JP4758723B2 - Particle analyzer and particle analysis method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus (flow cytometer) for analyzing the characteristics of particles based on scattered light and fluorescence obtained by irradiating a flow of minute particles such as cells and bacteria.

  A flow cytometer is used as a measuring device for analyzing fine particles such as industrial powders such as cells, bacteria, or toner. In such a flow cytometer, for example, a particle suspension containing cells or bacteria previously stained is guided to a thin glass tube, and the flow is irradiated with laser light. And the scattered light and fluorescence obtained by laser beam irradiation are detected, this is converted into an electric signal, and predetermined signal processing is performed (for example, refer to patent documents 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-315248 (FIG. 1)

For example, in urine sediment examination, relatively large particles such as red blood cells, white blood cells, epithelial cells, and cylinders and very small particles such as bacteria are analyzed. In this way, when the size of the particles to be analyzed is diverse, the level of the electrical signal generated varies greatly depending on the size of the particles, so accurate analysis is performed if signal processing is performed under the same conditions for all particle measurements. May not be possible. Further, when a plurality of signal processing substrates corresponding to the size of particles are provided in the flow cytometer, the apparatus becomes large and power consumption increases. In addition, the cost increases.
In view of the conventional problems as described above, the present invention provides a particle analysis apparatus and a particle analysis method capable of performing different types of analysis without preparing a plurality of types of circuit boards for signal processing. For the purpose.

The particle analyzer of the present invention includes a first sample preparation unit for preparing a first particle suspension from a specimen, a second sample preparation unit for preparing a second particle suspension from a specimen, light is irradiated to the flow of grain child suspension to obtain an optical signal of a plurality of types that reflect the characteristics of the particles, these and a detector for converting into electric signals, respectively, output from the detector A signal processing circuit that performs waveform processing on an electrical signal and extracts the characteristics of the waveform; and when the first type of analysis is performed , the first processing condition is instructed to the signal processing circuit , when performing an analysis of the second type, and a control unit for instructing the second processing condition to the signal processing circuit, suspended first particles prepared in the first sample preparation unit The suspension is supplied to the detector, the first type of analysis is performed, and the first type of analysis is performed. After the supplying the second particle suspension prepared in the second sample preparing section to the detector, it is configured to perform an analysis of the second type.

In the particle analyzer configured as described above, when there are a plurality of types of analysis, the control device instructs the processing conditions according to the type of analysis to the signal processing circuit. The signal processing circuit is set with processing conditions in accordance with instructions from the control device, and performs waveform processing of electrical signals according to the processing conditions. Therefore, the processing conditions can be set according to the type of analysis, and thereby the waveform features can be extracted appropriately .

In the particle analyzer configured as described above, the first and second types of analysis can be continuously performed .

Further, in the particle analyzer , the signal processing circuit has a common signal processing path shared among a plurality of types of analysis, and the control apparatus performs signal processing elements on the common signal processing path. It is preferable that processing conditions are set according to the type of analysis. In this case, the common signal processing path can be shared by a plurality of types of analysis .

In the particle analyzer, for example, the first type of analysis is analysis of blood cells in urine, and the second type of analysis is analysis of bacteria in urine.
In the particle analyzer, for example, the processing condition includes a signal amplification factor.
In the particle analyzer, the waveform characteristics include, for example, a peak value and a pulse width of a pulse included in the waveform.

In the particle analyzer , the second particle to be analyzed in the second particle suspension is smaller than the first particle to be analyzed in the first particle suspension, and the second processing condition is used. Then, the signal amplification factor is set to be higher than the first processing condition for the signal processing circuit . Note that it is preferable to set the amplification factor high with respect to the forward scattered light signal.
In this case, for the second particle, the signal amplification factor can be increased as compared with the case of the first particle, and the detection accuracy of the waveform feature in the measurement can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to provide a particle analyzer that can analyze cells and bacteria without preparing a plurality of types of circuit boards for signal processing circuits.

