JP4010636B2

JP4010636B2 - Tissue piece processing method and automatic tissue piece processing apparatus

Info

Publication number: JP4010636B2
Application number: JP07783898A
Authority: JP
Inventors: 堅治高橋
Original assignee: Sakura Seiki Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sakura Seiki Co Ltd
Priority date: 1998-03-25
Filing date: 1998-03-25
Publication date: 2007-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 2018-03-25
Also published as: JPH11271194A

Description

【０００１】
【発明の属する技術分野】
本発明は、顕微鏡標本を作製するため、組織片に対して複数の薬液を順次浸漬処理して最終的にはパラフィンや樹脂などを浸透させる組織片処理方法および自動的にこの組織片処理方法を実施する自動組織片処理装置に関する。
【０００２】
【従来の技術】
従来から、組織片の顕微鏡標本を作製するため、組織片を包埋して標本ブロックを作製する前工程として、組織片に対して固定、脱水、脱脂、置換、最終的にはパラフィンを浸透させるという組織片処理方法が一般的に実施されている。
そして、この組織片の処理方法においては、例えば組織片を浸ける薬液の量が何らかの原因によって減少し、当該薬液に組織片を浸漬した際に組織片の一部若しくは全体が当該薬液に浸らなくなった場合でも組織片が長時間空気に触れてダメージを受けないようにするため、ある薬液の液量が不足している場合には、液量が不足した当該薬液の前工程において使用された薬液に組織片を再度浸けて組織片処理を停止させ、組織片のダメージを回避するようにしている。
【０００３】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
しかしながら、上記の組織片処理方法には、次のような課題がある。
組織片に対してホルマリンで固定し、最終的にパラフィンを浸透させるまでには時間がかかる。このため、一般的に作業者はこの組織片処理方法を自動的に実施する上記のような組織片処理装置に組織片をかけ、夜間にこの組織片の処理を終わらせて、翌朝出社して来てから引き続きパラフィン浸透された組織片に対して標本ブロックの作製から染色、封入に至る処理を包埋ブロック作製装置やミクロトームや組織片染色装置や封入装置等を用いて行い、顕微鏡で見うる状態に加工するという方法をとっている。
しかしながら、夜間に薬液の液量の不足という事態が発生した場合には、組織片は液量不足の薬液の前工程の薬液に浸った状態で処理が中断しているため、翌朝出社した際に組織片の処理が完了しておらず、予定していた組織片の包埋ブロック作製やミクロトームによる薄切作業、染色作業等の残りの標本作製のための組織片の処理に入れないという課題がある。組織片の標本作製を依頼した医師等は、翌日には出来上がった標本を用いて組織片を顕微鏡でチェックし、病気の有無や病名の特定を行うことを予定しており、組織片の標本作製が予定通り行えないのは医師、病院ひいては患者にとって大きな問題となる。
【０００４】
一方、組織片のホルマリン固定からパラフィン浸透までの組織片の処理において使用される薬液の種類によっては、一例として脱水工程に使用されるアルコール類（エチルアルコールやメチルアルコール等）のように、アルコール成分の濃度を違えた複数の薬液からなる薬液群として構成し、組織片をこの薬液に順次濃度が高くなる順番で浸けるようにしている。また例えばアルコールとパラフィンの中間剤として使用されるキシレンのように、濃度が同じ複数の薬液からなる薬液群として構成し、組織片を各薬液に順番に浸けるようにする場合もある。そこで出願人は、上述したように一の薬液による処理が液量不足でできない場合であっても、この一の薬液と同種の薬液がこのように他にも存在する場合においては、他の同種の薬液を利用して組織片の組織片処理を続行できるのではないかという点に着目した。
【０００５】
従って、本発明は上記課題を解決すべくなされ、その目的とするところは、一の薬液による処理が液量不足でできない場合であっても、他の同種の薬液を利用して組織片に対して組織片処理を続行できる組織片処理方法とその組織片処理方法を実施する自動組織片処理装置を提供することにある。
【０００６】
【課題を解決するための手段】
上記目的を達成するために、本発明に係る請求項１の組織片処理方法は、組織片の標本を作製すべく、複数の薬液に該組織片を順次浸ける処理工程のうち、連続する少なくとも二工程で同種の薬液を使用する組織片処理方法であって、前記二工程のうち、後工程の薬液の量が組織片の処理に十分でない場合には、前記組織片を前工程の薬液に再度所定時間だけ浸漬し、該所定時間経過後に前記後工程の次工程の薬液から順次組織片の処理を続行することを特徴とする。
【０００７】
また、本発明に係る請求項２の組織片処理方法は、組織片の標本を作製すべく、複数の薬液に該組織片を順次浸ける処理工程のうち、連続する少なくとも二工程で同種の薬液を使用する組織片処理方法であって、前記二工程のうち、前工程の薬液の量が組織片の処理に十分でない場合には、前記前工程の処理を行うことなく後工程の薬液から順次組織片の処理を続行することを特徴とする。
【０００８】
また、本発明に係る請求項３の自動組織片処理装置は、複数の薬液に組織片を順次浸ける処理工程のうち、連続する少なくとも二工程で同種の薬液を使用して、該組織片の標本作製処理を行う自動組織片処理装置であって、前記薬液の量が前記組織片の処理に十分な量であるか否かを検出する液量センサと、前記組織片を前記複数の薬液に浸ける工程が記憶された記憶部と、前記液量センサを介して前記組織片の処理に使用しようとする前記薬液の量を検出しつつ組織片を前記記憶部に記憶された工程に従って順次薬液に浸けると共に、前記二工程のうち、後工程での薬液が組織片の処理に十分な量でないことを検出した場合には、前記組織片を前工程の薬液に再度所定時間だけ浸漬し、該所定時間経過後に前記後工程の次工程の薬液から順次組織片の標本作製処理を続行する組織片浸漬手段とを具備することを特徴とする。
【０００９】
