JP3297001B2 - Stool inspection method and stool collection container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for examining feces as a specimen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a container for collecting feces as a specimen, for example, a container disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-54082 is known. The container includes a sample collection device,
A container body for storing the test solution is provided, and a pipette portion for dropping an appropriate amount of the test solution is provided at the bottom of the container body. A small area liquid passage is formed in the pipette portion, and an intermediate portion of the liquid passage is blocked by a thin portion.

[0003] According to this container, for example, stool collection and inspection are performed in the following manner.

[0004] Feces is attached to the tip of the sample collection tool.

[0005] The distal end of the sample collection tool is inserted into the container body through the opening on the distal end side, and the sample collection tool is attached to the container body as it is in close contact. At this time, the test liquid becomes a suspension by dispersing the fecal particles attached to the tip of the sample collection tool in the liquid.

[0006] After transporting the container, at the time of inspection, the thin portion of the pipette portion is pierced with a needle or the like, and the liquid passage is brought into a flowing state. Then, the middle abdomen of the container body is pressed with a finger or the like while the pipette section is directed downward, the suspension is dropped from the pipette section into an appropriate place, and the inspection is performed.

[0007]

In the above stool collection container,
There are the following issues to be solved.

A) Fine work such as passing a needle through a small-diameter liquid passage to break a thin-walled part, or pulling out the needle, turning the pipette part downward again, and further pressing the container body to push out the liquid. These are cumbersome operations, and these operations are difficult to automate. In addition, since dropping is performed manually with a finger or the like, it is very difficult to accurately collect a fixed amount of liquid from inside the container.

B) The liquid passage of the pipette portion must be extremely thin so that an appropriate amount of liquid can be dropped, and a thin portion must be formed in the middle of the liquid passage.
Its molding is difficult. Further, it is necessary to provide a filter in order to prevent the sediment from entering the liquid passage, so that the structure is complicated and the cost is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a stool inspection method that can easily and accurately collect a stool suspension with a simple configuration and that is suitable for automation. With the goal.

[0011]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to an opening at a front end side and a straight opening at a bottom side, and sticking a sealing film to an end face at the bottom side. The bottom side opening is closed, and a test solution storage container capable of storing a test solution therein and a sample attachment portion to which a sample made of feces can be attached at the tip, and the sample attachment portion is the test solution storage container A method for inspecting stool using a stool collection container having a sample collection member that can be mounted in close contact with the tip opening of the test solution storage container in a state where the sample collection member is inserted therein. The sample is attached to the sample attachment portion, and the sample collection member is attached to the tip opening of the test solution storage container while the sample attachment portion is immersed in the test solution stored in the test solution storage container. The above sample particles are dispersed After that, the test liquid storage container is held by the container holding member with the sealing film on the bottom end face of the container facing upward, and the test liquid container is suspended from a position directly above the sealing film. After lowering the suction nozzle, the suspension suction nozzle breaks through the sealing film from above, and the suspension suction nozzle sucks the suspension in the test liquid container as it is. , And the suspension in the suspension suction nozzle is dropped at an appropriate position.

In this method, after the sealing film stuck on the bottom end surface of the container is pierced by the suspension suction nozzle, the suspension in the container is sucked by the nozzle as it is, and the suspension is sucked as it is, for example, in a reaction container. )
Unlike the conventional method using a container with a pipette part, fine work such as breaking a thin part through a needle through a liquid path with a small diameter, or pulling out the needle and turning the pipette part downward again,
The troublesome work of pushing out the suspension by pressing with a finger or the like becomes unnecessary. Moreover, an appropriate amount of suspension can be accurately collected, and the collection operation can be easily automated.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on.

The stool collection container shown here comprises a test solution container 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a sample collection member 20 shown in FIG.
It consists of

The test liquid container 10 has a container body integrally formed of synthetic resin and has a distal end side (FIG. 1).
A female screw portion 11 is provided on the left side in FIG. 2A, and a portion on the bottom side (right side in FIG. 2A) of the female screw portion 11 is a test liquid storage portion 12.

The female screw portion 11 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a female screw 11a is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. Knurled irregularities 11b are engraved on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the female screw portion 11,
The rotation operation by pinching this portion is facilitated.

