JP4918719B2 - Thin section preparation equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention cuts a thin section from an embedding block in which a biological sample taken from a human body or a laboratory animal is embedded, and places the thin section on a slide glass to prepare a thin section specimen. Relates to the device.

  Conventionally, as one method for inspecting and observing a biological sample taken from a human body or a laboratory animal, a thin section is prepared from an embedding block in which the biological sample is embedded with an embedding agent, and the biological sample is observed. The method is known. More specifically, a thin section prepared from an embedding block is placed on a slide glass to prepare a thin section specimen, and the biological sample contained in the thin section is subjected to a staining process on the slide glass. Observations are made.

  Here, for example, in a preclinical test, several hundred embedded blocks are prepared per test, and several thin slice specimens are prepared per embedded block. For this reason, since it is necessary for an operator to prepare an enormous number of thin-section specimens, a thin-section specimen preparation apparatus capable of performing a series of steps from the embedding block to the preparation of a thin-section specimen in recent years has been developed. It is being developed. Such a sliced piece preparation apparatus includes a cutting means for cutting a sliced piece from an embedded block, a sliced piece carrying means for carrying the cut sliced piece, and a sliced piece transferred from the sliced piece carrying means to a slide glass. There has been proposed one provided with a transfer means (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to such a thin-section specimen preparation device, the embedding block is cut at a predetermined thin-section thickness by the cutting means to produce a thin section, and the prepared thin section is transported to the slide glass by the thin-section transport means. However, it is said that a thin slice specimen can be produced by transferring a thin slice to a slide glass by a transfer means.

By the way, when observing a biological sample of a thin slice specimen prepared as described above, a plurality of corresponding biological samples may be observed simultaneously or sequentially. Such observation is performed by preparing a thin slice specimen in which a plurality of corresponding biological samples are accommodated on a single glass slide in consideration of test efficiency. That is, thin sections are prepared from the respective embedded blocks corresponding to the biological samples, and the positions are shifted so that the biological samples are in the desired order and the biological samples cannot be observed by overlapping each other. A thin slice specimen is prepared by placing a thin slice on a slide glass.
JP 2004-28910 A

  However, in the apparatus according to Patent Document 1, only one thin section can be produced from one embedded block and placed on one slide glass. Assuming that a thin slice specimen is prepared in which a plurality of thin slices are placed on a slide glass as described above, the worker replaces the embedded block in accordance with the situation of the thin slice preparation and the desired order. In addition, it was necessary to adjust the position of the slide glass, and it was not possible to automatically produce a thin section specimen.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances. A thin slice specimen in which a plurality of thin sections each containing a desired biological sample are placed on a single glass slide is automatically obtained. The present invention provides a thin-section specimen preparation device that can be manufactured in a simple manner.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
In the present invention, a biological sample is embedded with an embedding agent, a thin section is cut from an embedding block held in an embedding cassette, and the thin section is placed on a slide glass to produce a thin section specimen. A thin-section specimen preparation device, a block storage in which a plurality of the embedded blocks are arranged and stored, a block transport mechanism for selectively taking out and transporting the embedded blocks from the block storage, and The embedding block transported by the block transport mechanism is received and cut to produce the thin slice, a mounting surface on which the slide glass is mounted, and a surface substantially parallel to the mounting surface While receiving and transporting the slide section mounted with a slide glass XY stage capable of moving the slide glass in a plane, and the thin section produced by the cutting mechanism, A thin section transport mechanism capable of delivering the thin section on the slide glass placed on the placement surface of the slide glass placement section, and the embedded block stored in the block storage Based on the operation unit capable of inputting array data configured by arranging identification data having a plurality of ranks to be identified, and the identification data and the rank constituting the array data input by the operation unit, The block transport mechanism sequentially takes out the embedded block corresponding to the identification data from the block storage, and the thin section is prepared and transported by the cutting mechanism and the thin section transport mechanism. The slide glass XY stage of the mounting unit is driven, and the slide glass is transferred each time the thin section is transferred onto the slide glass. The moved, the in correspondence with the order of the sequence data is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of said control unit for arranging the thin section on the slide glass.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation device according to the present invention, when the sequence data is input by the operation unit, the control unit, for example, in the sequence data, the embedded block corresponding to the highest-order identification data is displayed by the block transport mechanism. It is selectively removed from the block storage and transported to the cutting mechanism. Next, the control unit drives the cutting mechanism to produce a thin slice from the embedded block, and transports the produced thin slice by the thin slice transport mechanism. Then, the control unit transfers the thin section to the slide glass on the mounting surface of the slide glass mounting section by the thin section transport mechanism, and the first thin section containing the desired biological sample is mounted on the slide glass. Will be placed. Similarly, the control unit selects an embedded block corresponding to the identification data of the next rank in the array data, similarly produces a thin section, and transports it by the thin section transport mechanism. On the other hand, after the first thin section is placed on the slide glass, the control unit drives the slide glass XY stage of the slide glass placement unit to adjust the position of the slide glass. As a result, the next thin section transported by the thin section transport mechanism can be placed side by side with the first thin section on the slide glass. Similarly, by repeating the above-described operation based on the identification data and the order constituting the sequence data, a plurality of thin slices containing a desired biological sample on one slide glass based on the input sequence data Can be arranged automatically.

In the thin-section specimen preparation apparatus, it is more preferable that the identification data is an arrangement order of the embedded blocks in the block storage.
Further, in the thin-section sample preparation device, the previous identification data is an identification symbol written on a display unit of the embedding cassette corresponding to each embedding block, and each stored in the block storage It is good also as a thing provided with the reading means which reads the said identification symbol described in the said display part of the said embedding cassette.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the identification data is set as the identification symbol described in the arrangement order or the embedding cassette, so that the embedding block can be identified based on either of them. . Here, in the case where the identification data is an identification symbol, the control unit, regardless of the storage state of the embedded block in the block storage, the identification data of the input sequence data and the identification symbol read by the reading means By comparison with, the embedded block can be identified.

  In the thin-section sample preparation apparatus, the operation unit can input size data representing the size of the embedded block corresponding to the identification data together with the array data, and the control According to the present invention, it is more preferable that the unit adjusts the amount of movement of the slide glass by the slide glass XY stage of the slide glass placement unit based on the size data.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit can adjust the movement amount of the slide glass based on the size data by inputting the size data as the array data by the operation unit. For this reason, even if the size of the thin slice prepared according to the embedding block is different, the biological sample cannot be observed by being overlapped with each other according to the size of the thin slice, and is unnecessary. A plurality of thin slices can be placed on the slide glass without increasing the gap.