また、本発明に係る請求項４の自動組織片処理装置は、複数の薬液に組織片を順次浸ける処理工程のうち、連続する少なくとも二工程で同種の薬液を使用して、該組織片の標本作製処理を行う自動組織片処理装置であって、前記薬液の量が前記組織片の処理に十分な量であるか否かを検出する液量センサと、前記組織片を前記複数の薬液に浸ける工程が記憶された記憶部と、前記液量センサを介して前記組織片の処理に使用しようとする前記薬液の量を検出しつつ組織片を前記記憶部に記憶された工程に従って順次薬液に浸けると共に、前記二工程のうち、前工程での薬液が組織片の処理に十分な量でないことを検出した場合には、前記前工程の処理を行うことなく後工程の薬液から順次組織片の標本作製処理を続行する組織片浸漬手段とを具備することを特徴とする。
【００１０】
また、本発明に係る請求項５の自動組織片処理装置は、複数の薬液に組織片を順次浸ける処理工程のうち、連続する少なくとも二工程で同種の薬液を使用して、該組織片の標本作製処理を行う自動組織片処理装置であって、前記薬液の量が前記組織片の処理に十分な量であるか否かを検出する液量センサと、前記組織片を前記複数の薬液に浸ける工程が記憶された記憶部と、前記液量センサを介して前記組織片の処理に使用しようとする前記薬液の量を検出しつつ組織片を前記記憶部に記憶された工程に従って順次薬液に浸けると共に、前記二工程のうち、後工程での薬液が組織片の処理に十分な量でないことを検出した場合には、前記後工程での薬液が組織片の処理に十分な量になるまで前工程の薬液を補充してから、該組織片に前工程の処理を行うことなく後工程の薬液に所定時間の浸漬を行い、該所定時間経過後に後工程の次工程の薬液から順次組織片の標本作製処理を続行する組織片浸漬手段とを具備することを特徴とする。
そして、上記組織片処理方法および自動組織片処理装置によれば、一の薬液による組織片の処理が液量不足でできない場合であっても、他の同種の薬液を利用して組織片の組織片処理を続行でき、標本作製処理が遅滞なく行える。
【００１１】
【発明の実施の形態】
以下、本発明に係る組織片処理方法と自動組織片処理装置の好適な実施の形態を添付図面に基づいて詳細に説明する。
まず、組織片処理方法について、一例として図１に示す組織片処理の工程を用いて説明する。なお、組織片処理とは、本実施の形態では図１の工程に示すように組織片に対してのホルマリンによる固定からパラフィン浸透までの処理を言うが、さらにこの処理工程の後に続く組織片の標本ブロックの作製工程、ミクロトームを用いた標本ブロックの薄切り工程、スライドグラスへの標本伸展工程および標本の乾燥・染色工程、封入工程に於ける処理も含めて組織片処理という場合もある。
最初に、どの薬液も不足のない通常状態について説明すると、組織片は、この工程１〜９の順番に従って順次各薬液に浸漬され、組織片処理される。具体的には、ホルマリン水溶液に浸漬されて組織片の組織固定がなされ、エチルアルコール（メチルアルコールの場合もある）によって脱水され、アルコールとパラフィンの中継ぎのための中間剤としてのキシレンで浸漬され、最後にパラフィンに浸漬されて組織片に対する組織片処理が完了する。
【００１２】
そして本実施の形態の特徴点は、組織片処理に使用される薬液の内の一の薬液の量が組織片処理に十分でない場合であって、当該一の薬液の前工程の薬液が一の薬液と同種類である場合には、組織片を前工程の薬液に再度所定時間だけ浸漬し、この所定時間経過後に一の薬液の次工程の薬液から順次組織片の標本作製処理を続行することである。また、一の薬液の次工程の薬液が一の薬液と同種類である場合には、一の薬液による工程を行うことなく次工程の薬液から順次組織片の処理を続行するようにしても良い。
これにより、一の薬液の量が組織片の処理に十分でない場合に、従来のように一の薬液の前工程の薬液に組織片を浸けた状態で組織片処理を中止する方法に比べて、組織片を最後まで処理し、パラフィン浸漬できる確率が向上するようになる。
また、一の薬液の不足分を、同種類である前工程の薬液から補充することによって一の薬液を組織片の処理に十分な量まで増やし、組織片の処理を行うようにしても良い。
【００１３】
具体例を挙げて説明する。例えば、図１の組織片処理工程において、工程４のエチルアルコールの液量が組織片処理を行うには十分でない場合を想定して説明する。
この場合、従来は工程４の前工程である工程３に組織片を戻して浸漬し、組織片処理を中止していたが、本実施の形態では工程３が工程４の薬液と同種類であるため、組織片を前工程３の薬液に再度所定時間だけ浸漬し、この所定時間経過後に工程４の次工程５の薬液から順次組織片の処理を続行するのである。ここで所定時間は、工程３と工程４の薬液の各濃度Ｄ₃とＤ₄の差を考慮して設定するが、一例として工程４での組織片の浸漬時間Ｔ₄と同じ時間に設定するようにしても良い。
また、この組織片処理工程では、工程５も工程４と同種の薬液を使用している。よって、工程３に再度戻す上記の組織片処理方法に代えて、工程４を行うことなく工程３に引き続いて次工程５の薬液から順次組織片の処理を続行するようにしても良い。この際、工程３に戻す処理方法と同様に工程５において工程４を実施しなかった分だけ長く組織片を薬液に浸漬させるようにすることも可能である。
また、工程４の薬液に工程３の薬液を、液量センサで検出するまで補充して工程４の薬液の量を組織片の処理に十分な液量とし、適量になった工程４の薬液を用いて組織片の処理を行うようにしても良い。この場合も、浸漬する所定時間は、薬液の各濃度Ｄ₃とＤ₄の差を考慮して設定することが望ましいが、工程４での組織片の浸漬時間Ｔ₄と同じでもかまわない。
【００１４】
これは、エチルアルコールの場合に限らず、エチルアルコールの場合と同様に、同種の薬液を連続した複数の工程において使用する他の薬液、ホルマリン水溶液やキシレン、パラフィンの場合にも適用できる。
ただし、工程６の薬液（キシレン）の液量が不足したような場合には、工程６の前工程５で使用される薬液はキシレンとは異なるエチルアルコールであるため、前工程５に再度戻すことはせず、次工程７が同種のキシレンであるため、工程６を行うことなく工程５に引き続いて次工程７の薬液から順次組織片の処理を続行する。この工程７では通常の浸漬時間としても良いが、実施しなかった工程６の分だけ通常の浸漬時間よりも長めに浸漬するようにすることも可能である。
また、同じキシレンの場合でも、工程７の薬液の液量が不足したような場合には、工程７の次工程８で使用される薬液はキシレンとは異なるパラフィンであるため、次工程８に進めることはせず、前工程６が同種のキシレンであるため、再度工程６を実施して組織片を所定の時間だけキシレンに浸漬し、その後は工程７を行うことなく工程６に引き続いて次工程８の薬液から順次組織片の処理を続行する。これは、同種の薬液が２つの工程しかないホルマリン水溶液、パラフィンの場合も同様である。
