +x side of the first space is the first space, and the +y side of the first space is the first space. The installation order is determined in advance such as the third space, and so on, and is stored in the storage unit 113 . The head control unit 110a moves the head 20 so that the specimen is placed in the space with the lowest placement order among the empty spaces of the trays 11 and 12 . Note that the process of placing the specimen is the same as that of step S35, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the head control section 110a returns the trays 11 and 12 on which the specimens are placed in step S37 to the storage section 83a (step S48). Since the process of returning the trays 11 and 12 to the storage section 83a is the same as that of step S18, description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the overall control unit 110i determines whether or not all the samples stored in the second sorting information have been processed, that is, whether all the samples have been moved from the sample installation unit 10 to the collection rack 80 (step (Step S49). If all the specimens have not been moved from the specimen placement section 10 to the collection rack 80 (NO in step S49), the overall control section 110i returns the process to step S41. When all the specimens have been moved from the specimen placing section 10 to the collection rack 80 (YES in step S49), the overall control section 110i ends the processing for arranging the specimens.

According to this embodiment, the specimens can be organized and arranged on the trays 11 and 12 of the collection rack 80 . Then, the examination efficiency can be improved by having the doctor examine the arranged samples.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the specimen organizing apparatus 2 can determine which specimens are provided in which trays 11 and 12 based on the second organizing information. That is, the integrated control unit 110i can output the specimen information of the specimens provided on the trays 11 and 12 of the collection rack 80 for each of the trays 11 and 12 based on the second sorting information. For example, the integrated control unit 110 i can determine that the first to tenth slide glasses 100 of the second sorting information are arranged on the topmost tray 11 of the collection rack 80 . By outputting a list of the slide glasses 100 provided on the topmost tray 11 of the collection rack 80 to the touch panel 75 or the like, the integrated control unit 110i indicates in which tray 11 or 12 the sample to be inspected is provided. A doctor or the like can easily ascertain whether a dolphin is present.

In the present embodiment, the first sort-out information and the second sort-out information stored in storage unit 113 are not output. may In particular, the sort-out information generation unit 110h generates the sample information acquired by the barcode reader control unit 110c, the image acquired by the imaging control unit 110d, and the specimen collection rack provided with the sample based on the second sort-out information. Third sort-out information associated with the position in 80 may be generated, and the third sort-out information may be output via a network (not shown) or the like. This facilitates specimen information management.

<Third Embodiment>
The third embodiment of the present invention is a form in which the trays 11 and 12 are not provided, and the specimens to be arranged are provided in a box-like member. A third embodiment will be described below. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic configuration of the specimen organizing device 3. As shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 21, only the main part is illustrated.

The specimen organizing apparatus 3 mainly includes a specimen placing section 19 (corresponding to the first specimen storage section of the present invention), a head 20 (not shown in FIG. 20), and a slide glass recovery section 31 (the second specimen storage section of the present invention). 20), a box-shaped member 65, and a housing 70 (not shown in FIG. 20). In this embodiment, the slide glass collection section 31 can accommodate both the slide glass 100 and the cassette 101 .

The sample placement section 19 has five box-shaped members 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, and 19e arranged substantially along the y direction. Inside the box-shaped members 19a to 19e, a plurality of unorganized slide glasses 100 or cassettes 101 are stacked in the z direction. A plate member 19k is provided on the -z side of the box-shaped members 19a to 19e, and the box-shaped members 19a to 19e are pulled out by pulling out the plate member 19k forward (-y direction).

The box-shaped member 65 has five box-shaped members 65a, 65b, 65c, 65d, and 65e arranged substantially along the y direction. The specimen organizing apparatus 3 uses the head 20 to move the specimen set on the specimen mounting part 19 between the specimen mounting part 19 and the box-shaped member 65, and removes the specimen from the specimen mounting part 19 or the box-shaped member 65 from the slide glass. It is moved to the collecting section 31 . Further, the specimen organizing device 3 stores the specimens in the slide glass collection unit 31 in order based on the specimen information.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in which the specimen organizing apparatus 3 acquires the specimen information of the specimens provided in the specimen placing section 19 . Here, a slide glass 100 will be described as an example of a specimen.