On the other hand, the particle analyzer of the present invention includes a dispensing unit that dispenses a sample containing particles to be analyzed into a plurality of sample preparation units, and a first particle suspension from the sample dispensed from the dispensing unit. A first sample preparation unit for preparing a second sample preparation unit for preparing a second particle suspension from the specimen dispensed from the dispensing unit, and the first and second sample preparations A detector that outputs an electrical signal reflecting the characteristics of the particles contained in the first and second particle suspensions prepared by the unit, and a first processing condition for the electrical signal output from the detector Or, a signal processing circuit that performs waveform processing according to the second processing condition and extracts a waveform feature, and a controller that performs operation control of the dispensing unit, the detector, and the signal processing circuit, the control device, the first particle suspension prepared by the first sample preparation unit Switching between the first analysis mode, a second analysis mode for analyzing a specimen by the second particle suspension prepared in the second sample preparing unit for analyzing a specimen is supplied to the detector In the first analysis mode, the signal processing circuit is set to a first processing condition, and in the second analysis mode, the signal processing circuit is set to a second processing condition. Is.
In the particle analyzer configured as described above, switching between the first analysis mode and the second analysis mode is possible, and in the first analysis mode, the control device sets the signal processing circuit to the first processing condition. In the second analysis mode, the second processing condition is set. The signal processing circuit performs waveform processing of the electric signal according to the processing conditions. Accordingly, the processing conditions can be set according to the analysis mode, and thereby the waveform features can be appropriately extracted.

In the particle analyzer, the controller causes the dispensing unit to dispense the same sample into the first and second sample preparation units, respectively, and prepares first and second particle suspensions, respectively. The respective analysis results may be integrated after performing the analysis in the first and second analysis modes.

On the other hand, in the particle analysis method of the present invention, a first particle suspension used for the first type of analysis and a second particle suspension used for the second type of analysis are generated from the specimen, respectively. Then, by irradiating the flow of the first particle suspension with light, a plurality of types of optical signals reflecting the characteristics of the particles are obtained, and these are converted into electric signals and output, respectively, A signal processing circuit capable of switching the setting of processing conditions according to the type of analysis performs waveform processing of the electrical signal under the first processing conditions corresponding to the first type of analysis, and extracts the characteristics of the waveform Then, by irradiating the flow of the second particle suspension with light, a plurality of types of optical signals reflecting the characteristics of the particles are obtained, and these are converted into electric signals and output, respectively, A second processing condition corresponding to the second type of analysis by the processing circuit; Performing waveform processing of the electrical signal, it extracts a characteristic of the waveform.
In the particle analysis method as described above, the control apparatus instructs the processing conditions to the signal processing circuit corresponding to the type of analysis. Therefore, the processing conditions corresponding to the first and second types of analysis are sequentially set for the signal processing circuit, and the waveform features can be extracted appropriately.

According to the particle analysis apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to set processing conditions according to the type of analysis, and thereby it is possible to appropriately extract waveform characteristics. Therefore, it is possible to provide a particle analyzer capable of performing different types of analysis without preparing a plurality of types of circuit boards for signal processing circuits.
Further, according to the particle analysis method of the present invention, the processing conditions corresponding to the first and second types of analysis can be sequentially set for the signal processing circuit, and the waveform features can be extracted appropriately. . Therefore, two types (or more) of particles can be analyzed without preparing a plurality of types of circuit boards for the signal processing circuit.