【００１５】
また、上述した実施の形態では、液量が不足した薬液が一つの場合であったが、２つ以上の異種の薬液が不足した場合には、各薬液と同種の薬液に対して上述したような前後の工程での処理をそれぞれ行うようにすれば良い。
【００１６】
次に、上述した組織片処理方法を実施できる自動組織片処理装置について説明する。
自動組織片処理装置は、複数の薬液に組織片を順次浸けてこの組織片処理を行うものである。
まず、一例として図２に示す１槽式の自動組織片処理装置１０を用いてその構成について説明する。
処理槽１２は組織片１４を収納するためのものである。
薬液タンク１６は各薬液毎に設けられている。
ロータリーバルブ１８は、処理槽１２と薬液タンク１６との間に配され、処理槽１２と薬液タンク１６に管路で接続されている。そして選択的に１つの薬液タンク１６を切り換えて処理槽１２と接続する。なお、切り換えは、電動モータ２０により行われる。
【００１７】
液量センサ２２は、各薬液の量が組織片１４の処理に十分な量であるか否かを検出する機能を有している。本実施の形態は１槽式であるため、液量センサ２２は組織片１４が収納された処理槽１２に設けて各薬液が収納された薬液タンク１６から薬液が処理槽１２に送られた際にその液量を検出する構成とし、液量センサ２２の数が１つで済むようにしている。なお、処理槽１２に薬液を送る前に液量を検出できるようにするためには、各薬液タンク１６毎に液量センサ２２を設けるようにすれば良い。
【００１８】
記憶部２４は、ＲＯＭやＲＡＭ等の半導体メモリを用いて構成され、組織片１４を各薬液に浸ける工程が記憶されている。
組織片浸漬手段は、上述した電動モータ２０と、ロータリーバルブ１８と、処理槽１２内の空気を排気して処理槽１２内を負圧にしたり、また処理槽１２内に圧縮空気を送り込んで処理槽１２内を加圧したりすることで、薬液タンク１６から薬液を処理槽１２へ供給し、また逆に処理槽１２内の薬液を薬液タンク１６に戻したりする機能を有するポンプ２６と、コンピュータを用いて構成された制御部２８とから成る。なお、コンピュータは、一例として記憶部２４に予め記録された動作プログラムにしたがって動作する。
操作部３０は、制御部２８に対して動作開始指示等の制御用データを入力する機能を有する。
【００１９】
次に、自動組織片処理装置１０の動作について図３を用いて説明する。
自動組織片処理装置１０は起動されると、操作部３０を介して組織片１４が処理槽１２に収納されたことを示すデータが操作部３０から入力されるのを待つ（Ｓ１００）。
当該データが入力されると、工程を示すパラメータＮ（Ｎは例えば自然数、整数等で表現される）を初期化し（Ｓ１０２）、組織片１４の薬液による組織片処理工程を開始する。
最初に、一般的な処理工程について説明する。
まず、組織片浸漬手段の制御部２８が記憶部２４から工程Ｎに関する処理データ（処理槽１２に供給すべき薬液の種類、浸漬時間、薬液の温度等）を読み取る（Ｓ１０４）。
【００２０】
そして制御部２８は読み取った処理データに従って、指定された薬液が入った薬液タンク１６と処理槽１２とが連通するように電動モータ２０を介してロータリーバルブ１８を切り換える。その後、ポンプ２６を作動させて処理槽１２内を負圧にして薬液タンク１６から薬液を処理槽１２内に供給する（Ｓ１０６）。供給動作が終了したら、液量センサ２２を介して処理槽１２内の液量をチェックする（Ｓ１０８）。
そして、液量が規定量以上である場合、すなわち組織片１４が完全に浸るだけの液量を確保できている場合には制御部２８は内部に設けられたタイマ機能を利用して、予め決められた浸漬時間だけ組織片を浸ける（Ｓ１１０）。
【００２１】
この浸漬時間が終了したら、制御部２８はポンプ２６を作動させ、処理槽１２内を加圧して処理槽１２内の薬液を排出し、元の薬液タンク１６に戻す（Ｓ１１２）。
制御部２８は現在行っている工程が組織片処理工程の最後の工程であるか否かをチェックし（Ｓ１１４）、最終工程である場合には処理作業を正常終了させる（Ｓ１１６）。また、工程が残っている場合には、工程を示すパラメータＮをインクリメントし（Ｓ１１８）、Ｓ１０４に戻り、全工程が終了するまでＳ１０４〜Ｓ１１８を繰り返す。
以上が、一般的な正常時の処理工程の動作である。
【００２２】
次に、Ｓ１０８において、処理槽１２に供給された薬液が規定量に達しない場合について説明する。
従来の方法では、この場合、規定量に達しなかった薬液を元の薬液タンクに戻した後に、薬液が不足した工程の前工程で使用された薬液を再度処理槽１２に供給して組織片をこの薬液に浸けた状態で処理をストップさせていたが、本実施の形態の組織片処理では、図３の一点鎖線で囲んだ工程を追加した点が特徴部分である。
すなわち、Ｓ１０８において、一の工程Ｎの薬液が規定量に達しなかった場合には、制御部２８は処理槽１２から規定量に達しなかった工程Ｎの薬液を元の薬液タンクに戻し（Ｓ１２０）、記憶部２４から工程Ｎの前後の工程（工程Ｎ−１と工程Ｎ＋１）の処理データを読み取る（Ｓ１２２）。
【００２３】
そして、まず前工程Ｎ−１において工程Ｎで使用する薬液と同種の薬液を使用しているか否かをチェックする（Ｓ１２４）。その結果、同種の薬液である場合には前工程Ｎ−１で使用する薬液を薬液タンクから処理槽１２内に供給し、この薬液によって組織片１４を処理し（Ｓ１２６）、この処理後にＳ１１４に移行する。これにより、工程Ｎの処理は行わずに、工程Ｎに代えて再度前工程Ｎ−１の処理を行い、次には次工程Ｎ＋１の処理を行うことになる。
なお、このＳ１２６での処理時間は工程Ｎにおける組織片１４の浸漬時間と同じ時間に設定しても良いが、工程Ｎと前工程Ｎ−１で使用する各薬液の濃度を考慮して、工程Ｎの薬液の濃度が高い場合には濃度の低い薬液に浸漬させるのであるから浸漬時間を工程Ｎの通常の浸漬時間よりも長めに設定すると良い。
また、工程Ｎの薬液を利用する場合には、このＳ１２６において、前工程Ｎ−１の同種類の薬液を工程Ｎの薬液に補充して適量とし、工程Ｎの薬液を用いて組織片１４の処理を行う。
【００２４】
また、Ｓ１２４において、前工程Ｎ−１と工程Ｎの薬液が異種の場合には、制御部２８は次工程Ｎ＋１において工程Ｎで使用する薬液と同種の薬液を使用しているか否かをチェックする（Ｓ１２８）。その結果、同種の薬液である場合にはこの処理後にＳ１１４に移行する。これにより、工程Ｎの処理を行わずに、次には次工程Ｎ＋１の処理を行うことになる。
