JP7171506B2 - Automatic analyzer and method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer, and more particularly to a technique for managing the remaining amount of samples and reagents.

In conventional automated analyzers, when reagents or samples are dispensed from sample or reagent containers, the liquid level in the container is measured, and the residual volume of the container is calculated from the measured height and the cross-sectional area of the container registered in the device. Calculate the number of measurements.

In measurement items in which reagents are dispensed from a plurality of reagent containers, there is a time interval from the dispensation of the first reagent to the dispensation of the last reagent. Whether or not the reagent container into which the reagent is to be dispensed in the second half of the analysis can be dispensed is determined from the number of remaining measurements calculated during dispensing up to that point. When it is determined that dispensing up to the last reagent container is possible, the device plans to dispense the corresponding measurement item.

However, the cross-sectional area of the reagent container may differ slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer, and in that case, an error may occur in the calculation result of the number of remaining measurements. In Patent Document 1, the reagent remaining amount (remaining number of measurements) is corrected by calculating a predicted reagent remaining amount from past dispensing data. Further, in Patent Document 2, the reagent remaining amount (number of remaining measurements) is calculated using a plurality of remaining amount formulas, and the reagent remaining amount is corrected by specifying the most suitable reagent remaining amount.

Also, even if bubbles are generated on the surface of the reagent when the reagent container is installed, there is a possibility that an error will occur in the number of remaining measurements. Therefore, in Patent Document 3, by calculating an approximation formula for the reagent liquid level from past dispensing data, if there is a difference between the actual reagent liquid level height and the reagent liquid level height obtained from the approximation formula, In addition, we propose a function to detect abnormalities such as bubble generation.

JP 2007-322241 A JP 2008-190959 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-170279

As described above, in a state in which there is an error in the calculation of the number of remaining measurements due to the error in the cross-sectional area of the reagent container, when continuous analysis of measurement items in which reagents are dispensed from multiple reagent containers is performed, There is a possibility that the reagent may run short between the planned dispensing of the reagent container and the actual dispensing, or the reagent may be left over after the dispensing even if the dispensing is planned to use up the reagent.

With the method of Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that sufficient correction accuracy cannot be obtained while the number of times of dispensing is small. If the reagent remaining amount is corrected in such a state, the remaining reagent amount will fluctuate due to the error in the correction itself, and an apparatus that displays the remaining reagent amount on the user interface may give the user a sense of distrust. In Patent Document 2, since a plurality of remaining amount formulas are used, it is necessary to store the remaining amount formulas of reagent containers of all reagent makers, and the algorithm may become enormous. In addition, it is highly likely that the timing at which bubbles are generated on the reagent surface is when the reagent container is installed in the apparatus. Even if it is obtained, there is a possibility that an approximation formula for the state in which bubbles are generated will be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer and method that solves the above problems, eliminates the influence of bubbles, and allows reagent containers to be used up without excess or deficiency even when analysis of measurement items is continued continuously. to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a reagent dispensing mechanism for dispensing a reagent filled in a reagent container, a liquid level detection unit for detecting the liquid level of the reagent by the reagent dispensing mechanism, and a detected liquid level. a control unit that calculates the number of remaining measurements from the height of the liquid surface obtained, and determines whether or not the reagent container is usable based on the number of remaining measurements and the number of reservations for measurement requests from the dispensing plan to dispensing; The control unit provides an automatic analyzer configured to correct the number of reservations based on the error count of the number of remaining measurements.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic analyzer capable of using up the reagent container in the latter half of the analysis without excess or deficiency even if the analysis of measurement items is continued continuously without being affected by bubbles.

It is a figure explaining the dispensing process of a reagent. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow chart of remaining amount management of a reagent in Example 1. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic analyzer of Example 1. FIG. 2 is a top view of the reagent disk according to Example 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating liquid shaking on the surface of the reagent accompanying the rotation of the reagent disk according to Example 1; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing that the reagent probe descends and stops when the liquid level is detected when the liquid level is low due to liquid shaking, according to Example 1; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing that the reagent probe descends and stops when the liquid level is detected when the liquid level is high due to liquid shaking, according to Example 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating small bubbles on the surface of a reagent according to Example 1; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which small bubbles on the reagent surface are slightly broken by the suction operation according to Example 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating large bubbles on the surface of a reagent according to Example 1; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which large bubbles on the surface of a reagent are broken according to Example 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a reagent container having a cross-sectional area smaller than that recognized by the apparatus according to Example 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a reagent container having a cross-sectional area larger than that recognized by the device, according to Example 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating operation timings from a dispensing plan to reagent dispensing according to the first embodiment;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be sequentially described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the number of remaining measurements is exemplified as the remaining amount of reagent in the reagent container, but other numerical values may be used to calculate the remaining amount of reagent.