  In the thin-section specimen preparation device, the imaging section includes an imaging unit that images the embedded block transported to the cutting mechanism or the thin section transported by the thin-section transport mechanism, and the control unit includes the imaging section. Based on the image captured by the means, size data representing the size of the embedding block or the thin section is obtained, and based on the size data, the slide glass XY stage of the slide glass placement unit is used. The moving amount of the slide glass may be adjusted.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit adjusts the amount of movement of the slide glass based on the size data by acquiring the size data based on the image captured by the imaging unit. For this reason, even if the size of the thin slice prepared according to the embedding block is different, the biological sample cannot be observed by being overlapped with each other according to the size of the thin slice, and is unnecessary. A plurality of thin slices can be placed on the slide glass without increasing the gap.

  In the thin-section specimen preparation apparatus, the slide glass placement section includes a slide glass rotation stage capable of rotating the slide glass in a plane substantially parallel to the placement surface, and the operation The section is included in the thin section of the slide glass when the thin section prepared from the embedded block corresponding to the identification data is placed on the slide glass together with the identification data as the array data. Sample direction data representing the relative orientation of the biological sample can be input, and the control unit is configured to input the slide glass of the slide glass mounting unit based on the sample direction data of the array data. It is more preferable to drive the rotating stage to rotate the slide glass.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit rotates the slide glass by the slide glass rotation stage by inputting the sample direction data as the array data by the operation unit, and thereby converts the thin slice to the slide glass. The relative orientation of the contained biological sample can be adjusted to the orientation corresponding to the specimen direction data. Therefore, regardless of the direction in which the embedded block is stored in the block storage or the direction of cutting by the cutting mechanism, each sliced piece is placed on the slide glass with the biological sample in the desired orientation, and the sliced specimen is placed. Can be produced.

  Further, in the thin-section specimen preparation device, the specimen direction data is obtained by mounting the thin section from an orientation of the slide glass in an initial state on the basis of an orientation of the embedded block stored in the block storage. It is a rotation angle in the case of setting the direction of the slide glass at the time of placing, and it is more preferable that the control unit rotates the slide glass based on the rotation angle.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the rotation angle can be input as the sample direction data. For this reason, a slide glass can be rotated based on a rotation angle by a control part, and each thin section can be mounted on a slide glass by making a biological sample into a desired direction.

  In the thin-section specimen preparation device, the imaging section includes an imaging unit that images the embedded block transported to the cutting mechanism or the thin section transported by the thin-section transport mechanism, and the control unit includes the imaging section. Sample direction data representing the direction of the biological sample contained in the embedded block or the thin section is detected from the image captured by the means, the sample direction data is compared with the sample direction data, and the slide glass It is good also as what rotates.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation device according to the present invention, by comparing and adjusting the sample direction data and the sample direction data, based on the state of the embedded block or the thin section when imaged by the imaging means, By rotating the slide glass, each thin section can be placed on the slide glass with the biological sample in a desired orientation.

Furthermore, in the above-described thin-section sample preparation device, each embedded block is formed with a mark having a direction corresponding to the direction of the embedded block, and the sample direction data is relative to the slide glass. a relative orientation of the mark, the control unit, as the sample orientation data, the embedded block or the detected orientation of the mark formed on the thin section from the image acquired by the shooting image means More preferably, the slide glass is rotated so that the direction of the mark coincides with the sample direction data.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the direction of the slide glass is adjusted so that the relative direction of the mark detected as the sample direction data becomes the relative direction of the mark input as the sample direction data. Can be adjusted. In general, the orientation of the biological sample is embedded corresponding to the orientation of the embedding block and therefore also corresponds to the orientation of the thin section. For this reason, the relative direction of the biological sample contained in the thin section with respect to the slide glass can be adjusted by adjusting the slide glass based on the direction of the mark of the embedding block or the thin section.

  In the thin-section specimen preparation device, the specimen direction data is standard image data on which the biological sample arranged in a predetermined direction corresponding to the slide glass is displayed, and the control The unit detects the range of the biological sample included in the embedded block or the thin section from the image captured by the imaging unit as the sample direction data, and the detected range of the biological sample and the specimen direction The slide glass may be rotated so that the pattern matching elements are compared with the data and become substantially equal.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to the present invention, the range of the biological sample detected as the sample direction data is compared with the pattern matching element in the range of the biological sample in the biological sample image data input as the sample direction data. The direction of the slide glass can be adjusted to be equal, that is, so that the relative directions of the biological samples are substantially equal. For this reason, the relative direction of the biological sample contained in the thin slice with respect to the slide glass can be adjusted regardless of the orientation of the embedded block and the thin slice.

  In the thin-section specimen preparation apparatus, the cutting mechanism has a block rotation stage capable of rotating the embedded block in a plane substantially parallel to a plane for cutting the embedded block, The operation unit, as the array data, has the identification data and the embedding block corresponding to the identification data as a direction when cutting by the cutting mechanism from the direction when stored in the block storage. It is possible to input block rotation data representing the rotation angle of the case, and the control unit rotates the embedded block by the block rotation stage based on the block rotation data, Cutting is more preferable.

  According to the thin-section specimen preparation device according to the present invention, the block rotation data is input as the array data, and the embedded block is adjusted in each embedded block by adjusting the direction of the embedded block by the block rotation stage. The sample can be cut with a direction suitable for the cutting direction by the cutting mechanism. For this reason, the cut surface of each thin slice placed on the slide glass can be made favorable.

  According to the thin-section sample preparation apparatus of the present invention, by including an operation unit, a control unit, and a slide glass XY stage, automatically from a plurality of embedded blocks each containing a desired biological sample, Thin slices can be prepared by preparing thin sections and arranging them on a single glass slide.

(First embodiment)
1 to 4 show a first embodiment according to the present invention. The thin-section specimen preparation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 prepares an ultrathin thin section B1 having a thickness of about 3 to 5 μm from an embedding block B in which a biological sample S is embedded, and the biological specimen included in the thin section B1 In the process of inspecting and observing S, the thin slices B1 are automatically cut from the plurality of embedded blocks B, and the thin slices B1 are arranged and placed on the slide glass P1 at predetermined intervals. This is an apparatus for producing the section specimen P. The biological sample S is, for example, a sample excised from a tissue such as an organ taken out of a human body or a laboratory animal, and is appropriately selected in the medical field, pharmaceutical field, food field, biological field, and the like. The embedding block B is the above-described biological sample S embedded with the embedding agent B2, that is, the periphery is covered and solidified. The biological sample S is usually unified in the direction for each type. Embedded. The embedding block B is handled by being mounted on an embedding cassette C formed of a resin or the like with a uniform orientation. In more detail, such an embedding block B is produced as follows. First, the mass of the biological sample S is immersed in formalin, and the protein constituting the biological sample S is fixed. And after making a structure | tissue solid, it cut | disconnects to a suitable magnitude | size. Finally, it is produced by embedding in solidified embedding agent B2 the thing which replaced the water | moisture content inside the cut | disconnected biological sample S by embedding agent B2, and making it. Here, the embedding agent B2 is a material that can be easily liquefied and cooled and solidified as described above, and is dissolved by being immersed in an organic solvent, such as resin or paraffin.
Hereinafter, the configuration of the thin-section specimen preparation device 1 will be described.