このように、一の薬液による処理が液量不足でできない場合であっても、当該一の薬液を使用する工程の前若しくは次の工程で使用される薬液をチェックして同じであれば、それら他の同種の薬液を利用して組織片の組織片処理を続行でき、この処理に続く後の組織片に対する処理（標本ブロック作製処理等）を遅滞なく行えるようになる。
なお、Ｓ１２８で次工程Ｎ＋１において使用する薬液が工程Ｎで使用するものと異種である場合には、従来例と同様に処理槽１２に前工程Ｎ−１で使用した薬液を供給して組織片を浸漬させ（Ｓ１３０）、エラー表示を行って（Ｓ１３２）処理をストップさせる（Ｓ１３４）。しかしながら、上記のように前や次の工程の薬液が同じ場合には組織片処理が続行できるため、顕微鏡の標本作製処理が中断することなく完了できる確率が向上することは明らかである。
【００２５】
また、上述した実施の形態では、処理槽１２が１槽でこの処理槽１２に薬液を順次供給し、排出することによって組織片を処理する場合について述べてきたが、図４に示すような処理槽１２が各薬液毎に別個に設けられ、組織片１４は制御部２８によって制御される搬送手段３２によって順次各処理槽１２間を所定の順番で移動して薬液に浸漬される多槽式の場合にも同様に本発明を適用できる。なお、この場合には液量センサ２２は各薬液タンク１６毎に設けられる。記憶部２４は上述した実施の形態と同様の機能を有する。
多槽式の場合の動作は、図３に示すフローと略同様であり、Ｓ１０６やＳ１１２、Ｓ１２６では薬液の供給・排出動作に代えて、搬送手段３２による組織片１４の処理槽１２間での移動動作が行われる。
【００２６】
以上、本発明の好適な実施の形態について種々述べてきたが、本発明は上述する実施の形態に限定されるものではなく、上述したＳ１２４とＳ１２８を組み合わせた処理方法に代えて、Ｓ１２４若しくはＳ１２８のいずれか一方のみを実施する処理方法としても良い等、発明の精神を逸脱しない範囲で多くの改変を施し得るのはもちろんである。
【００２７】
【発明の効果】
本発明に係る組織片処理方法と自動組織片処理装置によれば、一の薬液による処理が液量不足でできない場合であっても、一の薬液が使用される工程の前工程若しくは次工程で使用される薬液が同じである場合には、これら前工程や次工程で使用される同種の他の薬液を利用して組織片の組織片処理を続行でき、組織片の標本作製が遅滞なく行えるという効果を奏する。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】組織片処理工程の一例を示す工程表である。
【図２】本発明に係る自動組織片処理装置の一実施の形態（１槽式）の構成を示すブロック図ある。
【図３】図２の自動組織片処理装置の組織片処理動作を示すフローチャートである。
【図４】本発明に係る自動組織片処理装置の一実施の形態（多槽式）の構成を示すブロック図である。
【符号の説明】
１０自動組織片処理装置
１２処理槽
１４組織片
１６薬液タンク
１８ロータリーバルブ
２２液量センサ
２４記憶部
２８制御部[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to produce a microscopic specimen, the present invention provides a tissue piece processing method in which a plurality of chemical solutions are sequentially immersed in tissue pieces, and finally paraffin or resin is infiltrated, and this tissue piece treatment method is automatically used. The present invention relates to an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in order to prepare a microscopic specimen of a tissue piece, as a pre-process for embedding the tissue piece and preparing a specimen block, the tissue piece is fixed, dehydrated, degreased, replaced, and finally infiltrated with paraffin The tissue piece processing method is generally implemented.
In this tissue piece processing method, for example, the amount of the chemical solution for immersing the tissue piece is reduced for some reason, and when the tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution, a part or the whole of the tissue piece is not immersed in the chemical solution. In order to prevent the tissue piece from being damaged by touching the air for a long time, if the amount of a certain chemical solution is insufficient, the chemical solution used in the previous process of the chemical solution in which the liquid amount is insufficient The tissue piece is soaked again to stop the treatment of the tissue piece to avoid damage to the tissue piece.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the tissue piece processing method has the following problems.