A handle (ironing) portion 13 is extended from the female screw portion 11 to the bottom side and faces the test liquid storage portion 12. The handling portion 13 has a handling hole 13a at the rear end, and the inside diameter of the handling hole 13a
Is set substantially equal to the outer diameter of the sampling rod 23.

The test liquid storage section 12 has a flat (an elliptical shape as shown in FIG. 2 in this embodiment) sectional shape.
The tip side portion of the test solution storage section 12 is
1 is a tapered portion 12a for smoothly transitioning from the cross-sectional shape to the cross-sectional shape of the test liquid storage section 12. A label 14 is affixed to the outer peripheral surface of the test liquid storage unit 12, and the name of the subject can be entered on the label 14.

The bottom side of the test solution storage section 12 is opened straight, and a flange 15 is formed on the periphery of the bottom side opening. The flange portion 15 is thicker than other portions and protrudes in the container radial direction, and has a substantially rectangular shape in the illustrated example. Then, a sealing film 16 having an outer shape substantially equal to that of the flange portion 15 is attached to an end surface of the flange portion 15 so that the bottom-side opening is closed.

The sealing film 16 has a corrosion-preventive coating layer made of polyethylene or the like formed on both front and back surfaces of a thin base material made of a metal such as aluminum or a synthetic resin, and further has a heat-sealing synthetic layer formed on the back surface. It is a composite film coated with a resin (basically the same material as the container body), and the whole is integrally formed by laminate molding. That is, the sealing film 16 is attached to the end face of the flange portion 15 by heat welding.

However, in the present invention, the above-mentioned coating layers are not essential, and the means for attaching the sealing film 16 may be ultrasonic welding or adhesive bonding in addition to the above-mentioned thermal welding.

As in the case of the above-mentioned container body, the specimen collection rod 20
Also, in this embodiment, it is integrally formed of a synthetic resin, and has a knob portion 21, a male screw portion 22, and a sampling rod 23 as shown in FIG. Male thread 2
2, a male screw 22a is engraved, and is configured to be screwable with the female screw portion 11 of the test liquid storage container. Sampling rod 23
Has a uniform diameter, and a portion close to the male screw portion 22 is a bent portion 23a bent at an obtuse angle.
The portion on the distal end side is bent in a direction different from the bending direction of the bent portion 23a (the opposite direction in the illustrated example). The tip of the collection rod 23 is attached to the outside of the curvature (FIG. 3B).
A plurality of sample collecting grooves 23b opening upward (in FIG. 2).

Next, a method of inspecting stool using the stool collection container will be described.

1) Collection of Sample As shown in FIG.
1 is pinched with a finger or the like, and the tip of the sampling rod 23 is pressed against the feces, which is a sample, and rubbed, so that the sample enters the sample collecting groove 23b at the tip. At this time, in order to secure a sufficient sample collection amount, it is preferable that the collection rod 23 be as close as possible to the horizontal. However, if the collection rod 23 is linear as shown in FIG. The closer the sampling rod 23 is to a horizontal position, the closer the knob 21 approaches the sample, and the more likely it is that the knob sticks to a finger or the like. On the other hand, in the case of the sample collection rod 23 whose middle part is bent as shown in FIG. 2A, the space between the sample and the knob can be sufficiently secured while the tip portion is made closer to the horizontal, and the finger or the like can be secured. It is possible to prevent the sample from attaching.

However, in the present invention, the shape of the sampling rod 23 is not particularly limited, and may be the one shown in FIG. 4B.

2) Attachment of sample collecting member As shown in FIG. 5, with the test liquid storage container 10 with the tip thereof facing upward and the test liquid 17 stored therein, from above (ie, the female screw portion 11 side) From) Test solution storage container 10
The distal end of the sample collection member 20 is inserted into the inside, and the male screw portion 22 is screwed into the female screw portion 11 by rotating the sample collection member 20, and the two are brought into close contact with each other. Here, when the tip portion of the collection rod 23 (that is, the portion where the sample is attached) passes through the handling hole 13a of the handling section 13, the excess sample on the collection rod 23 is scraped off by the handling section 13. Only the appropriate amount of the sample that has entered the sample collecting groove 23b is immersed in the test solution 17. This sample is dispersed in the liquid to make the test liquid 17 into a suspension.