  The thin-section specimen preparation device 1 takes out and transports the embedded block B from the block storage 2 and the block storage 2 in which a plurality of embedded blocks B are stored in order in the X-axis direction which is the horizontal direction in FIG. A block handling robot (block transport mechanism) 3, a cutting mechanism 4 for cutting the embedded block B to produce a thin slice B1, a slide glass placing portion 5 for placing a slide glass P1, and a thin slice B1 And a thin section transport mechanism 6 for transporting from the mechanism 4 to the slide glass placing section 5. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the thin-section specimen preparation device 1 includes a control unit 7 that controls the above-described components and an operation unit 8 that performs various inputs.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of storage shelves 2 a are arranged in the block storage 2, and each embedding block B is held in the embedding cassette C, one for each storage shelf 2 a. It is stored one by one. In addition, in FIG. 1, although it described as 1 row in an up-down direction, it is good also as what has multiple rows. Further, the operation unit 8 selects any embedding block B in the block storage 2 when preparing the thin section specimen P in which a plurality of thin sections B1 are arranged on one slide glass P1, and selects the thin section B1. Furthermore, it is possible to input array data indicating in what order the prepared thin slices B1 are arranged on the slide glass P1. The arrangement data is configured such that the identification data for identifying the embedding block B is arranged with a plurality of ranks corresponding to the order of the thin slices B1 arranged on the slide glass P1. More specifically, the identification data for identifying the embedding block B is the arrangement order of the embedding blocks B arranged in the block storage 2. For example, in FIG. 1, NO. 2, ..., NO. 7 is assigned. For example, as the thin slice specimen P, NO. 1, NO. 3 and NO6 embedded blocks B1 were prepared, respectively, and NO. 3, NO. 1, NO. The thin slices B1 are arranged in the order of 6. In this case, <NO. 3, NO. 1, NO. 6> can be entered. Furthermore, the operation unit 8 can input size data representing the size of the cut surface B4 of the selected embedding block B. As the size data, if the plurality of embedding blocks B stored in the block storage 2 are substantially equal, a single size data may be input. It is good also as what inputs correspondingly. In this embodiment, the embedding block B accommodated in the block storage 2 has the cut surface B4 of substantially the same size, and will be described as a single size data input.

  The block handling robot 3 includes a Z-axis guide rail 10 erected in the vertical Z-axis direction, an X-axis guide rail 11 disposed in the X-direction on the Z-axis guide rail 10, and an X-axis guide rail. 11 and a grip portion 12 that grips the embedding cassette C. A Z stage 10a is provided on the Z-axis guide rail 10 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction. Further, the X-axis guide rail 11 is attached to the Z stage 11a, so that it can move on the Z-axis guide rail 10 in the Z-axis direction. An X stage 11a is provided on the X axis guide rail 11 so as to be movable in the X axis direction. In addition, the grip portion 12 is attached to the X stage 11a so as to be rotatable around the Z axis. For this reason, the grip part 12 is movable on the X-axis guide rail 11 in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction while freely changing the direction around the Z-axis. Moreover, the holding | gripping part 12 has a pair of arm 12a, and can clamp the embedding cassette C holding the embedding block B by changing the space | interval of a pair of arm 12a. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 7 has a block transport controller 7 a that controls the block handling robot 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, under the control of the block transport controller 7a, the Z stage 10a, the X stage 11a and the arm 12a are respectively driven by motors (not shown), so that the embedded block B is transferred from the block storage 2. Can be selectively taken out, conveyed to the cutting mechanism 4 and delivered.

  The cutting mechanism 4 has the mounting surface 15 on which the embedding block B is held in the embedding cassette C and the embedding block B mounted on the mounting surface 15 in the thickness direction. A block Z stage 16 that moves in the Z-axis direction, a cutter 17 that can cut the embedding block B placed on the placement surface 15, and a cutter drive unit 18 that moves the cutter 17 are provided. The embedding block B transported by the block handling robot 3 can be placed and fixed on the placement surface 15 in substantially the same direction as when stored in the block storage 2. Moreover, the cutter 17 is being fixed to the cutter drive part 18 so that the embedding block B can be cut within the cutting surface B3. Moreover, the cutter drive unit 18 can advance and retract the cutter 17 in the X-axis direction toward the embedding block B placed on the placement surface 15 within the cutting surface B3. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 7 has a cutting mechanism controller 7 b that controls the cutting mechanism 4. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, under the input by the operation unit 8 and the control by the cutting mechanism controller 7b of the control unit 7, the embedded block B is moved in the Z-axis direction by the block Z stage 16 to obtain a desired thickness. The embedded block B can be cut with the cutter 17 to produce the thin slice B1. Details of input by the operation unit 8 and control by the control unit 7 will be described later. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which changes to the cutter drive part 18 and moves the embedding block B with respect to the cutter 17 to an X-axis direction.

  Further, the slide glass placing section 5 has a placement surface 20 on which the slide glass P1 can be placed substantially parallel to the X axis and the Y axis, which are two substantially horizontal axes, and the slide glass P1 in the X axis direction and the Y direction. A slide glass XY stage 21 that can be moved in the axial direction and a slide glass Z stage 22 that can be moved in the Z-axis direction are provided. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 7 includes a section position controller 7 c that controls the slide glass placing unit 5. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the slide glass XY stage 21 and the slide glass Z stage 22 are placed on the placement surface 20 under the input by the operation unit 8 and the control by the section position controller 7 c of the control unit 7. The slide glass P1 can be moved in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. Further, the slide glass P1 is placed on the placement surface 20 with a substantially constant orientation in a state where the droplet P3 for adsorbing the thin slice B1 adheres to the placement surface P2 by a transport robot (not shown). Details of input by the operation unit 8 and control by the control unit 7 will be described later.