It takes time to fix the tissue piece with formalin and finally penetrate the paraffin. For this reason, in general, an operator applies the tissue piece to the above-described tissue piece processing apparatus that automatically performs the tissue piece processing method, finishes the processing of the tissue piece at night, and then goes to work the next morning. Processes from preparation of specimen blocks to staining and encapsulation of tissue pieces that have been continuously infiltrated with paraffin using an embedding block preparation device, a microtome, a tissue piece staining device, an encapsulation device, etc. The method of processing into the state is taken.
However, when a situation occurs that the amount of the chemical solution is insufficient at night, the treatment is interrupted in the state where the tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution of the previous step of the insufficient chemical solution, so when you come to work the next morning Tissue piece processing has not been completed, and there is a problem that it is not possible to process the tissue piece for preparation of the remaining specimen such as embedding block of the planned tissue piece, slicing operation by microtome, staining work etc. is there. The doctors who requested the preparation of the tissue piece are scheduled to check the tissue piece with a microscope using the completed sample the next day to identify the presence or absence of disease and the name of the disease. However, it is a big problem for doctors, hospitals and patients.
[0004]
On the other hand, depending on the types of chemicals used in the treatment of tissue pieces from formalin fixation to paraffin infiltration, alcohol components such as alcohols (ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, etc.) used in the dehydration process as an example It is configured as a group of chemical solutions composed of a plurality of chemical solutions having different concentrations, and the tissue pieces are immersed in this chemical solution in order of increasing concentration. In some cases, for example, xylene used as an intermediate between alcohol and paraffin, a chemical solution group composed of a plurality of chemical solutions having the same concentration is used, and the tissue pieces are immersed in each chemical solution in turn. Therefore, the applicant, even if the treatment with one chemical solution cannot be performed due to a shortage of the liquid amount as described above, in the case where there is another chemical solution of the same type as this one chemical solution, another similar type We focused on the point that we could continue the tissue fragment processing of the tissue fragment using this chemical solution.
[0005]
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to use a similar chemical solution for a tissue piece even when treatment with one chemical solution is not possible due to insufficient liquid volume. Another object of the present invention is to provide a tissue piece processing method that can continue the tissue piece processing and an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus that implements the tissue piece processing method.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the tissue piece processing method according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises at least two successive treatment steps of sequentially immersing the tissue piece in a plurality of chemical solutions to prepare a specimen of the tissue piece. a tissue piece treating method using a chemical solution of the same type in the process, among the second step, the case the amount of the chemical liquid in the subsequent step is not sufficient to process the tissue pieces in the chemical of the tissue pieces before step again immersed for a predetermined time, characterized by continuing the process of sequential tissue pieces from the chemical for the next step of the rear step after the predetermined time.
[0007]
Further, in the tissue piece processing method according to claim 2 of the present invention, in order to prepare a tissue piece specimen , the same kind of chemical solution is applied in at least two consecutive steps among the treatment steps of sequentially immersing the tissue piece in a plurality of chemical solutions. a tissue piece treating method used, among the second step, the case is not sufficient amount of drug solution of the previous step is the treatment of tissue pieces, sequentially from the chemical process after without performing the processing of the previous step It is characterized by continuing the processing of the tissue piece.
[0008]
The automatic tissue piece treating apparatus of claim 3 according to the present invention, among the processing steps Ru sequentially immersed tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical solution, using a chemical solution of the same type in at least two steps successive in the tissue piece an automatic tissue piece treating apparatus for performing sample preparation process, a liquid quantity sensor the amount of the chemical solution to detect whether an amount sufficient for processing of the tissue pieces, the pieces of tissue to the plurality of chemical The medicinal solution is sequentially stored in accordance with the process stored in the storage unit while detecting the amount of the medicinal solution to be used for the processing of the tissue piece via the liquid amount sensor and the storage unit storing the soaking process. with dipping, of the second step, when the chemical liquid in the subsequent process detects that it is not sufficient to process tissue pieces were again immersed for a predetermined time period the tissue pieces in the chemical of the previous step, the predetermined order from the chemical solution in the next step of the post-process after the lapse of time Characterized by comprising a piece of tissue immersed means to continue the sample preparing process of tissue pieces.
[0009]
The automatic tissue piece treating apparatus of claim 4 according to the present invention, among the processing steps Ru sequentially immersed tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical solution, using a chemical solution of the same type in at least two steps successive in the tissue piece an automatic tissue piece treating apparatus for performing sample preparation process, a liquid quantity sensor the amount of the chemical solution to detect whether an amount sufficient for processing of the tissue pieces, the pieces of tissue to the plurality of chemical The medicinal solution is sequentially stored in accordance with the process stored in the storage unit while detecting the amount of the medicinal solution to be used for the processing of the tissue piece via the liquid amount sensor and the storage unit storing the soaking process. In the two steps, when it is detected that the amount of the chemical solution in the previous step is not sufficient for the treatment of the tissue piece, the tissue pieces are sequentially processed from the chemical solution in the subsequent step without performing the treatment in the previous step . Tissue piece immersion means to continue the specimen preparation process Characterized in that it Bei.
[0010]
The automatic tissue piece treating apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention, among the processing steps Ru sequentially immersed tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical solution, using a chemical solution of the same type in at least two steps successive in the tissue piece an automatic tissue piece treating apparatus for performing sample preparation process, a liquid quantity sensor the amount of the chemical solution to detect whether an amount sufficient for processing of the tissue pieces, the pieces of tissue to the plurality of chemical The medicinal solution is sequentially stored in accordance with the process stored in the storage unit while detecting the amount of the medicinal solution to be used for the processing of the tissue piece via the liquid amount sensor and the storage unit storing the soaking process. with dipping, of the second step, when the chemical liquid in the subsequent process detects that it is not sufficient to process tissue pieces, up chemical in the later process becomes sufficient to process tissue specimens after replenishing a chemical pre-process, before the step to the tissue sections Perform immersion for a predetermined time in the chemical process after without performing sense, to and a tissue piece immersion means to continue the sample preparing process of sequential tissue pieces from the chemical in a subsequent step of the next step after the elapse of the predetermined time period Features.