Example 1 is an example of an automatic analyzer that determines whether or not a reagent container is usable and makes a dispensing plan by correcting the number of reservations using an error count. That is, a reagent dispensing mechanism that dispenses the reagent filled in the reagent container, a liquid level detection unit that detects the liquid level of the reagent by the reagent dispensing mechanism, and the number of remaining measurements based on the height of the detected liquid level. a controller that determines whether or not the reagent container can be used based on the number of remaining measurements and the number of reservations for measurement requests from the dispensing plan to dispensing, wherein the controller detects the error in the number of remaining measurements 1 is an example of an automated analyzer that corrects the number of appointments based on the count, and a method thereof;

First, using FIG. 3, the overall configuration of the automatic analyzer of Example 1 will be described. The automatic analyzer 100 mainly includes a sample disk 101 and a sample container 103 containing a concentrically arranged sample 102, a reaction disk 104 and its concentrically arranged reaction container 202, a sample dispensing mechanism 106, a reagent Disk 107 and reagent containers 109 containing various reagents 108 arranged concentrically therewith, reagent dispensing mechanism 110, sound wave irradiation mechanism 111, stirring mechanism 112, constant temperature bath circulating liquid 113, photometry mechanism 114, reaction vessel cleaning mechanism 115, a computer 118 in which an arithmetic unit including a central processing unit (CPU) executes various programs, an overall control unit 121 including an input unit 119, an output unit 120, and the like.

A general control unit 121 as a control unit includes a computer 118 , an input unit 119 , an output unit 120 , a control circuit 116 and a photometry circuit 117 . The input unit 119 is, for example, a pointing device, keyboard, tablet, or the like, and the output unit 120, such as a display, displays measurement results, a graphical user interface (GUI) for various operations, and the like. In this figure, the general control unit 121 is connected to each component and controls the entire apparatus, but it is also possible to provide an independent control unit for each component.

Analysis by the automatic analyzer 100 is mainly performed as follows. First, the sample 102 placed on the sample disk 101 is dispensed from the sample container 103 to the reaction container 202 by the sample dispensing mechanism 106 . The reaction container 202 containing the sample 102 is moved to the reagent dispensing position by the rotation of the reaction disk 104, and the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 transfers the reagent 108 used for analysis from the reagent container 109 to the sample 102. Dispense into reaction vessel 202 . Here, the mixed liquid of the sample 102 and the reagent 108 contained in the reaction container 202 is called a reaction liquid 122 .

Subsequently, after the reaction liquid 122 in the reaction vessel 202 is degassed by the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 , the reaction liquid 122 in the reaction vessel 202 is stirred by the stirring mechanism 112 . The reaction vessel 202 is maintained at a constant temperature, for example, 37° C., by the constant temperature bath circulating liquid 113 filled in the lower part of the reaction disk 104, thereby promoting the reaction and stabilizing the progress of the reaction. When the reaction liquid 122 in the reaction container 202 passes through the photometry mechanism 114 as the reaction disk 104 rotates, the change in optical characteristics thereof is measured via the photometry circuit 117 .

The photometric data obtained in this way is sent to the computer 118, and the concentration of the target component in the sample is obtained by executing the program of the CPU, which is the calculation unit 123 in the computer 118. The results are stored in the storage unit 124 and displayed on the output unit 120 . After the reaction, the reaction vessel 202 is cleaned by the reaction vessel cleaning mechanism 115 and either used repeatedly for the next reaction or disposed of in a reaction vessel disposal section (not shown). Here, the remaining amount of the reagent contained in the reagent container or the number of remaining measurements, which is the possible number of measurements corresponding to the remaining amount of the reagent, is displayed on the output unit 120 .

Next, the operation of the dispensing mechanism of the automatic analyzer described above and the method of calculating the remaining number of measurements will be described with reference to FIG. When dispensing the sample and reagent, the dispensing mechanism 110 descends to the liquid surface of the sample and reagent. At this time, the following dispensing process is performed using a dispensing mechanism having a function of detecting the liquid level. In order to simplify the explanation, only the dispensing of reagents will be described.