  Hereinafter, a configuration including a flow cytometer that analyzes cells and bacteria contained in urine will be described as a particle analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flow cytometer 100 housed in a housing and a personal computer 13 attached thereto. In the figure, a flow cytometer 100 detects a particle information from a reactor 2 for preparing a particle suspension, a rack table 4 for transferring a sample rack 3 (test tube stand), and the particle suspension. For this purpose, and a circuit unit 14. A support base 16 is attached to the side surface of the housing via an arm 15, and a personal computer 13 is installed thereon. The personal computer 13 is LAN-connected to the circuit unit 14 of the flow cytometer 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of the reaction unit / detection unit 1 mainly composed of the reactor 2 and the detector 5. In the figure, urine (specimen) that has entered the test tube U is sucked by the suction tube 17 and is dispensed by the dispensing part D into two sample preparation parts 2u and 2b. The sample preparation unit 2u is a sediment-type aliquot for analyzing relatively large particles such as red blood cells, white blood cells, epithelial cells, and cylinders, while the sample preparation unit 2b analyzes relatively small particles such as bacteria. An aliquot of bacteria for. The urine of each sample preparation unit 2u, 2b is stained with staining solutions 18u, 18b, respectively, and diluted with diluents 19u, 19b to form particle suspensions. The two types of particle suspensions prepared in this way are first introduced into the detector 5 as one of the particle suspensions, and form a thin flow wrapped in the sheath liquid in the sheath flow cell 51. Are irradiated with laser light. Thereafter, similarly, the other particle suspension is guided to the detector 5 to form a thin flow in the sheath flow cell 51 and irradiated with laser light. Such an operation is automatically performed by operating a driving unit, a solenoid valve, and the like (not shown) under the control of a microcomputer 11 (control device) described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the detector 5. In the figure, the condenser lens 52 condenses the laser light emitted from the light source 53 on the sheath flow cell 51, and the condensing lens 54 condenses the forward scattered light of the particles on the photodiode 55. The other condensing lens 56 condenses the side scattered light and the side fluorescence of the particles on the dichroic mirror 57. The dichroic mirror 57 reflects the side scattered light toward the photomultiplier 58 and transmits the side fluorescence toward the photomultiplier tube 59. These optical signals reflect the characteristics of the particles. The photodiode 55, the photomultiplier 58, and the photomultiplier tube 59 convert the optical signal into an electrical signal, and the forward scattered light signal (FSC), the side scattered light signal (SSC), and the side fluorescent signal ( SFL) is output. These outputs are amplified by a preamplifier (not shown) and then subjected to the next stage processing.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the flow cytometer. In the figure, a flow cytometer 100 includes the above-described reaction unit / detection unit 1, an analog signal processing circuit 6 that performs amplification and filtering on the output amplified by a preamplifier, and the analog signal processing circuit 6. An A / D converter 7 that converts the output into a digital signal, a digital signal processing circuit 8 that performs predetermined waveform processing on the digital signal, a memory 9 that is connected to the digital signal processing circuit 8, and an analog signal processing circuit 6 And a microcomputer 11 connected to the digital signal processing circuit 8 and a LAN adapter 12 connected to the microcomputer 11. The external personal computer 13 is LAN-connected to the flow cytometer 100 via the LAN adapter 12, and the personal computer 13 analyzes data acquired by the flow cytometer 100. The analog signal processing circuit 6, the A / D converter 7, the digital signal processing circuit 8, and the memory 9 constitute a signal processing circuit 10 for the electric signal output from the reaction unit / detection unit 1.

Next, a waveform obtained by amplifying the output of the reaction unit / detection unit 1 (forward scattered light signal) with a preamplifier for bacteria and cells to be analyzed by the flow cytometer 100 will be described. FIG. 5 is a graph showing a waveform obtained by amplifying the output of the reaction unit / detection unit 1 obtained for pseudo particles (latex particles: 1 μm in diameter) corresponding to bacteria such as Escherichia coli with a preamplifier. Here, one square on the vertical axis is 2 mV, and the amplitude of the two peaks is about 3 mV. Note that minute fluctuations in the waveform are caused by the passage of dust particles and electrical noise.
On the other hand, FIG. 6 is a graph showing a waveform obtained by amplifying the output of the reaction unit / detection unit 1 obtained for pseudo particles (latex particles: 7 μm in diameter) corresponding to cells having a size of about white blood cells by a preamplifier. Here, one square on the vertical axis is 500 mV, and the amplitude of the central mountain is 1000 to 1500 mV.

As described above, the output voltage for bacteria is as small as about 3 mV, and if this is directly subjected to A / D conversion, the accuracy of the digital value is significantly deteriorated. If this is amplified to about 100 mV, the amplifier gain (amplification factor) needs to be about 30 times. However, if the magnification is 30 times, a cell of about white blood cell exceeds the dynamic range, and analysis becomes impossible.
Therefore, when measuring relatively large particles such as red blood cells, white blood cells, epithelial cells, and cylinders (hereinafter referred to as sediment measurement) and when measuring relatively small particles such as bacteria (hereinafter referred to as bacteria measurement). Thus, the main amplifier gain is switched so that the former is large and the latter is small, so that the accuracy of bacteria measurement is improved and the sediment measurement is not hindered.