  Further, the thin-section transport mechanism 6 is constituted by a transport tape 25 disposed along the X-axis direction from the cutting mechanism 4 to the slide glass placing unit 5, and the slide glass placing unit 5 from the cutting mechanism 4 side. In order toward the side, a tape delivery unit 26, a first roller 27, a second roller 28, and a tape winding unit 29 are provided. The tape delivery unit 26 is configured to supply the transport tape 25 toward the mounting surface 15 of the cutting mechanism 4, in which the transport tape 25 is wound in a roll shape, and the shaft body around which the transport tape 25 is wound. 26a and a drive unit (not shown) that rotates the shaft body 26a. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 7 includes a thin-section transport controller 7 d that controls the thin-section transport mechanism 6. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the shaft body 26 a is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed by driving a drive unit (not shown) under the input by the operation unit 8 and the control by the thin-section conveyance controller 7 d of the control unit 7. It is possible. Similarly, the tape take-up unit 29 collects the transport tape 25 that has been wound in a roll shape and has passed through the slide glass placing unit 5, and the transport tape 25 is wound around the tape take-up unit 29. A shaft body 29a and a drive unit (not shown) that rotates the shaft body 29a are provided. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the shaft 29a is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed by driving a drive unit (not shown) under the input by the operation unit 8 and the control by the thin-section transport controller 7d of the control unit 7. It is possible. The first roller 27 and the second roller 28 are provided to face the tape delivery unit 26 or the tape take-up unit 29 with the cutting mechanism 4 or the slide glass placing unit 5 interposed therebetween, and the transport tape 25. Is a guide. The first roller 27 and the second roller 28 are also provided with a drive unit (not shown), and the tape feeding unit 26 and the tape winding unit 29 are controlled by the thin section transport controller 7d of the control unit 7. And can be rotated independently.

  And by rotating the tape delivery part 26 and the 1st roller 27 independently, the conveyance tape 25 was arrange | positioned above the embedding block B mounted in the mounting surface 15 of the cutting mechanism 4. FIG. From the state, the lower surface 25a can be brought into contact with the cut surface B4 of the embedding block B by loosening. Further, by independently rotating the second roller 28 and the tape winding unit 29, the transport tape 25 is disposed above the slide glass P1 placed on the placement surface 20 of the slide glass placement unit 5. From the installed state, the lower surface 25a can be brought into contact with the mounting surface P2 of the slide glass P1 by loosening. Further, a negative charge is applied to the upper surface 25b of the transport tape 25 delivered from the tape delivery unit 26 by a charging device (not shown). On the other hand, a positive charge is given to the cut surface B4 of the embedding block B placed on the placement surface 15 by another charging device (not shown). For this reason, the thin slice B1 cut from the embedding block B to which a positive charge is applied can be attached to the lower surface 25a of the transport tape 25, and the tape feeding portion 26, the first roller 27, and the second The thin section B1 can be transported in the X-axis direction by driving the roller 28 and the tape winding unit 29 in conjunction with each other.

  Next, the operation of the thin-section specimen preparation device 1 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart of thin-section specimen preparation in the thin-section specimen preparation apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when the thin section B1 is prepared and placed on the slide glass P1. .

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, as an input step S <b> 1, the operator inputs desired array data and corresponding size data through the operation unit 8. That is, as in the above example, the NO. 3, NO. 1, NO. In the case where thin sections B1 are prepared from the six embedded blocks B (Ba, Bb, Bc) and arranged in order, <NO. 3, NO. 1, NO. 6> is entered. If the size of the cut surface B4 of each embedding block B is vertical × horizontal, for example, 1.5 cm × 2.5 cm, <1.5, 2.5> is input as size data.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, as a block conveying step S <b> 2, the embedded block B stored in the block storage 2 is taken out and transferred to the cutting mechanism 4. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the block transport controller 7 a of the control unit 7 drives the block handling robot 3, and based on the array data input by the operation unit 8, first, the identification data NO specified first . 3. The embedded block Ba corresponding to 3 is taken out. Next, the cutting block 4 is transported to the mounting surface 15 and the embedding block Ba is fixed on the mounting surface 15. In addition to this process, the control unit 7 uses the other transfer robot (not shown) to set the slide glass P1 with the droplet P3 attached to the placement surface P2 as the predetermined orientation of the slide glass placement unit 5. It mounts on the mounting surface 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, as the cutting step S3, the embedded block Ba is cut at a predetermined thickness to produce a thin slice B1. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the cutting mechanism controller 7b of the control unit 7 drives the block Z stage 16 of the cutting mechanism 4 to move the embedding block Ba in the Z-axis direction so as to have a predetermined thickness. Next, the thin-section transport controller 7d of the control unit 7 drives the tape feeding section 26 and the first roller 27 of the thin-section transport mechanism 6, loosens the transport tape 25, and cuts the lower surface 25a of the embedded block B. The surface is brought into contact with the surface B4. Here, by the charging device (not shown), the embedded block B is charged with a positive charge, and the upper surface 25b of the transport tape 25 is charged with a negative charge. For this reason, the lower surface 25a of the transport tape 25 and the cut surface B4 of the embedding block B are in close contact with each other by electrostatic force. Then, the cutting mechanism controller 7b of the control unit 7 drives the cutter driving unit 18 to move the cutter 17 toward the embedded block Ba at a predetermined cutting speed, thereby cutting the embedded block Ba, A thin slice B1a having a thickness can be produced.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, as the thin-section transport step S <b> 4, the thin section B <b> 1 a produced by the thin-section transport mechanism 6 is received and transported toward the slide glass placing unit 5. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the thin slice B1a produced in the cutting step S3 is received by the transport tape 25 by electrostatic force and is in close contact with the lower surface 25a. Then, the thin section transport controller 7d of the control unit 7 drives the tape delivery section 26 and the first roller 27 to move the transport tape 25 that holds the thin section B1a in close contact with the embedded block B, Thereby, the thin slice B1a is detached from the embedding block Ba. Further, the thin-section transport controller 7d of the control unit 7 drives the second roller 28 and the tape take-up unit 29, and interlocks with the tape delivery unit 26 and the first roller 27, thereby moving the transport tape 25 to the X axis. It moves to the slide glass mounting part 5 side along a direction, and, thereby, the thin slice B1 will be conveyed to the upper direction of the slide glass P1 of the slide glass mounting part 5. FIG.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, in the slide glass mounting part 5, the position of the slide glass P1 is adjusted as the slide glass adjustment process S5 in parallel with the cutting process S3 or the thin-section conveying process S4. . That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 drives the slide glass XY stage 21, moves the slide glass P1, and thins the first thin section placement position Qa. The slide glass P1 is moved so that the section B1a can be placed. In FIG. 4 (a), the hatched portion on the slide glass P1 is a frosted portion P5 that has been subjected to roughening and can be described with an identification number.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, as the delivery step S6, the thin slice B1a is delivered from the transport tape 25 to the slide glass P1. That is, the thin-section transport controller 7d of the control unit 7 drives the second roller 28 and the tape winding unit 29 in a state where the thin-section B1a is positioned above the slide glass P1 placed on the placement surface 20. Then, the transport tape 25 is lowered until the thin slice B1a comes into contact with the placement surface P2 of the slide glass P1. When the thin section B1 comes into contact with the mounting surface P2 of the slide glass P1, the droplet P3 is attached to the mounting surface P2, so that the thin section B1a is detached from the transport tape 25 due to the surface tension of the droplet P3. It is attracted to the mounting surface P2 of the slide glass P1. As a result, in the slide glass P1, the identification data NO. The thin slice B1a produced from the embedding block Ba corresponding to 3 is placed.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 7 confirms whether a series of operations has been completed for all selected embedded blocks B based on the array data input by the operation unit 8 (step S <b> 7). ). In the above, since the operation is not completed for the two embedding blocks Bb and Bc among the selected three embedding blocks B, the control unit 7 performs the process from the block conveying process S2 again. That is, as the block transport process S2, the block transport controller 7a of the control unit 7 performs the identification data NO. The embedding block Bb corresponding to 1 is taken out, transferred onto the mounting surface 15 of the cutting mechanism 4 and fixed.