(1) Move the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 onto the reagent container 109 containing the reagent. Thereafter, the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 is lowered while checking the presence or absence of the liquid surface of the reagent (FIG. 1(a)).
(2) When the liquid level of the reagent is detected, the descending operation of the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 is stopped (FIG. 1(b)). After the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 stops descending, the presence or absence of the liquid surface is checked again. Henceforth, this is described as the 1st liquid level check.
(3) When the first liquid level check confirms that "there is a liquid level", the reagent is aspirated from the reagent container by the preset dispensed amount (Fig. 1(c)). After aspirating the reagent, check the presence or absence of the liquid surface again. Henceforth, this is described as the second liquid level check.
(4) After the second liquid level check, raise the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 to a predetermined position ((d) in FIG. 1). After being raised, the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 moves horizontally over an object to which the reagent is to be discharged, such as the reaction cell 202, which is a reaction vessel containing a sample.

(5) After the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 stops horizontal movement above the reaction cell 202, it descends by a certain amount, that is, to the extent that it does not touch the sample 102 in the reaction cell 202 (FIG. 1(e)). Even if the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 and the reaction cell 202 are not lowered by a certain amount, if the distance in the height direction between the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 and the reaction cell 202 is not so great, this operation need not be performed.
(6) Discharge the reagent by the amount set in the reaction cell 202 ((f) in FIG. 1).
(7) After discharging the reagent, raise the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 to a predetermined position ((g) in FIG. 1). Note that this operation does not have to be performed if the previous operation does not lower the vehicle by a certain amount. After that, the dispensing mechanism is returned to the predetermined position. Note that the function of detecting the liquid level and the liquid level detection unit can be implemented using a known technique, for example, a method of measuring changes in capacitance disclosed in Patent Document 3 and the like.

When the above-mentioned operation "Stop the descent of the pipetting mechanism when the liquid level is detected" is completed, the amount of descent of the pipetting mechanism is stored, and the bottom of the reagent container registered in advance in the device is stored. From the amount of descent, the cross-sectional area of the reagent container, and the amount of reagent used for one measurement, the remaining number of measurements, which is the remaining amount of reagent in the reagent container, can be calculated. The formula for calculating the number of remaining measurements of the reagent container is shown in Formula 1 below.

Remaining number of measurements = {(Amount of descent to bottom of reagent container - Amount of descent of dispensing mechanism) x Cross-sectional area of reagent container - Amount of reagent used this time} ÷ Reagent used for one measurement amount” (Equation 1)

For example, the "descent amount to the bottom of the reagent container" is 100 mm, the "descent amount of the dispensing mechanism" is 70 mm, the "cross-sectional area of the reagent container" is 1000 mm ² , the "reagent usage amount this time" and the "reagent amount for one measurement Assuming that the amount used is 150 μl, the number of remaining measurements in the reagent container can be calculated as follows.

Number of remaining measurements = {(100-70) x 1000-150}/150
= (30000-150)/150
= 199 times

Next, the functions of reagent container changeover and bottle set in the automatic analyzer of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will be described.
The changeover function of the reagent container of this embodiment is such that when the reagent in the reagent container runs out, dispensing from the reagent container is stopped and the reagent is dispensed from another reagent container prepared in advance. say to do

On the other hand, the function of the bottle set of the reagent container of this embodiment is defined as follows. When there are two each of R1 reagent and R3 reagent in the reagent container of the corresponding analysis item A, they are described as R1-1 bottle, R1-2 bottle, R3-1 bottle, R3-2 bottle, and R1-1 bottle. The set of R3-1 bottles is called bottle set 1, and the set of R1-2 and R3-2 bottles is called bottle set 2.

At this time, even if the reagent container of bottle set 1 continues to be dispensed and the reagent in bottle R3-1 remains, if the reagent in bottle R1-1 runs out, it is considered that the reagent in bottle set 1 has run out. This is defined as the function of the bottle set of this embodiment. Also, change over to use the reagent container of the bottle set 2 from the dispensing of the next applicable item A. This is defined as the bottle set changeover function.

Next, in this embodiment, the relationship between the number of reserved reagent containers, the number of remaining measurements, and the dispensing plan will be described. The functions for reserving reagent containers and the number of reservations are defined below.

When there are R1 reagent and R3 reagent in the reagent container of the corresponding analysis item A, sample dispensing, R1 reagent, and R3 reagent are dispensed in order, but R1 reagent dispensing first R3 reagent dispensing There may be an interval of, for example, about 5 minutes between them. For the sake of simplicity, one cycle is assumed to be 4.5 seconds when a sample is analyzed, and FIG. 14 shows an example of operation timing from the dispensing plan to reagent dispensing. In the same figure, the timing 401 at which the reagent container is reserved is the starting point, the timing 403 for dispensing the R1 reagent is 4.5 seconds after 4 cycles, and the timing 404 for dispensing the R3 reagent is 4.5 seconds after 4 cycles. Reagent items to be dispensed after 66 cycles will be explained.