  In addition to the amplifier gain, settings are made as shown in Table 1 below. That is, when the bacteria are measured, the main amplifier gain is increased and the noise level is increased (the S / N ratio is decreased), so that the noise removal capability is increased. Since the large particles are measured during sediment measurement, the time width of the obtained signal pulse is long. Therefore, it is necessary to lower the sampling frequency (time count interval) of the pulse width. Furthermore, since the amplifier gain is switched between the bacteria measurement and the sediment measurement, it is necessary to individually optimize unnecessary signals (component signals irrelevant to analysis, such as dust particles) that pass through the main amplifier. .

Based on the above concept, the analog signal processing circuit 6 is designed as follows.
The analog signal processing circuit 6 has a gain switching circuit using analog switches (not shown) in all four channels (CH1 to CH4), and a gain block is selected by an instruction from the microcomputer 11. It is configured as follows. FIG. 7 shows a gain block used for sediment measurement, and FIG. 8 shows a gain block used for bacteria measurement. In FIG. 7, three signals of FSC (forward scattered light signal), SFL (side fluorescent light signal), and SSC (side scattered light signal) are divided into four channels (CH1 to CH4), a high pass filter (HPF), and an amplifier. (AMP) and a band pass filter (BPF). On the other hand, in FIG. 8, two signals, FSC and SFL, are output through a high-pass filter (HPF), an amplifier (AMP), and a band-pass filter (BPF) by four channels (CH1 to CH4). By selecting the gain block as described above, the signal and gain of each channel can be switched to the following two patterns.

  Next, FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the internal functions of the digital signal processing circuit 8. In the figure, the digital signal processing circuit 8 includes a waveform processing unit 81, an interface 82, a register group 83, a memory access control / particle counting counter 84, and a timer / waveform processing time control 85. The waveform processing unit 81 receives a 4-channel digital signal, and obtains a pulse peak value and a pulse width, which are waveform characteristic parameters. The register group 83 stores setting values necessary for measuring bacteria and setting values necessary for sediment measurement. The waveform processing unit 81 performs waveform processing (feature parameter extraction) based on the set value.

  Of the memory access control / particle counting counter 84, the characteristic parameter obtained by the waveform processing unit 81 is written into the memory 9 by the memory access function, and access control when reading the contents of the memory 9 from the microcomputer 11 is performed. Is called. On the other hand, the number of particles read into the memory 9 is counted by the particle counting counter function. The timer / waveform processing time control 85 counts the time after the signal processing is started in the waveform processing unit 81 by the timer function. When the time reaches a preset signal processing time, the signal processing is terminated.

  The waveform processing unit 81 passes the input signal of each channel through a smoothing filter, and then performs particle detection determination based on the set value of the register group 83, and when each particle is detected in an OR trigger, that is, in any channel, each channel The waveform peak value calculation and the pulse width calculation are performed in step. The peak value and the pulse width are taken into a buffer in the waveform processing unit 81. Here, a dust signal having a small pulse width that is not considered to be a signal based on particles is discarded, and only those that have not been discarded are stored in the memory 9. Is remembered.

  The peak value is obtained by peak-holding the peak value converted into a digital value with reference to the baseline of the signal. The pulse width is expressed as a value obtained by counting the period from exceeding the signal level for pulse width calculation to falling below it at a predetermined sampling frequency. In addition, the pulse width can be obtained by other methods for particles such as a cylinder that have properties that are significantly different from those of other particles. FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram showing peak values and pulse widths calculated by the waveform processing unit 81, and shows an example of calculating the pulse width of a cylinder. (A) is an example of a waveform of a forward scattered light signal (FSC), (b) is an example of a waveform of a side fluorescent signal (SFL), and (c) is a side scattered light signal (SSC). ) Waveform example. A cylinder is generally an elongated translucent particle, and may contain contents such as white blood cells inside. In such a case, the cylinder is generally stained with a staining solution, and the contents are strongly stained. Accordingly, the period FLW1 exceeding the SFL signal detection level in (b) is a period in which the fluorescence generated from the entire cylinder is detected, and during that period, the FSC signal detection level is set in the forward scattered light signal shown in (a). The exceeding periods W1, W2, W3, and W4 are periods in which forward scattered light generated from the contents of the cylinder is detected. Therefore, in the forward scattered light, the sum of the pulse widths exceeding the FSC signal detection level (W1 + W2 + W3 + W4) during the period FLW1 can be used as the pulse width of the particle (cylinder). In addition, the peak value can be FSCP which is the maximum peak value among them. Similarly, for side scattered light, the sum of the pulse widths exceeding the SSC signal detection level (W1 + W2 + W3 + W4) during the period FLW1 can be used as the pulse width of the particle (cylinder), and the peak value is maximum SSCP which is the peak value of.