First, the head control unit 110a positions the barcode reader 26 vertically above the identification display of the slide glass 100 provided in the sample setting unit 19, and the barcode reader control unit 110c controls the barcode reader 26. The identification display is read (step S50). Thereby, the barcode reader control unit 110c acquires sample information associated with the read identification display. The order of reading the identification indications is predetermined and stored in storage unit 113 .

Next, the head control unit 110a positions the imaging unit 27 vertically above the identification display on the slide glass 100, and the imaging control unit 110d controls the imaging unit 27 to acquire an image of the specimen (step S51). Then, the organizing information generation unit 110h generates the sample information acquired in step S50, the image acquired in step S51, and the position where the slide glass 100 was placed (the box where this sample was placed), which is the basis of these. The number indicating which of the shaped members 19a to 19e is and the position of the slide glass 100 in the box-shaped members 19a to 19b) are associated with each other and stored in the storage unit 113 (step S52). As a result, the data is added to the first sorting information. In the present embodiment, the positional information of the first arrangement information is, for example, 1-1 for the position of the slide glass 100 provided at the top of the box-shaped member 19a, and from the top of the box-shaped member 19c. The position of the fifth slide glass 100 is 3-5.

Next, the head control section 110a moves the slide glass 100 that has undergone the processes of steps S50 to S52 from the sample setting section 19 to the box-shaped member 65 (step S53). Specifically, the head control unit 110a moves the hand 23 downward, the hand control unit 110b sucks the slide glass 100 with the suction unit 23a, and the head control unit 110a moves the head 20 horizontally and vertically. Then, the slide glass 100 is placed inside the box-shaped member 65, and the hand control section 110b separates the slide glass 100 from the adsorption section 23a. In step S53, the slide glasses 100 provided on the box-shaped members 19a-19e are moved to the box-shaped members 65a-65e, respectively.

Note that the order in which steps S50 to S53 are performed is not limited to this. For example, the processing of steps S50 to S52 may be performed after performing the processing of step S53.

Then, the integrated control section 110i determines whether or not the processes of steps S50 to S53 have been performed for all the slide glasses 100 provided in the sample setting section 19 (step S54). If the processes of steps S50 to S53 have not been performed on all the slide glasses 100 provided in the sample placement section 19 (NO in step S54), the overall control section 110i returns the process to step S50.

After performing steps S50 to S53 on the slide glass 100 provided at the top of the box-shaped member 19a, the overall control unit 110i moves the second slide provided from the top of the box-shaped member 19a. Steps S50 to S53 are performed on the glass 100 . Further, after performing the processing of steps S50 to S53 on the slide glass 100 provided at the bottom of the box-shaped member 19a, the integrated control unit 110i is provided at the top of the box-shaped member 19b. Steps S50 to S53 are performed on the slide glass 100. FIG. For example, while the head 20 is inserted inside the box-shaped member 19a, the imaging control unit 110d acquires an image via the imaging unit 27, and based on the image, the slide glass 100 is provided on the box-shaped member 19a. If the slide glass 100 is not provided on the box-shaped member 19a, the slide glass 100 provided at the bottom of the box-shaped member 19a is processed in the processing of the previous steps S50 to S53. is performed, and the process proceeds to the slide glass 100 provided at the top of the box-shaped member 19b. In this way, in the processing of steps S50 to S53, first, the identification display of the slide glass 100 provided on the box-shaped member 19a is read, and then the slide glass 100 provided on the box-shaped member 19b and the box-shaped member 19c are read. The slide glass 100 provided on the box-shaped member 19d, the slide glass 100 provided on the box-shaped member 19e are processed in this order.

When the processes of steps S50 to S53 have been performed for all the slide glasses 100 provided in the sample placement section 19 (YES in step S54), the overall control section 110i ends the process shown in FIG. .