According to the tissue piece processing method and the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus, even if the tissue piece cannot be processed with one chemical solution due to insufficient liquid volume, the tissue piece tissue can be obtained using another similar type of chemical solution. One-side processing can be continued, and the specimen preparation process can be performed without delay.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a tissue piece processing method and an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, the tissue piece processing method will be described using the tissue piece processing step shown in FIG. 1 as an example. In the present embodiment, the tissue piece treatment refers to the treatment from formalin fixation to paraffin penetration to the tissue piece as shown in the step of FIG. In some cases, it may be referred to as tissue piece processing, including processing in a preparation process of a specimen block, a thinning process of a specimen block using a microtome, a specimen extending process to a slide glass, a specimen drying / staining process, and a sealing process.
First, a normal state where there is no shortage of any chemical solution will be described. The tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in each chemical solution according to the order of the steps 1 to 9 and the tissue pieces are processed. Specifically, the tissue piece is immersed in a formalin aqueous solution, the tissue is fixed, dehydrated with ethyl alcohol (which may be methyl alcohol), and immersed in xylene as an intermediate agent for alcohol and paraffin, Finally, it is immersed in paraffin to complete the tissue piece processing on the tissue piece.
[0012]
The feature of the present embodiment is that the amount of one chemical solution among the chemical solutions used for the tissue piece treatment is not sufficient for the tissue piece treatment, and the chemical solution in the previous step of the one chemical solution is one. If it is the same type as the chemical solution, immerse the tissue piece in the chemical solution of the previous process again for a predetermined time, and continue the preparation of the tissue piece sequentially from the chemical solution of the next process of one chemical solution after this predetermined time has elapsed. It is. Further, when the chemical solution in the next step of one chemical solution is the same type as that of the one chemical solution, the processing of the tissue piece may be continued sequentially from the chemical solution in the next step without performing the step with the one chemical solution. .
Thereby, when the amount of the one chemical solution is not sufficient for the treatment of the tissue piece, compared to the method of stopping the tissue piece processing in a state where the tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution of the previous step of the one chemical solution as in the past, The probability of being able to treat the tissue pieces to the end and soak in paraffin is improved.
Alternatively, the shortage of one chemical solution may be supplemented from the same type of previous chemical solution to increase the amount of the one chemical solution to a sufficient amount for processing the tissue piece, and the tissue piece may be processed.
[0013]
A specific example will be described. For example, in the tissue piece processing step of FIG. 1, description will be made assuming that the amount of ethyl alcohol in step 4 is not sufficient to perform the tissue piece processing.
In this case, conventionally, the tissue piece was returned and immersed in step 3 which is the previous step of step 4, and the tissue piece treatment was stopped, but in this embodiment, step 3 is the same type as the chemical solution in step 4. Therefore, the tissue piece is immersed again in the chemical solution of the previous step 3 for a predetermined time, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the processing of the tissue piece is continued sequentially from the chemical solution of the next step 5 of the step 4. Here, the predetermined time is set in consideration of the difference between the concentrations D ₃ and D ₄ of the chemical solutions in steps 3 and 4, but is set to the same time as the tissue piece immersion time T _{4 in} step 4 as an example. You may do it.
Further, in this tissue piece treatment step, the same kind of chemical solution as in step 4 is used in step 5. Therefore, instead of performing the above-described tissue piece processing method that returns to step 3, the processing of the tissue pieces may be continued sequentially from the chemical solution in the next step 5 without performing step 4. At this time, it is also possible to immerse the tissue piece in the chemical solution for as long as the step 4 is not performed in the step 5, similarly to the processing method to return to the step 3.
In addition, the chemical solution in step 4 is replenished until the chemical solution in step 4 is detected by the liquid amount sensor, so that the amount of the chemical solution in step 4 is sufficient for the treatment of the tissue piece. It may be used to process tissue pieces. Also in this case, it is desirable to set the predetermined time for immersion in consideration of the difference between each concentration D ₃ and D ₄ of the chemical solution, but it may be the same as the immersion time T ₄ of the tissue piece in step 4.
[0014]
This is not limited to the case of ethyl alcohol, but can be applied to the case of other chemicals that use the same type of chemical in a plurality of successive steps, a formalin aqueous solution, xylene, and paraffin, as in the case of ethyl alcohol.
However, if the amount of the chemical solution (xylene) in step 6 is insufficient, the chemical solution used in the previous step 5 of the step 6 is ethyl alcohol different from xylene, so that it is returned to the previous step 5 again. Since the next step 7 is the same type of xylene, the processing of the tissue pieces is continued sequentially from the chemical solution of the next step 7 following the step 5 without performing the step 6. In this step 7, a normal immersion time may be used, but it is also possible to make the immersion longer than the normal immersion time by the amount of the step 6 which was not performed.
Further, even in the case of the same xylene, when the amount of the chemical solution in the step 7 is insufficient, the chemical solution used in the next step 8 of the step 7 is paraffin different from xylene, and the process proceeds to the next step 8. However, since the previous step 6 is the same type of xylene, the step 6 is performed again to immerse the tissue piece in xylene for a predetermined time, and then the step 6 is continued without performing the step 7. The processing of the tissue pieces is continued sequentially from 8 chemicals. The same applies to the case where the same type of chemical solution is a formalin aqueous solution or paraffin having only two steps.
[0015]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, there is a case where there is only one chemical solution whose amount is insufficient, but when two or more different types of chemical solutions are insufficient, as described above for the same type of chemical solution as each chemical solution What is necessary is just to make it process in the process before and behind each.
[0016]
Next, an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus capable of implementing the above-described tissue piece processing method will be described.
The automatic tissue piece processing apparatus performs tissue piece processing by sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of chemical solutions.
First, the structure is demonstrated using the 1 tank type automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2 as an example.