The reagent is not dispensed from the time the automated analyzer receives the analysis request until the reagent is actually dispensed, so the number of remaining measurements in the reagent container is not updated. ing. This state is managed as a reservation of the relevant reagent container, and the number of reservations is counted up as the "reservation number" of the relevant reagent container. That is, the scheduled number of dispensing from the dispensing plan to the actual dispensing is set as the reserved number. Then, when the reagent is actually dispensed, the "number of reservations" is counted down, and the number of remaining measurements of the reagent container is also updated.

That is, in FIG. 14, the number of reservations for the R1-1 bottle and the number of reservations for the R3-1 bottle, which are bottles in use, are incremented by 1 at the start timing 401 of the dispensing plan for the corresponding item. A sample is dispensed at timing 402 . Next, at the R1 reagent dispensing timing 403, the number of reservations for the R1-1 bottle is decremented by -1, and the number of remaining measurements is also decremented by -1. Next, at the R3 reagent dispensing timing 404, the number of reservations for the R1-3 bottles is decremented by -1, and the number of remaining measurements is also decremented by -1.

When the same item is requested for analysis continuously, the number of reservations for the corresponding bottle is incremented by 1 at the timing of the dispensing plan for each cycle, but when the first reagent dispensing is started, the number of reservations is decremented by 1. The maximum number of reservations is the number of cycles from the analysis plan to the dispensing of each reagent bottle.

Further, in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment, an analysis plan is made such that bottle set 1 is used when conditional expression 2 below is satisfied, and bottle set 2 is used otherwise. That is, when the number of reservations for one reagent container in a plurality of bottle sets exceeds the number of remaining measurements for that reagent container, control is performed so that another bottle set is used.

"Number of remaining measurements" - "number of reservations"> 0 (Formula 2)

As a result, for example, if there is an R1-1 bottle with a remaining number of measurements of 100 and an R3-1 bottle with a remaining number of measurements of 66, bottle set 1, even if the analysis item is requested 67 times in a row, the actual The 67th reagent dispensing can be changed over to bottle set 2 even before R3-1 reagent dispensing.

However, unlike the update of the number of remaining measurements, the update of the "reservation number" is performed by software counting, and the difference in the cross-sectional area of the reagent container for each reagent manufacturer cannot be reflected. Therefore, if the cross-sectional area of the reagent container differs from that recognized by the automatic analyzer, and there is bottle set 1 of the R3-1 bottle with 66 remaining measurements, the "number of reservations" will be counted up to 66 and the bottle Even if you change over to Set 2, the reagent will actually run out before 66 dispenses, or the reagent will be left over even after 66 dispenses.

Therefore, in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment, the "reservation number" is corrected using an error ratio calculated using an error count, which will be described later. As described above, the upper limit of the "number of reservations" is determined. Specifically, the upper limit is the planned number of dispensations that can be performed between the "planned dispensation and the actual dispensation". For example, in an analyzer that executes a dispense plan of 4.5 seconds per cycle, one dispense plan per cycle, and a maximum interval from ``dispense plan to actual dispense'' of 67 cycles, reservation The upper limit of the number is 67 times. Moreover, the number of reservations reaches the upper limit only when a single analysis item is analyzed continuously. In an actual routine, a plurality of analysis items are often analyzed, and it can be assumed that the number of appointments is about 0 to 10 at most.

Therefore, even if there is an error in the correction itself, the number of "reservations" to be corrected is a limited number, so risk management is easy, and there is almost no effect in the actual routine. be.

In this embodiment, the number of times the number of remaining measurements has decreased more or less than the previous value in dispensing the corresponding drug container up to that point is cumulatively counted and defined as "error count". do. By calculating the "error ratio" using this "error count" and the accumulated value of the "number of times of dispensing" up to that point and correcting the "number of reservations", the effect of correction is reduced when the "number of reservations" is small. It is weak, and when the number of "reservations" is large, the influence of the correction effect can be strong.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the "error count" exceeds the threshold value, the user is notified of an abnormality, and the "error count" and the "number of times of dispensing" are reset. Even in such a case, it is possible not to affect the correction of the "number of reservations".

The configuration of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the overall outline flowchart of the automatic analyzer of this embodiment shown in FIG. The subject of processing in this flowchart is mainly the computer 118 . In the processing operations shown in FIG. 2, the error count, the number of times of dispensing, the remaining amount of reagent, and the number of reservations are set as management values for each reagent bottle.