3) Sampling of Suspension, etc. The stool collection container in the state shown in FIG. 5 is transported to a place having an appropriate inspection facility as it is, and the suspension is collected and analyzed. FIG. 6 shows an example of an apparatus for automatically performing the sampling.
And FIG.

This device includes a container holding member 40, a suspension suction device 50, and a transport device 60.

The container holding member 40 has the shape of a container that opens upward, and has a small-diameter hole 41 slightly larger than the female screw portion 11 of the feces collection container, and a large-diameter hole having a cross-sectional shape substantially equivalent to that of the flange portion 15. And a tapered portion 43 at the boundary between the two holes 41 and 42. Then, the stool collection container is held in the container holding member 40 by the knob 21.
By inserting the tapered portion 12a on the tapered portion 43 and inserting the tapered portion 12a from above, it is possible to hold the stool container with the bottom sealing film 16 facing upward as shown in FIG. I have.

The suspension suction device 50 has a suspension suction nozzle 54 extending downward from a device body 52 containing a pump, and a lower end surface 54 of the suspension suction nozzle 54.
a is cut obliquely and sharpened. Transfer device 60
Is a cylinder 61 installed on the ground, a lifting shaft 62 driven up and down by the cylinder 61, and a lifting shaft 6
And a turning device 63 for turning a horizontal arm 64 at the top of the suspension arm 2. The suspension suction device 50 is fixed to the tip of the horizontal arm 64. And transport in the vertical direction.

In this apparatus, the container holding member 40
The suspension suction nozzle 54 is set at a position immediately above the sealing film 16 (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 7) with the stool collection container held, and is lowered as it is. The film 16 is pierced and further immersed in the test solution (suspension) 17 therein (indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3). At this position, the pump is operated as it is to suck a certain amount of the suspension into the suspension suction nozzle 54, and then the suspension suction nozzle 54 is pulled up, moved to another location, and moved to another location. The suspension is dropped into a suitable place (for example, a reaction vessel).

According to the above-described stool inspection method, after the sealing film 16 is pierced by the suspension suction nozzle 54, the suspension 17 can be collected by simply sucking the suspension into the nozzle 54 as it is. Since it is possible, as in the conventional method using a stool collection container having a pipette part, fine work such as piercing a thin part through a small diameter hole in the pipette part through a needle or the like, or pushing the middle part of the container with a finger from the pipette part. A troublesome operation such as dropping of the suspension is not required, an appropriate amount of the suspension can be accurately and easily collected, and the operation can be easily automated.

The stool collection container has a simple structure in which the sealing film 16 is stuck to the bottom end surface to close the opening, and the above method can be carried out. It can be mass-produced at a lower cost than the pipette part provided at the bottom of the container. In addition, by simplifying the structure on the container bottom side in this way, the test liquid storage container 1
0, it is easy to form the female screw portion 11 integrally, to form the handle 13 integrally in the test liquid storage container 10, or to make the cross-sectional shape of the test liquid storage portion 12 flat. The formation of the female screw portion 11 can reliably prevent the test solution 17 from leaking from the container tip side,
The amount of the sample to be dispersed in the test liquid 17 can be made constant by the formation of the handle 13, and the label 14 can be easily attached to the outer peripheral surface by flattening the test liquid container 12, and Thus, an effect is obtained that entry of a name or the like on the label 14 can be facilitated.

In the case of a structure in which the bottom side opening of the container is closed with a lid, if the container has a modified cross section other than a circle,
Although there is a possibility that the sealing property may be reduced by that amount, a high sealing property can be ensured regardless of the cross-sectional shape of the container in the case where the opening is closed by sticking the sealing film as in this embodiment.

Further, in this embodiment, a thick reinforcing flange portion 15 is formed at the bottom of the container to make it difficult to deform, and a sealing film 16 is formed on the end face of the flange portion 15.
The sealing film 16 is peeled off from the flange portion 15 due to the deformation,
Damage can be prevented. Further, by forming the thick flange portion 15, the sealing film 1 is formed.
There is also obtained an advantage that a more secure fixation and sealing can be performed by increasing the area of application of No. 6.

In addition, the present invention can take the following forms, for example.