When the sample is the cassette 101, steps S12 to S16 may be performed instead of steps S50 to S52 of the processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for sorting out samples based on sample information acquired by the sample sorting apparatus 3 . The processing shown in FIG. 23 may be performed continuously after the processing in FIG. 22, or may be performed after an instruction to start processing is input from the input unit 115 after the processing in FIG. good. The processing in FIG. 23 will be described using the case where the specimen is the slide glass 100 as an example.

First, the sort-out information generation unit 110h generates the second sort-out information based on the first sort-out information stored in the storage unit 113 and the rule input from the input unit 115 (step S60).

Then, the overall control section 110i moves all the specimens from the specimen placement section 10 to the collection rack 30 based on the order of the second sorting information (steps S61 to S63). First, the head control unit 110a acquires the position of the sample to be processed from the second arrangement information (step S61), and takes out the sample at the acquired position (step S62). For example, when the position of the sample is 1-1, the slide glass 100 is provided at the bottom of the box-shaped member 65a. The number of slide glasses 100 provided on the box-shaped member 65a (box-shaped member 19a) is known by the process shown in FIG. Therefore, the head control unit 110a moves the number of slide glasses 100 that is one less than the number of the slide glasses 100 provided in the box-shaped member 65a from the box-shaped member 65a to the box-shaped member 19a, and moves the slide glasses 100 to the box-shaped member 65a. The slide glass 100 provided at the bottom of the is exposed. Then, the head control unit 110a and the hand control unit 110b hold the exposed slide glass 100. FIG.

Next, the head controller 110a stores the held specimen in the collection rack 30 (step S63). Since the process of step S63 is the same as that of step S35, the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the overall control unit 110i determines whether or not all the specimens stored in the second organization information have been processed, that is, whether or not all the specimens stored in the second organization information have been slid from the specimen placement unit 19. It is determined whether or not the glass has been moved to the glass collecting section 31 (whether the processes of steps S61 to S63 have been performed) (step S64). If all the specimens have not been moved from the specimen placement section 19 to the slide glass recovery section 31 (NO in step S64), the overall control section 110i returns the process to step S31. When all the specimens have been moved from the specimen placement section 19 to the slide glass collecting section 31 (YES in step S64), the overall control section 110i ends the processing for arranging the specimens.

According to this embodiment, since the trays 11 and 12 do not need to be provided, the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

In the specimen organizing apparatuses 1 and 2 of the first to third embodiments, the head 20 has the hands 23 and 24, and by rotating the main body 22 to switch between the hands 23 and 24, the slide glass can be Although it was applicable to both 100 and cassette 101 , the sample organizing device may be applicable only to slide glass 100 or only to cassette 101 . If the specimen organizing apparatus is applicable only to the slide glass 100, the head should have the hand 23, claws 25, bar code reader 26 and imaging section 27. FIG. If the specimen organizing apparatus is applicable only to the cassette 101 , the head should have the hand 24 , claws 25 , imaging section 27 , placing section 61 and bar code reader 62 . In addition, a rotatable main body is not essential for a specimen organizing device applicable only to the slide glass 100 or cassette 101 .

It should be noted that specimens sorted by the specimen sorting apparatus according to the above-described embodiment are not limited to having specimen information serially numbered. etc.) or cassettes may be stored in advance in the trays 11 and 12 or the sample placement unit 19 as dummies, and the dummy samples may be placed in the portions where the sample information is missing when sorting the samples. This makes it easier to visually identify missing specimens as serial numbers at the time of final storage, making the sorting work more efficient.

Further, the specimen organizing apparatus according to the above embodiments may be a specimen reading apparatus that can be connected to an external management system connected via a network or the like.

Further, the specimen organizing apparatus according to the above embodiment may constitute a specimen organizing system together with an information processing apparatus connected to the specimen organizing apparatus. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing electrical configurations of the specimen organizing apparatus 1 and the information processing apparatus 5 connected to the specimen organizing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. The specimen organizing device 1 and the information processing device 5 are connected via a communication network or the like.