  On the other hand, for the side fluorescent signal (SFL), the pulse width can be calculated based on the signal level SFL different from the pulse width calculation signal detection level from the waveform characteristics as shown in (b). it can. That is, in the example shown in (b), when the SFL detection signal level is exceeded, the first pulse width, that is, the pulse width FLW1 corresponding to the entire cylinder can be set, and the SFL pulse width calculation level during the period FLW1. The sum of the pulse widths exceeding (W1 + W2 + W3 + W4) can be used as the pulse width for the contents. Further, the peak value can be SFLP which is the maximum peak value among them.

  The urine sediment measurement and the bacteria measurement in the flow cytometer 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The program of this flowchart is stored in the microcomputer 11 in advance. When the test tube U is set and measurement is started, processing in the first analysis mode (steps S1 to S3) and processing in the second analysis mode (steps S4 to S7) are executed.

First, as processing in the first analysis mode, setting of processing conditions for sediment measurement shown in Tables 1 and 2 (operation as first instruction means) is performed (step S1), and then sediment measurement is performed. (Step S2). Specifically, the sample is taken into the sample preparation unit 2u of the reactor 2, and the staining solution 18u and the dilution solution 19u are added thereto and stirred (generation of particle suspension). At the same time, part of the bacteria measurement operation is executed in advance. That is, the sample is taken into the sample preparation unit 2b of the reactor 2, and the staining solution 18b and the dilution solution 19b are added to this and stirred.
Subsequently, a sediment-based particle suspension is sent to the detector 5 from the sample preparation unit 2u.

  In the detector 5, three signals (FSC, SFL, SSC) are obtained by laser light irradiation, and the signal is amplified in the preamplifier and analog signal processing circuit 6. At this time, as described above, the main amplifier gain is set to a relatively small value. The signal amplified with a low gain in the analog signal processing circuit 6 is converted into a digital value and input to the digital signal processing circuit 8 (step S3). Here, the microcomputer 11 instructs the set value of the sediment system to the register group 83. Specifically, the signal detection level shown in FIG. 10 is set to a relatively low level, and the noise removal capability is set low. Considering that the pulse width of a large size cell is long, the sampling frequency of the pulse width is set to a low frequency, and the time count interval is lengthened (slow). Further, an optimal value is set as a pulse width to be discarded as a dust signal so as to discard other than cells. By such setting, sediment system measurement can be performed accurately.

  After the sediment system measurement is completed, the first analysis mode is switched to the second analysis mode, the processing conditions for bacteria measurement are set (operation as the second instruction means) (step S4), and then the bacteria measurement is performed. Is performed (step S5). Specifically, a bacterial particle suspension is fed into the detector 5. In the detector 5, three signals (FSC, SFL, SSC) are obtained by laser light irradiation, and the signal is amplified in the analog signal processing circuit 6. At this time, as described above, the amplifier gain is set to a relatively large value. By increasing the amplifier gain, it is possible to increase the detection accuracy of the pulse peak value and pulse width in bacterial measurement.