The processing tank 12 is for storing the tissue piece 14.
The chemical liquid tank 16 is provided for each chemical liquid.
The rotary valve 18 is disposed between the processing tank 12 and the chemical liquid tank 16 and is connected to the processing tank 12 and the chemical liquid tank 16 by a pipe line. Then, one chemical solution tank 16 is selectively switched and connected to the processing tank 12. Switching is performed by the electric motor 20.
[0017]
The liquid amount sensor 22 has a function of detecting whether or not the amount of each chemical solution is sufficient for processing the tissue piece 14. Since the present embodiment is a single tank type, the liquid amount sensor 22 is provided in the processing tank 12 in which the tissue piece 14 is stored, and when the chemical liquid is sent to the processing tank 12 from the chemical tank 16 in which each chemical liquid is stored. Further, the liquid amount is detected, and only one liquid amount sensor 22 is required. In order to be able to detect the liquid amount before sending the chemical liquid to the processing tank 12, a liquid quantity sensor 22 may be provided for each chemical liquid tank 16.
[0018]
The memory | storage part 24 is comprised using semiconductor memory, such as ROM and RAM, and the process which immerses the tissue piece 14 in each chemical | medical solution is memorize | stored.
The tissue piece immersing means exhausts the air in the electric motor 20, the rotary valve 18, and the processing tank 12 to make the inside of the processing tank 12 have a negative pressure, or sends compressed air into the processing tank 12 for processing. By pressurizing the inside of the tank 12, the chemical liquid tank 16 supplies the chemical liquid to the processing tank 12, and conversely, the pump 26 having the function of returning the chemical liquid in the processing tank 12 to the chemical liquid tank 16 and a computer And a control unit 28 configured to be used. As an example, the computer operates according to an operation program recorded in advance in the storage unit 24.
The operation unit 30 has a function of inputting control data such as an operation start instruction to the control unit 28.
[0019]
Next, operation | movement of the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 10 is demonstrated using FIG.
When the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 10 is activated, it waits for data indicating that the tissue piece 14 has been stored in the processing tank 12 via the operation unit 30 to be input from the operation unit 30 (S100).
When the data is input, a parameter N indicating the process (N is expressed by a natural number, an integer, or the like) is initialized (S102), and the tissue piece processing step with the chemical solution of the tissue piece 14 is started.
First, general processing steps will be described.
First, the control unit 28 of the tissue piece immersing means reads processing data relating to the process N (type of chemical solution to be supplied to the processing tank 12, immersion time, temperature of the chemical solution, etc.) from the storage unit 24 (S104).
[0020]
Then, the control unit 28 switches the rotary valve 18 via the electric motor 20 so that the chemical tank 16 containing the designated chemical liquid and the processing tank 12 communicate with each other according to the read processing data. Thereafter, the pump 26 is operated to make the inside of the processing tank 12 have a negative pressure, and the chemical liquid is supplied from the chemical liquid tank 16 into the processing tank 12 (S106). When the supply operation is completed, the amount of liquid in the processing tank 12 is checked via the liquid amount sensor 22 (S108).
When the amount of liquid is equal to or greater than the prescribed amount, that is, when the amount of liquid sufficient to completely immerse the tissue piece 14 can be secured, the control unit 28 uses a timer function provided therein to determine in advance. The tissue piece is soaked for the soaking time (S110).
[0021]
When this immersion time is completed, the control unit 28 operates the pump 26 to pressurize the inside of the processing tank 12 to discharge the chemical liquid in the processing tank 12 and return it to the original chemical tank 16 (S112).
The control unit 28 checks whether or not the current process is the last process of the tissue piece processing process (S114), and if it is the final process, the processing operation is normally terminated (S116). If the process remains, the parameter N indicating the process is incremented (S118), the process returns to S104, and S104 to S118 are repeated until all processes are completed.
The above is the operation of the general normal process.
[0022]
Next, the case where the chemical solution supplied to the processing tank 12 does not reach the specified amount in S108 will be described.
In the conventional method, in this case, after the chemical solution that has not reached the specified amount is returned to the original chemical solution tank, the chemical solution used in the previous step of the step where the chemical solution is insufficient is supplied again to the treatment tank 12 to remove the tissue piece. Although the processing was stopped in the state of being immersed in this chemical solution, the feature of the tissue piece processing according to the present embodiment is that a process surrounded by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 3 is added.
That is, in S108, when the chemical solution of one process N does not reach the specified amount, the control unit 28 returns the chemical solution of the process N that has not reached the specified amount from the processing tank 12 to the original chemical solution tank (S120). Then, the process data of the processes before and after the process N (process N-1 and process N + 1) are read from the storage unit 24 (S122).
[0023]
First, it is checked whether or not the same type of chemical solution as that used in Step N is used in the previous step N-1 (S124). As a result, in the case of the same type of chemical solution, the chemical solution used in the previous step N-1 is supplied from the chemical solution tank into the processing tank 12, and the tissue piece 14 is processed with this chemical solution (S126). Transition. Thus, the process N is not performed, the process N is performed again in place of the process N, and the process N + 1 is performed next.
In addition, although the processing time in S126 may be set to the same time as the immersion time of the tissue piece 14 in the process N, considering the concentration of each chemical used in the process N and the previous process N-1, the process When the concentration of the chemical solution N is high, the immersion time is preferably set longer than the normal immersion time in the step N because the chemical solution is immersed in a chemical solution having a low concentration.
Further, when using the chemical solution of the process N, in this S126, the chemical solution of the same type of the previous process N-1 is supplemented to the chemical solution of the process N to obtain an appropriate amount. Process.
[0024]
In S124, when the chemical solution of the previous process N-1 and the process N is different, the control unit 28 checks whether or not the same chemical solution as that used in the process N is used in the next process N + 1. (S128). As a result, in the case of the same type of chemical solution, the process proceeds to S114 after this processing. As a result, the next process N + 1 is performed next without performing the process N.