In addition, although the specimen organizing device 1 is connected to the information processing device 5 in FIG. 24 , the specimen organizing device 2 and the specimen organizing device 3 may be connected to the information processing device 5 .

The information processing device 5 mainly includes a control unit 120 , a storage unit 123 , a communication unit 124 and an input unit 125 . The control unit 120 mainly includes a CPU 121 and a memory 122 and operates according to programs stored in the storage unit 123 .

The storage unit 123 is composed of a hard disk or the like. The storage unit 123 stores various programs and information required for execution of processing in the control unit 120, and information on processing results. In addition, the storage unit 123 stores sample data (to be described in detail later) including information on the creation of the sample. The communication unit 124 is configured with a communication interface or the like for communicating with the specimen organizing apparatus 1 . Input unit 125 includes a touch panel, a keyboard, and the like, receives input from the outside, and outputs the input to control unit 120 .

Note that the configuration of the information processing apparatus 5 shown in FIG. 24 has been described as the main configuration for describing the features of the present embodiment, and does not exclude, for example, the configuration provided in a general information processing apparatus. Further, the information processing device 5 may be composed of a single information processing device, or may be composed of a plurality of information processing devices distributed over a communication network.

FIG. 25 is a functional block diagram showing the software configuration of the control unit 120. As shown in FIG. The information processing device 5 has an acquisition unit 120a and a sample data generation unit 120b as software resources by means of an arithmetic unit such as a CPU 121 and a memory 122. FIG. The acquisition unit 120a is a functional unit that acquires sample read information output from the output unit 110j. The sample data generation unit 120b is a functional unit that stores the sample read information acquired by the acquisition unit 120a in the sample data stored in the storage unit 123. FIG.

FIG. 26 is an example of sample reading information. The sample reading information is generated by the sorting information generation unit 110 h and stored in the storage unit 113 . The sorting information generation unit 110h generates sample information acquired by the barcode reader control unit 110c and information indicating that the barcode reader control unit 110c has acquired sample information based on the reading result of the identification information (hereinafter referred to as acquisition information). ) are associated.

In the example shown in FIG. 26, the sample reading information includes a sample number (cassette 101 (embedding block B) and slide glass 100) as sample information. Note that the patient ID, the patient's name, and the like may be included in the sample information.

When the barcode reader control unit 110c reads the identification information provided on the cassette 101, a circle is stored in the "block specimen" and "confirmation" columns of the specimen reading information as the acquired information, and the identification information is stored in the "block sample" and "time" columns. When the barcode reader control unit 110c reads the identification information provided on the slide glass 100, a circle is stored in the “slide specimen” and “confirmation” columns of the specimen reading information as the acquired information, and the identification The time when the information was read is stored in the "slide sample" and "time" columns. Since a plurality of slide glasses 100 are produced from one embedding block B, specimen reading information is generated for each piece of identification information attached to the slide glasses 100 .

It should be noted that items of acquisition information in specimen read information are not limited to "time" and "confirmation". For example, in the sample reading information, the item "time" is not essential, and other items may be included.

In addition, the specimen reading information can be displayed on a display section or the like (not shown). When displaying the display specimen read information, instead of displaying a circle in the "Confirmation" item, it is possible to make it possible to identify that the identification information has been read by coloring the row of the corresponding specimen number, etc. good.

FIG. 27A shows an example of sample data in which no data is stored, FIG. 27B shows an example of sample data before sample read information is stored, and FIG. It is an example of sample data after loading information is stored.

Specimen data includes specimen information and information on preparation of the specimen. As sample information, the sample data includes reception information including the date and time of sample acquisition, patient ID, patient name, sample site, and the like. In addition, as information relating to the preparation of the specimen, the specimen number (cassette 101 (embedding block B) and slide glass 100), specimen production time, and the like are included in the specimen data.