  The signal amplified with a high gain in the analog signal processing circuit 6 is converted into a digital value and input to the digital signal processing circuit 8 (step S6). Here, the microcomputer 11 instructs the register group 83 to set a bacterial system value. That is, the signal detection level shown in FIG. 10 is set to a relatively high level and the noise removal capability is set high. This is because the S / N ratio is lowered due to the high gain in the analog signal processing circuit 6. Considering that the pulse width of a small-sized bacterium becomes short, the above-described sampling frequency is set to a high frequency and the time count interval is shortened (fastened). Further, an optimum value is set as a pulse width to be discarded as a dust signal so as to discard other than bacteria. By such setting, the bacterial system measurement can be accurately performed.

  Thereafter, sediment measurement data and bacteria measurement data are transmitted from the microcomputer 11 to the personal computer 13 (step S7). The personal computer 13 can display the analysis result in the first analysis mode and the analysis result in the second analysis mode in an integrated manner.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the appearance position of each particle in the scattergram obtained by sediment measurement, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the appearance position of the bacteria in the scattergram obtained by bacteria measurement. 12 and 13, the vertical axis represents the forward scattered light intensity, and the horizontal axis represents the side fluorescence intensity. WBC is leukocytes, RBC is red blood cells, EC is epithelial cells, P.I. CAST indicates a cylinder (with contents), CAST indicates a cylinder (without contents), and BACT indicates bacteria. As shown in FIG. 12, in the scattergram obtained by sediment measurement, white blood cells, red blood cells, epithelial cells, cylinders (with contents), cylinders (without contents), and bacteria appear at corresponding appearance positions. Thereby, each particle can be classified. In FIG. 12, the appearance position of the bacteria is shown. However, since minute bacteria cannot be detected by sediment measurement, the bacteria appear only at the positions shown in FIG. 12. That is, bacteria are actually distributed outside the range shown in FIG. 12, but are not detected by sediment measurement. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, in the scattergram obtained by the bacteria measurement, bacteria appear at the appearance positions shown in the figure. The appearance range shown in this figure is a range that includes minute bacteria, and by using this appearance range, it is possible to accurately classify bacteria and other particles.

In the above operation, the signal processing circuit 10 serves as a common signal processing path shared among a plurality (two types) of analysis types. Further, the microcomputer 11 sets processing conditions corresponding to the type of analysis for the signal processing elements on the common signal processing path. Thus, different types of analysis can be performed without preparing a plurality of types of circuit boards as in the prior art. For example, particles having different sizes can be analyzed.
In addition, the reaction / detection unit 1 is provided with two systems, sediment system and bacteria system, so that sediment measurement and bacteria measurement can be performed appropriately according to the characteristics of each, and high accuracy of measurement is realized. did it.

  In the above-described embodiment, the particle analyzer that performs two types of analysis (first analysis mode and second analysis mode) has been described. This can be handled by changing the settings. Further, the order of the plurality of types of analysis can be arbitrarily changed.

  In the above embodiment, the configuration in which particles having different sizes can be analyzed by changing processing conditions set for the signal processing circuit 10 that is a common signal processing path is a particle of bacteria or cells. The present invention is also applicable to a flow cytometer other than a flow cytometer whose analysis target is a suspension (for example, a flow cytometer which performs a plurality of types of analysis using an industrial powder as an analysis target).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a flow cytometer housed in a housing and a personal computer attached thereto as an example of a particle analyzer. It is a figure which shows schematic function structure of the reaction part and detection part of a flow cytometer. It is a figure which shows the structure of the detector in the flow cytometer of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a flow cytometer. It is a graph which shows the waveform which amplified the output of the reaction part and the detection part obtained about the pseudo | simulation particle | grains (latex particle: diameter 1 micrometer) equivalent to bacteria, such as colon_bacillus | E._coli, with the preamplifier. It is a graph which shows the waveform which amplified the output of the reaction part and the detection part obtained about the pseudo | simulation particle | grain (latex particle: diameter 7 micrometers) equivalent to the cell of the magnitude | size of a leukocyte by the preamplifier. It is a figure which shows the gain block at the time of sediment measurement. It is a figure which shows the gain block at the time of bacteria measurement. It is a block diagram which shows the internal function of a digital signal processing circuit. It is a wave form diagram which shows the peak value and pulse width calculated by the waveform processing unit. It is a flowchart which shows the process about sediment measurement and bacteria measurement. It is a figure which shows the appearance position of each particle | grain in the scattergram obtained by sediment measurement. It is a figure which shows the appearance position of the bacterium in the scattergram obtained by bacteria measurement.