  In the same manner as described above, as the cutting step S3 and the thin slice transport step S4, a thin slice B1b is produced from the embedding block Bb and is transported by the thin slice transport mechanism 6. On the other hand, as the slide glass adjustment step S5, the position of the slide glass P1 is adjusted as described above. Here, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 determines the second thin section placement position Qb based on the input size data. That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, based on the size data, the respective sizes of the first thin section B1a already placed and the second thin section B1b placed next, In consideration of the interval R secured between the thin slices B1a and B1b, the position separated by the distance L1 from the first thin slice B1a is determined as the second thin slice placement position Qb. Then, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 drives the slide glass XY stage 21 to move the slide glass P1 by the distance L1, and can place the thin section B1b at the second thin section placement position Qb. Let it be in a state. Then, by performing the delivery step S6, the second designated identification data NO. 2 is placed at the second thin section placement position Qb on the slide glass P1. The thin slice B1b produced from the embedding block Bb corresponding to 1 is placed. And the control part 7 confirms whether a series of work was completed about all the embedding blocks B selected similarly to the above (step S7), and transfers to block conveyance process S2 again.

  And as shown in FIG.4 (c), similarly to the above, as the block transfer process S2 to the thin-section transfer process S4, the third designated NO. A thin slice B1c is prepared from the six embedded blocks Bc and is transported by the thin slice transport mechanism. On the other hand, as the slide glass adjustment step S5, the third thin-section placement position Qc is determined based on the size data, and the slide glass P1 is moved by the corresponding distance L2. The distance L2 is also determined by the size and gap R of the second thin section B1b and the third thin section B1c based on the size data, as described above. Here, in the present embodiment, the distance L1 is equal to the distance L2 because all the embedded blocks B have the same size data.

  Finally, by performing the delivery step S6, the third designated identification data No. 3 is placed at the third thin-section placement position Qc on the slide glass P1. The thin slice B1c produced from the embedding block Bc corresponding to 6 is placed, and the thin slice specimen P is completed.

  As described above, in the thin-section sample preparation device 1 according to the present embodiment, the array data is input by the operation unit 8 and the position of the slide glass P1 is adjusted by the slide glass XY stage 21 under the control of the control unit 7. Thus, the thin slice specimen P can be produced by automatically arranging a plurality of thin slices B1 including the desired biological sample S1 on one slide glass P1.

  In the present embodiment, the size data is input together with the array data by the operation unit 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Regardless of the size of the embedding block B, the next thin slice may be placed on the slide glass P1 at a position spaced by a predetermined interval. The size data may be stored in the control unit 7. That is, the size data of each embedding block is stored in the control unit 7 in association with the identification data. And when arrangement | sequence data is input by the operation part 8, it is good also as what reads corresponding size data from the identification data to comprise, and matches. Moreover, although each thin section B1 shall be arranged with the space | interval R based on size data, it is not restricted to this. It is sufficient that at least the adjacent thin section B1 is not placed on the biological sample S1 included in the thin section B1, and the placement method may be such that the portions of the embedding agent B2 overlap each other.

  In the arrangement data, the identification data to be configured is the arrangement order of the embedding blocks B in the block storage 2 but is not limited to this. 5 and 6 show a thin-section specimen preparation device 40 according to a modification of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in this modification, a display portion C <b> 1 is provided on the end face of the embedding cassette C that holds each embedding block B stored in the block storage 2. And the display part C1 has described the identification symbol for identifying the corresponding embedding block B as identification data. The identification symbol includes letters, numbers, or a bar code corresponding to them. In the thin-section sample preparation device 40, a reading means 41 for reading the identification symbol of the display unit C1 of the embedding cassette C is provided at a position adjacent to the block storage 2. The reading means 41 includes a main body portion 41a that optically reads the identification symbol, and a guide 41b that guides the main body portion 41a to a position facing the display portion C1 of each embedding cassette C. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the identification symbol corresponding to each embedding block B read by the reading means 41 is input to the control unit 7 and recorded in correspondence with the position in the block storage 2. For this reason, if an identification symbol is input as identification data constituting the array data by the operation unit 8, a thin slice B1 is prepared from the desired embedded block B and placed on the slide glass P1 as described above. A thin slice specimen P can be prepared.

(Second Embodiment)
7 to 11 show a second embodiment according to the present invention. In this embodiment, members that are the same as those used in the above-described embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the sliced piece preparation apparatus 50 of this embodiment, the cutting mechanism 51 rotates the embedding block B placed on the placement surface 15 in a plane substantially parallel to the cutting surface B3. A block rotation stage 52 is provided. The rotation angle by the block rotation stage 52 can be controlled by the cutting mechanism controller 7 b of the control unit 7. Further, a CCD camera 53 which is an imaging unit capable of imaging the cut surface B4 of the embedding block B placed on the placement surface 15 is provided above the placement surface 15 in the cutting mechanism 51. As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 7 includes an image analysis system 7e. The image analysis system 7e of the control unit 7 analyzes the image data acquired by being captured by the CCD camera 53. In the present embodiment, the size data representing the size of the cut surface B4 of the embedded block B that has been captured. Can be obtained. Further, the slide glass placing section 54 includes a slide glass rotating stage 55 that rotates the slide glass P1 in a plane substantially parallel to the placement surface 20. The rotation angle of the slide glass rotation stage 55 can be controlled by the section position controller 7 c of the control unit 7.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the operation unit 8 can input the sample direction data and the block rotation data shown below as array data in association with the identification data together with the identification data. The sample direction data refers to the relative orientation of the biological sample S1 included in the thin section B1 with respect to the slide glass P1 when the thin section B1 prepared from the embedding block B corresponding to the identification data is placed on the slide glass P1. Represents. More specifically, the sample direction data is a rotation angle when the slide glass P1 in the initial state is rotated to be an optimum direction when the thin section B1 is placed, and the block storage 2 is determined with reference to the direction of the embedding block B stored in 2. Then, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 can drive the slide glass rotation stage 55 based on the sample direction data of the array data to rotate the slide glass P1 in a desired direction. Further, the block rotation data represents the orientation of the embedded block B with respect to the X-axis direction, which is the cutting direction by the cutter 17, when the embedded block B is cut by the cutting mechanism 4. More specifically, the block rotation data is a rotation angle when rotating in an optimal direction when cutting with reference to the direction of the embedding block B stored in the block storage 2. Then, the cutting mechanism controller 7b of the control unit 7 drives the block rotation stage 55 based on the block rotation data of the arrangement data to rotate the embedded block B on the placement surface 15 in a desired direction. Is possible.