In FIG. 26B, the sample data stores the sample information and the information related to the production of the sample, but does not store the sample reading information. Before the specimen reading information is stored, items related to acquisition information ("block specimen completed" and "slide specimen completed") in the specimen data are not stored. When the sample data generator 120b stores the sample read information in the sample data shown in FIG. 26(B), the acquisition information is stored in the sample data as shown in FIG. 26(C).

Also, the sample data can be displayed on a display unit or the like (not shown). When displaying the specimen data, instead of displaying a circle in the "Confirmation" item, it is possible to identify that the identification information has been read by coloring the row of the corresponding specimen number in the same way as with the specimen reading information. You may make it possible.

Note that the sample data generation unit 120b may store the sample read information in the sample data each time the acquisition unit 120a acquires the sample read information, or may store the sample read information in the sample data at a predetermined date and time (for example, midnight every day). The sample read information obtained may be stored in the sample data.

As a result, specimen information can be centrally managed in the specimen organizing system, making specimen management easier. Note that the specimen reading information and the specimen data may include an image captured by the imaging section 27 . Further, the specimen reading information and the specimen data may include information (for example, second arrangement information and third arrangement information) including where the specimen is provided in the collection rack 30 . This makes it possible to easily grasp the position of the target specimen.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and design changes and the like are also included within the scope of the gist of the present invention. .

In addition, in the present invention, the term "substantially" is not limited to the case of being exactly the same, but is a concept that includes errors and deformations to the extent that the identity is not lost. For example, "substantially parallel" and "substantially orthogonal" are not limited to strictly parallel and orthogonal. Further, for example, even when simply expressing parallel, orthogonal, etc., not only strictly parallel, orthogonal, etc., but also approximately parallel, approximately orthogonal, etc. are included.

1, 2, 3: Specimen organizing device 5: Information processing device 10, 19: Specimen installation units 11, 12, 12A: Trays 11a, 12a: Bottom surfaces 11b, 12b: Side walls 11c, 11d, 12c, 12d, 12d', 12f : Ribs 11e, 12e : Protruding portion 12g : Recessed portion 13 : Shelf 13a : Storage portion 14 : Rails 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e : Box-like member 19k : Plate-like member 20 : Head 21 : Shaft 21a : Rotating portion 22 : Body parts 23, 24: Hand 23a : Suction parts 24a, 25: Claw 26 : Barcode reader 27 : Imaging part 28 : Drive part 30 : Collection rack 31 : Slide glass collection part 32 : Cassette collection parts 31a, 31b, 31c , 31 d, 31 e, 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, 32 d, 32 e, 32 f, 32 g, 32 h, 32 i, 32 j: box-shaped members 31 k, 32 k: plate-shaped member 40 : paraffin discharge section 41 : nozzle 41 a : tank 42 : sensor 43 : Roller 43a : Shaft 44 : Rail 45 : Drive unit 51 : Blower unit 52 : Blower pipe 53 : Deodorizing unit 61 : Mounting units 61a, 61b, 61c: Projection 62 : Barcode readers 65, 65a, 65b, 65c, 65d , 65e: box-shaped member 70: housing 71: door 72: switch 73: display light 75: touch panel 80: collection rack 83: shelf 83a: storage unit 84: rail 100: slide glass 100a: frost 100b: cover glass 100c: Sealing material 101: cassette 101a: inclined surface 101b: bottom surface 101d: imaging controllers 110, 120: controller 110a: head controller 110b: hand controller 110c: barcode reader controller 110d: imaging controller 110e: paraffin ejection control Unit 110f: Blowing control unit 110g: Deodorization control unit 110h: Sorting information generation unit 110i: Integrated control unit 111, 121: CPU
112, 122: memories 113, 123: storage units 114, 124: communication units 115, 125: input unit 120a: acquisition unit 121b: sample data generation unit

Claims (11)