When the processing operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is started, first, the reagent probe of the reagent dispensing mechanism descends to the reagent bottle, and the liquid level of the reagent bottle is calculated by detecting the liquid level (step 210, hereinafter referred to as S210). ). Then, each time dispensing is performed, the remaining amount of reagent in the reagent container, ie, the number of remaining measurements, is calculated from the cross-sectional area of the reagent bottle, the detected liquid level, and the dispensed amount of the aspirated reagent (S211). Also, the number of times of dispensing is added by one (S212), and the number of reservations is subtracted by one (S213).

Furthermore, it is checked whether or not the number of remaining measurements has decreased from the previous value by more than an assumed specified value (S214), and if it has decreased by a large amount, the number of times is accumulated and counted as an error count (S215). Normally, the number of remaining measurements is one less than the previous value. Therefore, for example, when the number of remaining measurements at the corresponding dispensing time is two times less than the previous value, the error count is added by one time, and when it is three times less than the previous value, the error count is added by two times. Also, if it is equal to the previous value, the error count is decremented by one.

The processing of this S215 is expressed as a calculation formula 3 as follows.

"error count"
= "error count" + "previous remaining number of measurements" - "current remaining number of measurements" - 1
... (Formula 3)
The value of the previous remaining measurement count may be the remaining measurement count calculated by dispensing the reagent during analysis or the remaining measurement count calculated when the reagent remaining amount registration was performed. When the "error count" obtained by Equation 3 exceeds a predetermined threshold (No in S216), the computer 118 outputs the abnormality of the reagent bottle to the output unit 120 or the like to notify the user (S217), Furthermore, control is performed to reset the "error count" and "dispensing times".

Subsequently, if there is a request for analysis of the relevant reagent (Yes in S218), at the time of the relevant dispensing, every time dispensing is performed, the "error ratio" is calculated by the following equation 4 (S219).

"Error percentage"
= "error count" ÷ "number of times of dispensing" (Equation 4)

Here, the "number of times of dispensing" is counted up by one each time the reagent is aspirated from the reagent container. Also, the "error count" and "dispensing times" are count values for each reagent container.

Furthermore, when bottle sets 1 and 2 described above are used, computer 118 determines whether or not conditional expression 5 below is satisfied (S220). plan the analysis to use bottle set 2. The computer 118 corrects the "number of reservations" with the "error rate" in order to accurately execute this analysis plan.

"Number of remaining measurements" - "Number of reservations" - "Number of reservations" x "Error ratio"> 0 (Formula 5)

With this function of the automatic analyzer of this embodiment, for example, if the "error rate" is 10%, the R1-1 bottle with the remaining number of measurements of 100 and the R3-1 bottle with the remaining number of measurements of 66 If there is bottle set 1 of bottles, even if analysis requests for that analysis item are made 67 times in a row, if bottle set 2 is used when conditional expression 5 is no longer satisfied, when the number of reservations is 60, the "error ratio" x "number of reservations" = 6, so even before the actual R3-1 reagent is dispensed, bottle set 1 is used for 60 times, and bottle set 2 is used for the 61st to 67th reagent dispensations. can be changed over to

Since it is considered that the "error ratio" does not change much for the same reagent container, the method of the present embodiment described above can be used to prevent reagent shortage and to plan the timing of bottle set changeover when the reagent is used up. can be done. Here, in order to deepen the understanding of this embodiment, a case in which the number of remaining measurements is reduced by two or not reduced by reagent dispensing will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of reagent dispensing when the cross-sectional area of the reagent container is smaller than the cross-sectional area recognized by the automatic analyzer.
If the cross-sectional area of the reagent container is 10% smaller than the cross-sectional area recognized by the instrument, one dispense will result in a reduction of 1.1 doses.
Therefore, if you dispense 10 times, the reagent remaining amount will decrease by 2 times at the last 10th time, and the remaining amount of reagent will decrease by 11 times in total.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of reagent dispensing when the cross-sectional area of the reagent container is larger than the cross-sectional area recognized by the automatic analyzer.
If the cross-sectional area of the reagent container is 10% larger than the cross-sectional area recognized by the instrument, one dispense will be reduced by 0.9.
Therefore, if you dispense 10 times, the reagent remaining amount will decrease by a total of 9 times without decreasing even once in the last 10th time.