Thus, even if the treatment with one chemical solution is not possible due to insufficient liquid volume, if the chemical solution used in the previous or next step of using the one chemical solution is checked and the same, The tissue piece processing of the tissue piece can be continued by using other similar chemical solutions, and the processing (sample block preparation processing, etc.) on the tissue piece following this processing can be performed without delay.
In addition, when the chemical | medical solution used in the next process N + 1 in S128 is different from what is used in the process N, the chemical | medical solution used at the previous process N-1 is supplied to the processing tank 12 similarly to a prior art example, and a tissue piece. Is immersed (S130), an error is displayed (S132), and the process is stopped (S134). However, since the tissue piece processing can be continued when the chemical solutions in the previous and next steps are the same as described above, it is clear that the probability of completing the microscope specimen preparation processing without interruption is improved.
[0025]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the treatment tank 12 is one tank and the tissue pieces are processed by sequentially supplying and discharging the chemical solution to the treatment tank 12 has been described, but the treatment as shown in FIG. A tank 12 is provided separately for each chemical solution, and the tissue piece 14 is sequentially moved between the treatment tanks 12 in a predetermined order by the conveying means 32 controlled by the control unit 28 and is immersed in the chemical solution. The present invention can be similarly applied to cases. In this case, the liquid quantity sensor 22 is provided for each chemical tank 16. The storage unit 24 has the same function as that of the above-described embodiment.
The operation in the case of the multi-tank type is substantially the same as the flow shown in FIG. 3. In S106, S112, and S126, instead of supplying and discharging the chemical solution, the tissue piece 14 is transferred between the treatment tanks 12 by the conveying means 32. A moving operation is performed.
[0026]
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above in various ways. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and instead of the processing method combining S124 and S128 described above, S124 or S128. Of course, many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, such as a processing method that implements only one of the above.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
According to the tissue piece processing method and the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention, even in the case where the treatment with one chemical solution is not possible due to a shortage of the liquid amount, in the previous step or the next step of the step in which one chemical solution is used. When the same chemical solution is used, tissue piece processing of the tissue piece can be continued by using other chemical solutions of the same type used in the previous process and the next process, and preparation of the tissue piece can be performed without delay. There is an effect.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a process chart showing an example of a tissue piece treatment process.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of one embodiment (one tank type) of an automatic tissue piece treating apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a tissue piece processing operation of the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment (multi-tank type) automatic tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 12 Processing tank 14 Tissue piece 16 Chemical solution tank 18 Rotary valve 22 Liquid quantity sensor 24 Memory | storage part 28 Control part

Claims

In order to prepare a specimen of the tissue pieces of sequential dipping process the tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical, a piece of tissue processing method of using a chemical liquid of the same type in at least two successive steps,
Of the two processes, the case the amount of the chemical liquid in the subsequent step is not sufficient to process pieces of tissue, the tissue pieces were immersed again only a predetermined time in the chemical before step a, the following step after the elapse of the predetermined time period A tissue piece processing method characterized by continuing the processing of tissue pieces sequentially from the chemical solution in the next step.

In order to prepare a specimen of the tissue pieces of sequential dipping process the tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical, a piece of tissue processing method of using a chemical liquid of the same type in at least two successive steps,
The two out of step, the case is not sufficient amount of drug solution of the previous step is the treatment of tissue pieces, characterized in that to continue processing of sequential tissue pieces from the chemical process after without performing the processing of the previous step Tissue piece processing method.

Of sequentially immersed Ru process tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical solution, using a chemical solution of the same type in at least two steps consecutive an automated tissue piece treating apparatus for performing sample preparation process of the tissue piece,
A liquid amount sensor for detecting whether or not the amount of the chemical solution is sufficient for processing the tissue piece;
A storage unit storing a step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of chemical solutions;
With successively immersed in the chemical in accordance with the steps tissue sections while detecting the amount of the chemical liquid stored in the storage unit to be used in the tissue piece treating through the liquid quantity sensor, of the second step, after when the chemical solution in the process detects that it is not sufficient to process tissue specimens, the tissue pieces were immersed again only a predetermined time in the chemical before step a, the next step of the rear step after the predetermined time period An automatic tissue piece processing apparatus comprising a tissue piece immersing means for continuing a specimen preparation process of tissue pieces sequentially from a chemical solution.

Of sequentially immersed Ru process tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical solution, using a chemical solution of the same type in at least two steps consecutive an automated tissue piece treating apparatus for performing sample preparation process of the tissue piece,
A liquid amount sensor for detecting whether or not the amount of the chemical solution is sufficient for processing the tissue piece;
A storage unit storing a step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of chemical solutions;
With successively immersed in the chemical in accordance with the steps tissue sections while detecting the amount of the chemical liquid stored in the storage unit to be used in the tissue piece treating through the liquid quantity sensor, of the two steps, before When it is detected that the chemical solution in the process is not a sufficient amount for the treatment of the tissue piece, the tissue piece immersing means for continuing the preparation of the tissue piece sequentially from the chemical solution in the subsequent step without performing the treatment in the previous step And an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus.

Of sequentially immersed Ru process tissue pieces into a plurality of chemical solution, using a chemical solution of the same type in at least two steps consecutive an automated tissue piece treating apparatus for performing sample preparation process of the tissue piece,
A liquid amount sensor for detecting whether or not the amount of the chemical solution is sufficient for processing the tissue piece;
A storage unit storing a step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of chemical solutions;
With successively immersed in the chemical in accordance with the steps tissue sections while detecting the amount of the chemical liquid stored in the storage unit to be used in the tissue piece treating through the liquid quantity sensor, of the second step, after When it is detected that the chemical solution in the process is not an amount sufficient for the treatment of the tissue piece , the chemical solution in the subsequent process is replenished until the chemical solution in the post-process becomes a sufficient amount for the treatment of the tissue piece , The tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution of the subsequent process without performing the process of the previous process on the tissue piece, and the specimen preparation process of the tissue piece is sequentially continued from the chemical solution of the subsequent process of the subsequent process after the predetermined time has elapsed. And an automatic tissue piece treating apparatus.