A specimen organizing apparatus for arranging, based on the specimen information, a specimen provided with a specimen and having an identification display that is a character string or barcode indicating specimen information, which is information about the specimen. ,
a first specimen storage unit in which a plurality of specimens are provided;
a head having a hand for gripping or sucking the specimen and movable in horizontal and vertical directions;
a second specimen storage unit in which the specimen moved by the head is stored;
a reading unit that reads the identification indication;
a first control unit that acquires the sample information based on a result of reading the identification display by the reading unit;
a storage unit that associates and stores a position in the first sample storage unit and the sample information for each of the plurality of samples;
a second control unit that controls the head and the hand to move the specimen from the first specimen storage unit to the second specimen storage unit based on the information stored in the storage unit;
A specimen organizing device comprising: The first specimen storage unit has a plate-shaped tray capable of two-dimensionally arranging the specimens,
The tray has a plate-like bottom surface on which the specimen is placed, sidewalls provided along the periphery of the bottom surface, and ribs provided substantially parallel to the sidewalls,
The specimen organizing device according to claim 1, wherein the sidewalls and the ribs have a slope that narrows with increasing distance from the bottom surface. The first specimen storage section includes a shelf on which a plurality of storage sections for storing the trays are arranged in a vertical direction, and a rail provided in each of the storage sections, the rail extending in the horizontal direction. and
the tray is moved horizontally along the rail;
in a state in which the tray is pulled out from the storage section along the rail, horizontal positions of the storage section and the tray are different;
The tray has a convex portion provided on the peripheral edge,
the head has a claw capable of coming into contact with the projection,
3. The second controller moves the tray along the rail by horizontally moving the head while the claws are in contact with the protrusions. Specimen organizer as described. The specimen is a slide glass,
The identification mark is attached to the surface of the slide glass,
The hand has a suction portion that suctions the specimen,
The head has the reading unit,
The second control unit moves the head so that the reading unit is positioned above the identification display,
The first control unit controls the reading unit to read the identification display when the reading unit is positioned above the identification display. Specimen organizer. A mounting unit on which the cassette as the specimen is mounted,
The identification mark is attached to the side surface of the cassette,
The hand has a gripping portion that grips the specimen,
The reading unit is provided adjacent to the mounting unit,
The first control unit controls the reading unit to read the identification display when the cassette is placed on the placement unit,
The second control section moves the cassette from the first specimen storage section to the mounting section, and moves the cassette from the mounting section to the first specimen storage section. Item 5. The specimen organizing device according to any one of Items 1 to 4. Equipped with a movably provided paraffin discharge part,
The paraffin discharge unit has a nozzle for discharging paraffin and a rotatable roller,
the nozzle ejects paraffin onto the cassette mounted on the mounting portion;
The specimen organizing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the rollers apply paraffin discharged onto the cassette. The head includes a first hand having a suction portion for sucking the specimen, a second hand having a gripping portion for gripping the specimen, and a rotatable body provided with the first hand and the second hand. The specimen organizing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: an imaging unit provided in the head;
a third control unit that controls the imaging unit to acquire an image by imaging the specimen when the imaging unit is positioned above the specimen;
The second control unit moves the head so that the imaging unit is positioned above the specimen,
The specimen organizing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the storage unit associates and stores the specimen information and the image for each of the plurality of specimens. The second specimen storage unit has a plate-shaped second tray capable of two-dimensionally arranging the specimens,
The specimen arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second control section moves the specimen from the first specimen storage section to the second tray based on the specimen information. Device. The storage unit stores first sorting information in which a position in the first specimen storage unit and the specimen information are associated with each of the plurality of specimens, and
The second control section moves the specimen from the first specimen storage section to the second specimen storage section based on second arrangement information generated by arranging the first arrangement information according to a predetermined rule. The specimen organizing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: A specimen organizing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10;
and an information processing device connected to the specimen organizing device,
The specimen organizing device includes an output unit that outputs specimen reading information including the specimen information to the information processing device,
The information processing device is
a storage unit storing sample data including the sample information;
an acquisition unit that acquires the sample read information;
a sample data generation unit that stores the sample read information in the sample data based on the sample information;
A specimen arrangement system characterized by comprising:

Images