In addition to cases where the number of remaining measurements is reduced by two or not by dispensing reagents, and there is an error in the cross-sectional area of the reagent container, similar cases occur due to shaking of the reagent solution in the reagent container. . Therefore, the definition of reagent liquid shaking in this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 4 shows how the reagent container 109 is placed in the reagent disk 107 and rotated in the reagent disk rotation direction 301 to move the reagent container 109 to the lowered position of the reagent probe of the reagent pipetting mechanism 110 . It is the figure which represented.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing that the reagent container 109 is moved by the rotation of the reagent disk, and the surface of the reagent 108 inside the reagent container shakes and tilts like the vibration 302 of the reagent surface.

In FIG. 6, when the reagent probe descends into the reagent container 109 in the descending direction 311, the actual reagent liquid surface height 303 is uneven due to shaking 302 of the reagent surface, and the reagent probe is located at a position where the liquid surface is low. It is a figure showing a mode that it contacts.
Since the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection function at that position and the reagent probe stops, the liquid level is calculated to be lower than the actual level, and as a result, the reagent remaining amount is output lower than the actual level.

On the other hand, FIG. 7 shows that when the reagent probe descends into the reagent container, the reagent liquid surface shakes 302 and the reagent liquid surface height 303 becomes uneven, and the reagent probe comes into contact with a high position of the liquid surface. It is the figure which represented.
Since the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection function at that position and the reagent probe stops, the liquid level is calculated to be higher than the actual level, and as a result, the reagent remaining amount is output more than the actual level.

As explained above, the remaining amount of reagent may temporarily increase or decrease due to liquid shaking. Increases and decreases occur in pairs. In other words, even if the error count temporarily decreases, it will increase again as the dispensing is continued, eventually reaching ±0. Therefore, by counting the error count of the present embodiment, it is possible to distinguish between an increase/decrease in the number of remaining measurements due to an error in the cross-sectional area of the reagent container and an increase/decrease in the number of remaining measurements due to shaking of the liquid.

Next, the detection of bubbles on the reagent surface in this embodiment will be described. At the time of reagent registration, the "reference value" of the error count is updated by the following formula 6.

"Reference value" = error rate x number of uses (Equation 6)

During reagent dispensing during analysis, the "reference value" of the error count is updated from Equation 6 after a certain number of dispensing times, such as 10 times.

Further, when the following conditional expression 7 is satisfied during reagent dispensing during analysis, the user is notified of the abnormality.

(reference value + threshold 1) <"errorcount" (Equation 7)

Threshold 1 is determined experimentally and is a fixed value.

When conditional expression 7 is satisfied, there is a possibility that an error has occurred in the "error rate" itself, so the accumulated values of the "error count" and the "number of measurements" are reset. Note that the value after the reset may be the value at the time of the previous reagent registration.

The following conditional expressions 8 and 9 are added as conditions for executing calculation expression 3 described above.

"Remaining number of measurements this time" - "Remaining number of measurements last time"< threshold value 2 (Equation 8)

"Remaining number of measurements this time" - "Remaining number of measurements last time"> Threshold 2 (Formula 9)

Threshold 2 is also determined experimentally and is a fixed value.

This is to prevent the error count from increasing to ±0 when bubbles disappear even if the error count decreases due to the generation of bubbles. If the number increases significantly, the error count is not counted.

Since the error count is a cumulative value, an abnormality can be notified even if small bubbles in the reagent container are broken little by little and the number of remaining measurements changes little by little.

Here, bubbles on the surface of the reagent in this example will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing how small bubbles, that is, bubbles that do not disappear by mere contact with the reagent probe, are generated on the surface of the reagent liquid when the reagent probe descends into the reagent container, and the reagent probe comes into contact with the bubble. . Since the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection function and the reagent probe stops at that position, the liquid level is calculated to be higher than the actual level, and as a result, the reagent remaining amount is output more than the actual level. 8 to 11, illustration of liquid shaking is omitted.

Fig. 9 shows small bubbles on the reagent liquid surface when the reagent probe descends into the reagent container. It is a figure showing a mode that a probe contacts.
Since the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection function at that position and the reagent probe stops, the liquid level is calculated to be slightly higher than the actual level, and as a result, the reagent remaining amount is output to be slightly larger than the actual level.
The reagent remaining amount calculated in the current reagent dispensing is less than the reagent remaining amount calculated in the previous reagent dispensing by more than one time.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which when the reagent probe descends into the reagent container, large bubbles are generated on the reagent liquid surface that do not disappear just by contact with the reagent probe, and the reagent probe contacts the liquid surface. be.
Since the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection function at that position and the reagent probe stops, the liquid level is calculated to be higher than the actual level, and as a result, the reagent remaining amount is output more than the actual level.