  Next, the operation of the thin-section specimen preparation device 50 of this embodiment will be described. Similarly, in this embodiment, NO. 3, NO. Thin slices B1 are prepared in order from the embedded block B of No. 1 and NO6, respectively, and arranged on the slide glass P1 to prepare a thin slice specimen P. Here, in this embodiment, NO. Only the thin slice B1c produced from the 6 embedded blocks Bc is mounted in a state in which the direction of the biological sample S1 is rotated 90 degrees clockwise from the state in which it is stored in the block storage 2 with respect to the slide glass P1. Shall be placed. That is, the identification data NO. 3, NO. Sample direction data corresponding to 1 and NO, 6 are 0 degrees, 0 degrees, and 90 degrees. Further, the direction of the embedding block B when cutting by the cutting mechanism 4 is the same as the direction stored in the block storage 2. That is, the identification data NO. 3, NO. Each block rotation data corresponding to 1 and NO, 6 is 0 degree, 0 degree, and 0 degree.

  First, as shown in FIG. 9, as an input step S <b> 11, the operator inputs array data through the operation unit 8 as follows. That is, the identification data, the sample direction data, and the block rotation data are associated with each other and, based on the order of arrangement, the identification data, the sample direction data, and the block rotation data in the order <NO. 3-0-0, NO. 1-0-0, NO. 6-90-0>.

  Next, as the block transfer step S12, as in the first embodiment, first, the identification data NO. 3 and the embedding block Ba corresponding to 3 are conveyed and fixed on the mounting surface 15. Next, as the size data acquisition step S13, the control unit 7 images the cut surface B4 of the embedded block B on the placement surface 20 by the CCD camera 53, and analyzes the image data acquired by the image analysis system 7e. Get size data. The control unit 7 records this size data in association with the identification data. Next, the thin slice B1a is produced from the embedding block Ba as the cutting step S14. Here, since the corresponding block rotation data for the embedded block Ba is 0 degree, the thin section B1a is manufactured by cutting the block rotation stage 52 without driving the block rotation stage 52 as in the first embodiment. Next, as the thin-section conveying step S15, the thin-section B1a produced in the same manner as in the first embodiment is conveyed. On the other hand, as the slide glass adjustment step S16, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 drives the slide glass XY stage 21 and the slide glass rotation stage 55 to adjust the position and orientation of the slide glass P1. Here, the identification data NO. The sample direction data corresponding to 3 is 0 degree. Therefore, when the thin slice B1a is placed on the slide glass P1, the slide glass rotating stage is not driven, and only the slide glass XY stage 21 is driven as in the first embodiment to mount the first thin slice. The slide glass P1 is moved so that the thin slice B1a can be placed at the placement position Qa. Then, as the delivery process S17, as in the first embodiment, the thin section B1a is placed on the first thin section placement position Qa of the slide glass P1, and the process from the block transport process S2 is performed again (step S18). ).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10A, the second identification data NO. For the embedded block Bb corresponding to 1, the steps from the block conveying step S12 to the slide glass adjusting step S16 are performed, and the thin slice B1b is placed at the second thin slice placement position Qb on the slide glass P1. Next, the third identification data NO. For the embedded block Bb corresponding to 1, the steps from the block transfer step S12 to the thin slice transfer step S15 are performed. The details of each process so far are the same as described above, and will be omitted. Next, the third identification data NO. For the embedded block Bc corresponding to 6, the slide glass adjustment step S16 is performed. Here, the third identification data NO. The sample direction data corresponding to 6 is 90 degrees. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10B, the intercept position controller 7c of the control unit 7 drives the slide glass rotating stage 55, and the slide glass P1 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise on the basis of the orientation of the initial state. Rotate. As a result, the relative orientation of the biological sample S1 contained in the thin slice B1c with respect to the slide glass P1 is set as a reference with respect to the orientation of the biological sample S embedded in the embedding block Bc stored in the block storage 2. It can be set as the state rotated 90 degree | times around. Next, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 drives the slide glass XY stage 21 to move the slide glass P1 in the direction in which the thin section B1 is arranged, and the thin section is placed at the third thin section placement position Qc. B1c is placed in a state where it can be placed. Here, the distance L3 from the second thin slice placement position Qb to the third thin slice placement position Qc is the rotation angle based on the sample direction data as well as the size data of the embedded block Bb and the embedded block Bc. Decided in consideration. And finally, as delivery process S17, with respect to the slide glass P1 of biological sample S1 contained in the 3rd thin section B1c by mounting the thin section B1c in the 3rd thin section mounting position Qc of the slide glass P1 The thin slice specimen P is produced with the relative orientation as the optimum orientation.

  Next, the case where the block rotation data corresponding to the identification data is other than 0 degrees in the array data will be described. For example, the third identification data NO. Assume that the sample direction data corresponding to 6 is 90 degrees and the block rotation data is 45 degrees. In this case, in the cutting step S14, the cutting mechanism controller 7b of the control unit 7 drives the block rotation stage 52, and based on the block rotation data, the target embedded block Bc is indicated by an angle φ in FIG. Then, it is rotated 45 degrees clockwise from the state of being transported and mounted on the mounting surface 15. Thereby, the embedding block Bc is cut by relatively changing the cutting direction by 45 degrees. By doing in this way, the cutting direction by the cutter 17 of the cutting mechanism 4 can be changed with respect to the biological sample S embedded in the embedding block Bc. For this reason, it cuts in the optimal direction according to the biological sample S embedded in the embedding block B, and the thin slice B1c of the favorable cut surface B4 can be produced. In addition, by rotating the embedding block Bc by 45 degrees, the produced thin slice B1c is also rotated by 45 degrees.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in the slide glass adjustment step S16, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 drives the slide glass rotation stage 55 to rotate the slide glass P1 based on the sample direction data. Here, as indicated by an angle θ in FIG. 11, the intercept position controller 7c of the control unit 7 rotates the slide glass P1 by an angle obtained by subtracting 45 degrees that is block rotation data from 90 degrees that is sample direction data. Thus, regardless of whether or not the embedding block B is rotated in the cutting step S14, the direction of the embedding block B stored in the block storage 2 and the direction of the slide glass P1 in the initial state are used as a reference. The biological sample S1 included in the thin slice B1c can be mounted on the slide glass P1 by changing the relative direction of the slide glass P1 by an angle corresponding to the direction data.