(1) When the cross-sectional shape of the test liquid storage container 10 is made flat, the shape is not limited to an ellipse. There is an advantage that the entry to the label 14 can be facilitated.

(2) The handle 13 and the flange 15 can be omitted as appropriate. However, due to the formation of the flange portion 15, the other portions are made thinner to reduce the weight of the container, while suppressing deformation at the flange portion 15 and more reliably maintaining the seal by the sealing film 16. Benefits are obtained.

(3) In FIG. 6, the container holding member 40 is fixed to the ground, and the suspension suction device 50 is conveyed in both the vertical and horizontal directions. The turbid liquid suction device 50 is transported only in the vertical direction. Instead, for example, the container holding member 40 and the reaction container are arranged side by side and placed on a moving table such as a turntable, and these are alternately suctioned with the suspension. You may make it possible to convey horizontally to the position below the nozzle 54.

(4) In the above embodiments, the test liquid storage container 10 is provided with the female screw portion 11 at the tip and the sample collection member 20 with the male screw portion 22. However, these are omitted.
For example, the outer peripheral surface of the sample collection member 20 and the test solution storage container 10
It is also possible to seal the inside of the container by interposing a seal member between the inner peripheral surface of the container and the tip. However, if the female screw part 11 and the male screw part 22 as described above are formed integrally with the test liquid storage container 10 and the sample collection member 20, respectively, an advantage that a reliable seal can be obtained with a simple structure having a small number of parts can be obtained.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, the sample is attached to the sample attaching portion of the sample collecting member, and the sample is attached to the test solution container, and the test solution in the container is used as a suspension of the sample. rear,
Hold the test liquid storage container with the sealing film attached to the bottom end side of the container facing upward, break through the sealing film from above with the suspension suction nozzle, and store the test liquid with the suspension suction nozzle. Aspirate the suspension in the container as it is,
Since it is dropped into the right place, it is possible to inspect the stool with a simple operation while using a stool collection container having a simple configuration without a pipette portion, and furthermore, there is an effect that the operation can be easily automated. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a partial cross-sectional side view of a test liquid storage container of a stool collection container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a bottom structure of the stool collection container shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a front view of a sample collection member of a stool collection container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a partial cross-sectional side view thereof.

4A is a use state diagram showing an operation of collecting a sample by using the sample collecting member shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a side view showing another sample collecting member.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional front view showing a state where the sample collection member shown in FIG. 3 is mounted on the test solution container shown in FIG. 1;

6 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing an example of an apparatus for collecting a suspension from inside the feces collection container shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing an operation of piercing a sealing film of a stool collection container held by a container holding member with a suspension suction nozzle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Test liquid storage container 11 Female screw part 12 Test liquid storage part 13 Handle part 13a Handle hole 14 Label 15 Flange part 16 Sealing film 17 Test liquid 20 Sample collection member 22 Male screw part 40 Container holding member 50 Suspension suction device 54 Suspension Suspended liquid suction nozzle

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 33/48-33/98

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An inspection that opens to the front end side and opens straight to the bottom side, and the bottom side opening is closed by sticking a sealing film to the bottom side end surface, so that the test liquid can be stored inside. A liquid storage container and a sample attachment portion to which a sample made of feces can be attached at the distal end, and the sample attachment portion is in close contact with the opening at the distal end of the test liquid storage container in a state of being inserted into the test liquid storage container. A method for inspecting stool using a stool collection container equipped with a sample collection member attachable in a state, wherein a sample is attached to a sample attachment portion of the sample collection member,
While immersing the specimen attachment portion in the test liquid stored in the test liquid storage container, the sample collection member is attached to the distal end opening of the test liquid storage container, and the test liquid is dispersed in the suspension where the particles of the sample are dispersed. After the suspension, the test solution storage container is held by the container holding member with the sealing film on the bottom side facing upward, and the suspension suction nozzle is positioned directly above the sealing film from the position above the sealing film. , The sealing film is pierced from above by the suspension suction nozzle, and the suspension suction nozzle sucks the suspension in the test liquid storage container as it is, and then lifts the suspension suction nozzle. A method of inspecting a stool, wherein the suspension in the suspension suction nozzle is dropped into an appropriate place afterwards.