Explanation of symbols

1 Reaction unit / detection unit 2u, 2b Sample preparation unit (first sample preparation unit, second sample preparation unit)
5 Detector 10 Signal Processing Circuit 11 Microcomputer (Control Device)

Claims (10)

A first sample preparation unit for preparing a first particle suspension from a specimen;
A second sample preparation unit for preparing a second particle suspension from the specimen;
Irradiating light to the flow of grain child suspension, a detector to obtain a plurality of types of optical signals reflecting the characteristics of the particles and converts them into respective electrical signals,
A signal processing circuit that performs waveform processing on the electrical signal output from the detector and extracts characteristics of the waveform;
When executing the first type of analysis , the first processing condition is instructed to the signal processing circuit, and when executing the second type of analysis, the second type of analysis is performed on the signal processing circuit. and a control unit for instructing the processing conditions,
The first particle suspension prepared in the first sample preparation unit is supplied to the detector, the first type of analysis is performed, and the first type of analysis is performed. A particle analyzer configured to supply a second particle suspension prepared by a second sample preparation unit to the detector and perform a second type of analysis . The signal processing circuit has a common signal processing path shared among a plurality of analysis types,
The particle analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control apparatus is configured to set a processing condition corresponding to a type of analysis for a signal processing element on the common signal processing path. The particle analyzer according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the first type of analysis is an analysis on blood cells in urine, and the second type of analysis is an analysis on bacteria in urine . The particle analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing condition includes a signal amplification factor . The particle analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the waveform characteristics include a peak value and a pulse width of a pulse included in the waveform . The second particles to be analyzed in the second particle suspension are smaller than the first particles to be analyzed in the first particle suspension,
6. The particle analyzer according to claim 1, wherein, in the second processing condition, a signal amplification factor is set higher than the first processing condition for the signal processing circuit . The particle analyzer according to claim 6, wherein the amplification factor is set high with respect to the forward scattered light signal . A dispensing unit that dispenses a specimen containing particles to be analyzed into a plurality of sample preparation units;
A first sample preparation unit for preparing a first particle suspension from a sample dispensed from the dispensing unit;
A second sample preparation unit for preparing a second particle suspension from the sample dispensed from the dispensing unit;
A detector that outputs an electrical signal reflecting the characteristics of the particles contained in the first and second particle suspensions prepared by the first and second sample preparation units;
A signal processing circuit that performs waveform processing on the electrical signal output from the detector according to the first processing condition or the second processing condition and extracts a feature of the waveform;
A controller for controlling operation of the dispensing unit, the detector, and the signal processing circuit;
The control device supplies a first analysis mode in which the first particle suspension prepared in the first sample preparation unit is supplied to the detector to analyze a specimen, and a second sample preparation unit. It is possible to switch to the second analysis mode in which the sample is analyzed with the second particle suspension prepared in the above, and in the first analysis mode, the signal processing circuit is set to the first processing condition, A particle analyzer configured to set the signal processing circuit to a second processing condition in the second analysis mode . The control device causes the dispensing unit to dispense the same specimen into the first and second sample preparation units, respectively, and prepares first and second particle suspensions, respectively. The particle analyzer according to claim 8, wherein the analysis results are integrated after each analysis in the analysis mode is performed . Generating a first particle suspension for the first type of analysis and a second particle suspension for the second type of analysis from the specimen ,
By irradiating the flow of the first particle suspension with light, a plurality of types of optical signals reflecting the characteristics of the particles are obtained, and these are converted into electrical signals and output, respectively,
The waveform processing of the electrical signal is performed under the first processing condition corresponding to the first type of analysis by the signal processing circuit capable of switching the setting of the processing condition according to the plurality of types of analysis. Extract
By irradiating the flow of the second particle suspension with light, a plurality of types of optical signals reflecting the characteristics of the particles are obtained, and these are converted into electric signals and output, respectively.
A particle analysis method for extracting waveform characteristics by performing waveform processing of the electrical signal under a second processing condition corresponding to a second type of analysis by the signal processing circuit.