  In the present embodiment, the CCD camera 53 that is an imaging unit is provided above the mounting surface 15 of the cutting mechanism 4, and the size data acquisition step S <b> 13 images the cut surface B <b> 4 of the embedded block B by the CCD camera 53. The size data is obtained from the image data thus obtained, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another CCD camera capable of imaging the thin section B1 to be transported may be provided in the transport path of the thin section transport mechanism 6, and the size of the thin section B1 may be detected as size data from the acquired image data. . Since the size of the cut surface B4 of the embedding block B and the size of the thin slice B1 are substantially equal, the same result can be obtained.

(Third embodiment)
12 and 13 show a third embodiment according to the present invention. Here, the basic configuration of the thin-section specimen preparation device 60 of the third embodiment is the same as the configuration of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the embedding block B used in the thin-section specimen preparation device 60 of this embodiment includes an orientation flat (hereinafter referred to as orientation flat) that is a mark indicating the orientation of the embedding block B and the thin section B1. B5 is formed. The orientation flat B5 is formed by chamfering the corners uniformly in the thickness direction at a certain angle in a substantially rectangular outer shape. For this reason, even if the embedded block B is cut at any position to produce the thin slice B1, the same orientation flat B5 is also formed in the thin slice B1.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the thin-section sample preparation device 60, the image analysis system 7 e of the control unit 7 uses the captured biological image S embedded in the embedded block B from the image data of the embedded block B. It is possible to detect sample direction data representing the direction of the. More specifically, the image analysis system 7e of the control unit 7 can detect the orientation of the orientation flat B5 of the embedded block B as the sample direction data. In general, the orientation of the biological sample S is embedded in correspondence with the orientation of the embedding block B, and therefore also corresponds to the orientation of the thin slice B1. For this reason, it is possible to detect the orientation of the biological sample S based on the orientation of the orientation flat B5. In addition, it is good also as what detects the direction of orientation flat B5 formed in the thin section B1 by imaging the thin section B1 conveyed by the thin section conveyance mechanism 6. In addition, the operation unit 8 can set the orientation of the orientation flat B1 of the thin section B1 with respect to the slide glass P1, that is, a relative angle, as the sample direction data constituting the array data.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in the thin-section sample preparation device 60 of this embodiment, after the cutting step S14, the cut surface B4 of the embedding block B is imaged again by the CCD camera 53 as the sample direction data acquisition step S20. . And the image analysis system 7e of the control part 7 detects the direction of orientation flat B5 of the embedding block B as sample direction data from the acquired image data. Here, by performing S14 after the cutting step, the orientation of the orientation flat B5 of the detected embedded block B becomes substantially equal to the orientation of the orientation flat B5 in the thin slice B1. In the slide glass adjustment step S16, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 performs rotation necessary when the orientation of the orientation flat B5 in the sample direction data is the orientation of the orientation flat B5 that is the sample direction data corresponding to the identification data. Calculate the angle. Then, by driving the slide glass rotation stage and rotating the slide glass P1 by the calculated angle, the orientation of the biological sample S1 included in the thin section B1 corresponds to the sample direction data with respect to the slide glass P1. As a desired direction, the thin slice B1 can be placed on the slide glass P1.

  As described above, the orientation of the orientation flat B5 is imaged by the CCD camera 53 and analyzed by the control unit 7 as in the thin-section sample preparation device 60 of the present embodiment, so that the thin section B1 is based on the state of the embedded block B. The thin slice specimen P can be produced with the biological sample S1 contained in the desired orientation.

  In the present embodiment, the orientation flat B5 is taken as an example of the mark having the directivity corresponding to the direction of the thin slice B1, but the mark is not limited thereto. 14 and 15 show a modification of this embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, notches B <b> 6 may be formed uniformly on any side of the embedded block B in the thickness direction. As shown in FIG. 15, when the biological sample S is embedded with the embedding agent B2, a substantially bar-shaped index object B7 that can be identified by an image captured by the CCD camera 53 is provided as a mark at a predetermined position. It may be arranged in the thickness direction and embedded. In this case, it is possible to function as the sample direction data and the sample direction data by embedding the index object B7 in at least two predetermined places, but more than three places as shown in FIG. The direction of the thin slice B1 can be accurately identified. Moreover, although all said examples are formed before embedding block B is mounted in the cutting mechanism 4, it does not restrict to this. For example, it is assumed that the cutting mechanism 4 includes a mechanism capable of forming a groove having a certain direction on the cut surface B4 of the embedded block B, and before performing the cutting step S14, the cut surface B4 of the embedded block B. The groove may be formed as a mark.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 16 shows a fourth embodiment according to the present invention. Here, the basic configuration of the thin-section specimen preparation device 70 of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and a flow chart of thin-section specimen preparation. These are the same as the flow chart of the third embodiment shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16A, in the thin-section sample preparation device 70 of the present embodiment, in the array data input by the operation unit 8, the sample direction data corresponding to the identification data is associated with the slide glass P1. This is standard image data D on which a biological sample Ds arranged in a predetermined direction is displayed. In addition, in the sample direction data acquisition step S20, the thin-section specimen preparation device 70 images the embedding block B by the CCD camera 53, and acquires biological sample image data E including the biological sample S as the sample direction data. It is possible. In the slide glass adjustment step S16, the section position controller 7c of the control unit 7 compares the pattern matching elements between the range of the biological sample Ds of the standard image data D and the range of the biological sample S of the biological image data E. A rotation angle θ that is substantially equal is calculated. Then, by driving the slide glass rotating stage 55 and rotating the slide glass P1 by the calculated angle, the biological sample S1 included in the thin section B1 is desired to correspond to the sample direction data with respect to the slide glass P1. As for the direction, the thin slice B1 can be placed on the slide glass P1. In this embodiment, the thin section B1 transported by the thin section transport mechanism 6 may be imaged to detect the range of the biological sample S that includes the thin section B1.

  As described above, the embedded block B is imaged by the CCD camera 53 and analyzed by the control unit 7 as in the thin-section sample preparation device 70 of the present embodiment, so that the thin section can be obtained regardless of the orientation of the embedded block B. The thin slice B1 can be placed with the biological sample S1 included in a desired orientation.