FIG. 11 shows that when the reagent probe descends into the reagent container, large bubbles on the reagent liquid surface that do not disappear just by contact with the reagent probe are broken by the previous dispensing operation of the reagent probe, and the reagent probe is broken. It is a figure showing a mode that it descend|falls to a reagent liquid surface.
Since the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection function at that position and the reagent probe stops, the liquid level height is correctly calculated, and as a result, the reagent remaining amount is correctly output.
The reagent remaining amount calculated in the current reagent dispensing is much smaller than the reagent remaining amount calculated in the previous reagent dispensing.

Bubbles on the surface of the reagent are mainly generated when the reagent container is installed. In the case of small bubbles, they do not break all at once, but break little by little as time passes and reagents are dispensed. Therefore, as the dispensing continues, the reagent remaining amount decreases little by little.

On the other hand, in the case of large bubbles, they burst at once with the lapse of time and dispensing of reagents. Therefore, if you continue to dispense, the remaining amount of reagent will suddenly decrease only once.

It is necessary to distinguish between "disappearance of bubbles due to the reagent surface" and "user intentionally withdrawing the reagent from the reagent container or replenishing the reagent to change the remaining amount of the reagent". There is Therefore, in this embodiment, these problems are solved by introducing the "reference value".

In conventional automatic analyzers, it is necessary to open the lid of the reagent disk when performing the act of "replenishing the reagent" or "removing the reagent". After starting the device or after opening the lid of the reagent disk, analysis cannot be performed unless "reagent registration" is performed. Here, "reagent registration" refers to lowering the reagent dispensing mechanism to the liquid surface of each reagent container and recalculating the remaining number of measurements for each reagent container.

Although the number of remaining measurements changes after the actions of "replenishing reagent" and "removing reagent", the error count does not change during reagent registration. "Error count" shall be used only when reagents are dispensed for analysis. Therefore, the "error count" does not change after the action of "pulling out the reagent", and even if the action of "pulling out the reagent" is performed, bubble detection by the "error count" can be performed.

On the other hand, "replenishment of the reagent" increases the "number of times of dispensing", and as a result, there is a possibility that the error count increases due to the "error of the cross-sectional area of the reagent container". However, bubbles on the reagent surface are mainly generated when the reagent container is installed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment described in detail above, by introducing the "reference value", the bubble detection can be performed by the "error count".

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an automatic analyzer capable of using up the reagent container in the latter half of the analysis in just the right amount even if the analysis of the measurement items is continued continuously. In addition, according to this embodiment, the correction effect is strong only when the "number of reservations" is large. It is possible to provide a device that has no effect in low conditions. Furthermore, since the upper limit of the "reservation number" is determined regardless of the reagent container, there is also the effect of facilitating risk management. Furthermore, even if bubbles are generated on the liquid surface of the reagent when the reagent container is installed, and the bubbles break little by little during the process of continuing the dispensing of the reagent, the user can be notified of the abnormality.

In the second embodiment, in contrast to the correction of the "reservation number" based on the "error rate" in the first embodiment, the correction is performed after the "number of times of dispensing" reaches a certain value or more. That is, in this embodiment, the control unit performs control so that the number of reservations is corrected based on the error ratio after the number of times of dispensing the reagent container reaches a predetermined value or more. This is because an error is likely to occur in the "error ratio" if the "number of times of dispensing" is small, so that it is not reflected in the number of reservations.

In the third embodiment, when the "reservation number" changes by a certain value or more due to the correction of the "reservation number" by the "error rate", the threshold value is set as the upper limit value, and the upper limit value is used for correction. That is, in this embodiment, when the number of reservations changes by exceeding a preset threshold value due to the correction of the number of reservations based on the error ratio, the control unit performs control so that the threshold value is used as the upper limit value for correction. This is to avoid the risk of an error occurring in the "error ratio" and the correction exceeding assumptions. Since the upper limit of the "reservation number" is constant regardless of the reagent container, it is desirable to use that value as the threshold, or a value between several and several tens of percent of the upper limit as the threshold.

By combining the above embodiments, it is possible to provide a more reliable automatic analyzer. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. For example, the above embodiments have been described in detail for better understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described.

Furthermore, although each configuration, function, control unit, computer, etc. described above has been mainly described as an example of creating a CPU program that realizes part or all of them, part or all of them can be implemented by, for example, an integrated circuit. Needless to say, it may be realized by hardware by designing or the like. That is, all or part of the functions of the arithmetic unit may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) instead of the program.