  In each embodiment, the thin section transport mechanism 6 is exemplified by the configuration in which the thin section transport mechanism 6 is transported by being attached to the transport tape 25 by electrostatic force, but is not limited thereto. For example, adhesive force may be applied to the transport tape 25 so that the transport tape 25 is adhered and transported, or the transport tape 25 may be placed on the transport tape 25 and transported. It is sufficient that at least the thin slice B1 produced by the cutting mechanism 4 can be transferred to the slide glass placing portion 5 without changing the direction and delivered to the slide glass P1. Similarly, the block handling robot 3 is not limited to this, and any known mechanism can be used as long as it can selectively take out the embedding block B from the block storage 2 and transport it to the cutting mechanism 4. Selectable.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

1 is an overall view of a thin-section specimen preparation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a thin-section specimen preparation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow figure of thin section preparation of a 1st embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of thin section preparation of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the sliced piece preparation apparatus of the modification of 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a reading unit in the thin-section specimen preparation device according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a general view of the thin-section sample preparation apparatus of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the sliced piece preparation apparatus of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of thin section preparation of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of thin section preparation of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of thin section preparation of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the embedding block used with the sliced piece preparation apparatus of 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of thin section preparation of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows one modification of the embedding block used with the thin section specimen preparation apparatus of 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the other modification of the embedding block used with the sliced piece preparation apparatus of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of a slide glass adjustment process in the sliced piece preparation apparatus of 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 40, 50, 60, 70 Thin section specimen preparation equipment 2 Block storage 3 Block handling robot (block transport mechanism)
4, 52 Cutting mechanism 5, 54 Slide glass placement unit 6 Thin section conveyance mechanism 7 Control unit 8 Operation unit 15 Placement surface 20 Placement surface 21 Block rotation stage 41 Reading means 52 Block rotation stage 53 CCD camera (imaging means)
55 Slide glass rotating stage B, Ba, Bb, Bc Embedding block B1, B1a, B1b, B1c Thin section B3 Cutting surface B5 Orientation flat (mark)
B6 Notch (mark)
B7 Indicator (mark)
D Standard image data C Embedding cassette C1 Display part P Thin section specimen P1 Slide glass S, S1 Biological sample

Claims (11)

Preparation of a thin slice specimen in which a biological specimen is embedded with an embedding agent, a thin slice is cut from an embedding block held in an embedding cassette, and the thin slice is placed on a glass slide A device,
A block storage in which a plurality of the embedded blocks are arranged and stored;
A block transport mechanism for selectively taking out and transporting the embedded block from the block storage;
A cutting mechanism for receiving and cutting the embedding block conveyed by the block conveying mechanism to produce the thin slice;
A slide surface on which the slide glass is placed, and a slide glass placement portion having a slide glass XY stage capable of moving the slide glass in a plane substantially parallel to the placement surface;
A thin slice capable of receiving and transporting the thin slice produced by the cutting mechanism and delivering the thin slice on the slide glass placed on the placement surface of the slide glass placement portion. A transport mechanism;
An operation unit capable of inputting array data configured by arranging identification data for identifying the embedded blocks stored in the block storage with a plurality of ranks; and
Based on the identification data and the order constituting the array data input by the operation unit, the block transport mechanism sequentially takes out the embedded block corresponding to the identification data from the block storage, and The thin section is produced and transported by the cutting mechanism and the thin section transport mechanism, and the slide glass XY stage of the slide glass placing portion is driven, and the thin section is transferred to the slide glass every time the thin section is delivered. A thin-section specimen preparation apparatus comprising: a control unit that moves a slide glass and arranges the plurality of thin sections on the slide glass in correspondence with the order of the arrangement data. In the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to claim 1,
The thin-section sample preparation device, wherein the identification data is an arrangement order of the embedded blocks in the block storage. In the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to claim 1,
The identification data is an identification symbol written on the display unit of the embedding cassette corresponding to each embedding block,
An apparatus for preparing a sliced piece specimen, comprising reading means for reading the identification symbol written on the display section of each embedding cassette stored in the block storage. In the thin-section sample preparation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The operation unit can input size data representing the size of the embedded block corresponding to the identification data together with the array data,
The said control part adjusts the movement amount of the said slide glass by the said slide glass XY stage of the said slide glass mounting part based on the said size data, The thin slice sample preparation apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. In the thin-section sample preparation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An imaging unit that images the embedded block conveyed to the cutting mechanism or the thin slice conveyed by the thin-section conveying mechanism;
The control unit acquires size data representing the size of the embedded block or the thin slice based on the image captured by the imaging unit, and based on the size data, the slide glass mounting unit An apparatus for preparing a sliced piece specimen, wherein the amount of movement of the slide glass by the slide glass XY stage is adjusted. In the thin-section sample preparation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The slide glass placing portion has a slide glass rotation stage capable of rotating the slide glass in a plane substantially parallel to the placement surface described above,
The operation unit includes the thin slice for the slide glass when the thin slice prepared from the embedded block corresponding to the identification data is placed on the slide glass together with the identification data as the array data. Sample direction data representing the relative orientation of the biological sample contained in
The thin-section specimen preparation apparatus characterized in that the control section rotates the slide glass by driving the slide glass rotation stage of the slide glass placement section based on the specimen direction data of the array data . The thin-section specimen preparation device according to claim 6,
The specimen direction data is based on the orientation of the embedded block stored in the block storage, and from the orientation of the slide glass in the initial state, and the orientation of the slide glass when placing the thin section Is the rotation angle when
The control section rotates the slide glass based on the rotation angle. The thin-section specimen preparation device according to claim 6,
An imaging unit that images the embedded block conveyed to the cutting mechanism or the thin slice conveyed by the thin-section conveying mechanism;
The control unit detects sample direction data representing the direction of the biological sample included in the embedded block or the thin section from the image captured by the imaging unit, and uses the sample direction data and the sample direction data. In comparison, a thin-section specimen preparation apparatus, wherein the slide glass is rotated. In the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to claim 8,
Each embedding block is formed with a directional mark corresponding to the direction of the embedding block,
The sample direction data is a relative orientation of the mark with respect to the slide glass,
Wherein, as said sample direction data, detects the from the acquired image by said IMAGING means embedded block or the orientation of the mark formed on the thin section, the mark of orientation the specimen direction data The thin-section sample preparation apparatus is characterized in that the slide glass is rotated so as to match. In the thin-section sample preparation apparatus according to claim 8,
The specimen direction data is standard image data on which the biological sample arranged in a predetermined direction corresponding to the slide glass is displayed,
The control unit detects the range of the biological sample included in the embedded block or the thin slice from the image captured by the imaging unit as the sample direction data, and the detected range of the biological sample and the A thin-section sample preparation apparatus, wherein the slide glass is rotated so that pattern matching elements are compared with sample direction data to be substantially equal. In the thin-section sample preparation device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The cutting mechanism has a block rotation stage capable of rotating the embedded block in a plane substantially parallel to a surface for cutting the embedded block,
The operation unit, as the array data, has the identification data and the embedding block corresponding to the identification data as a direction when cutting by the cutting mechanism from the direction when stored in the block storage. It is possible to input block rotation data representing the rotation angle of the case,
The said control part rotates the said embedding block by the said block rotation stage based on this block rotation data, The said sliced block preparation apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

Images