100 Automatic analyzer 101 Sample disk 102 Sample 103 Sample container 104 Reaction disk 106 Sample dispensing mechanism 107 Reagent disk 108 Reagent 109 Reagent container 110 Reagent dispensing mechanism 111 Sound wave irradiation mechanism 112 Stirring mechanism 113 Constant temperature bath circulating liquid 114 Photometric mechanism 115 Reaction Container washing mechanism 116 Control circuit 117 Photometry circuit 118 Computer 119 Input unit 120 Output unit 121 General control unit 122 Reaction liquid 123 Operation unit 124 Storage unit 202 Reaction container 301 Reagent disk rotation direction 302 Reagent surface shake 303 Actual reagent liquid level 311 Downward direction of reagent dispensing mechanism 321 Bubbles on reagent surface 331 Actual reagent container cross-sectional area 332 Cross-sectional area recognized by analyzer 401 Timing of dispensing plan 402 Timing of sample dispensing 403 Timing of R1 reagent dispensing 404 R3 reagent dispensing timing

Claims (15)

a reagent dispensing mechanism for dispensing a reagent filled in a reagent container;
a liquid level detection unit that detects the liquid level of the reagent by the reagent dispensing mechanism;
Control for calculating the number of remaining measurements from the detected height of the liquid surface and determining whether or not the reagent container can be used based on the number of remaining measurements and the number of reservations for measurement requests from the dispensing plan to dispensing. and
The control unit corrects the reservation number based on an error count of the remaining number of measurements.
An automatic analyzer characterized by: The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
comprising a plurality of bottle sets each containing the reagent container;
The control unit
When the number of reservations of the reagent container of one bottle set exceeds the number of remaining measurements,
controlling to use the other bottle set;
An automatic analyzer characterized by: The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The control unit
Accumulating the number of times that the calculated remaining number of measurements is larger or smaller than expected is used as the error count;
An automatic analyzer characterized by: The automatic analyzer according to claim 3,
The control unit
Calculate an error ratio by dividing the error count by the number of times the reagent is dispensed, and correct the reservation number based on the error ratio;
An automatic analyzer characterized by: The automatic analyzer according to claim 4,
The control unit
After the number of times of dispensing the reagent container reaches a certain value or more, correcting the reservation number based on the error ratio;
An automatic analyzer characterized by: The automatic analyzer according to claim 4,
When the number of reservations changes by exceeding a preset threshold value due to the correction of the number of reservations by the error ratio, the control unit corrects the threshold value as an upper limit value.
An automatic analyzer characterized by: The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The control unit
determining that the reagent container is abnormal when the error count exceeds a preset threshold;
An automatic analyzer characterized by: The automatic analyzer according to claim 7,
The control unit
when the reagent container is determined to be abnormal, outputting the abnormality of the reagent container to an output unit;
An automatic analyzer characterized by: An automatic analysis method using an automatic analyzer,
The automatic analyzer includes a reagent dispensing mechanism that dispenses a reagent filled in a reagent container;
A liquid level detection unit that detects the liquid level of the reagent by the reagent dispensing mechanism, calculates the number of remaining measurements from the height of the detected liquid level, and measures the number of remaining measurements and the number of measurements from the dispensing plan to the dispensing. a control unit that determines whether the reagent container is usable based on the number of reserved requests;
The control unit corrects the reservation number based on an error count of the remaining number of measurements.
An automatic analysis method characterized by: The automatic analysis method according to claim 9,
The automated analyzer comprises a plurality of bottle sets each containing the reagent container,
The control unit
When the number of reservations of the reagent container of one bottle set exceeds the number of remaining measurements,
controlling to use the other bottle set;
An automatic analysis method characterized by: The automatic analysis method according to claim 9,
The control unit
Accumulating the number of times that the calculated remaining number of measurements is larger or smaller than expected is used as the error count;
An automatic analysis method characterized by: The automatic analysis method according to claim 11,
The control unit
Calculate an error ratio by dividing the error count by the number of times the reagent is dispensed, and correct the reservation number based on the error ratio;
An automatic analysis method characterized by: The automatic analysis method according to claim 12,
The control unit
After the number of times of dispensing the reagent container reaches a certain value or more, correcting the reservation number based on the error ratio;
An automatic analysis method characterized by: The automatic analysis method according to claim 12,
When the number of reservations changes by exceeding a preset threshold value due to the correction of the number of reservations by the error ratio, the control unit corrects the threshold value as an upper limit value.
An automatic analysis method characterized by: The automatic analysis method according to claim 9,
The control unit
determining that the reagent container is abnormal when the error count exceeds a preset threshold;
An automatic analysis method characterized by:

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