JPH02280033A - Colorimetry inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accomplish objective measurement with high measuring accuracy by irradiating a reacted reagent with measuring light, comparing the data of measurement of reflected light reflected from the reagent with reference color data and performing the inspection of a sample to be inspected. CONSTITUTION:Before inspection, the respective colors of a color chart 27 are read by a measuring end 2 and the intensity components of the respective colors are stored in a storage arithmetic part 21 as the reference data. Next, the sample to be inspected is made to adhere to the reagent on an inspection surface 26 so that color reaction may occur. Then, the inspection surface 26 is irradiated with the measuring light from the measuring end 2 and the reflected light is inputted in photodetectors 18-20 so as to measure and arithmetically operate the intensity rates of the respective colors. By comparing the data of measurement with the reference color data and obtaining coincident or the most approximate data, the arithmetic part 21 measures the sample to be inspected to display on an output part 22. Thus, a device capable of objective measurement with high measuring accuracy is obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus for testing a test sample by measuring the color reaction of a reagent caused by the test sample, for example, in the field of blood testing, urine testing, etc. .

[Prior Art] As an example of a blood test, for example, as a method of measuring blood sugar level, blood collected from a subject is attached to a reagent or pre-prepared test strip that changes color when glucose is detected, and
It is known whether the test measures blood sugar levels based on the degree of coloration of the test strip.

Similar tests that measure the color of reagents are also commonly used to test body fluids such as urine and saliva.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventionally, the measurer has measured the degree of coloration of a reagent using the reference color (marker II) provided by the manufacturer of the test strip.
It is difficult to measure objectively because the test is performed by comparing the color (color) with the naked eye.

Further, even if an attempt was made to provide a versatile measuring device that can be used with various reagents, it was difficult to make the device general-purpose because each reagent has different reference color data.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to provide a highly versatile colorimetric testing device that can test various items using various reagents. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can perform objective measurements with high measurement accuracy.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, provides a colorimetric testing device for testing a test sample by colorimetrically measuring the color reaction of a reagent caused by reaction with a test sample. An irradiation means for irradiating measurement light onto the reacted reagent, a measurement means for measuring the reflected light reflected by the reacted reagent, and inspection of the test sample by comparing the measurement data of the measurement means with reference color data. This is a colorimetric inspection device characterized by having means for performing.

[Example code] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 28 is a main body of the device. An optical fiber 1 for measurement is connected to the main body 28, and the fiber tip is used for measurement for light irradiation and reflected light reception. Two ends are exposed. The light source 3 is a white light source;
The light emitted from the lens passes through a lens 4 and is split by a half mirror 5.

The light reflected by the half mirror 5 is condensed by a condenser lens 6, enters the end of the fiber 1, travels inside the fiber, and reaches the measurement end 2. The light transmitted through the half mirror 5 passes through the lens 7 and is detected by the photodetector 8 as reference light for detecting and correcting fluctuations in the light source 3. The output of the photodetector 8 is connected to a storage/arithmetic unit 21 .

On the other hand, of the light that is incident on the fiber 1 from the measurement end 2, the light that has passed through the half mirror 5 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 9, and the light with a wavelength longer than the wavelength of the red light is transmitted, while the light with a wavelength shorter than that is transmitted. The wavelength of the reflected light is selected by the bandpass filter 12 so that only red light (near 700 nm) is transmitted to the lens 1.
5, the intensity of the red light is measured by a photodetector 18. or,
The light transmitted through the dichroic mirror 9 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 10, and the light having wavelengths longer than green light is transmitted. From the light reflected by the dichroic mirror 10, only green light (near 546 nm) is wavelength-selected by a bandpass filter, passes through a lens 16, and the intensity of the green light is measured by a photodetector 19. The light transmitted through the tychroic mirror 10 is reflected by the total reflection mirror 11, and only the blue light (near 435 nm) is wavelength-selected by the bandpass filter 14, and the intensity of the blue light is measured by the photodetector 20 after passing through the lens 20. be done. The outputs of the photodetectors 18 to 20, which respectively measure the light intensity of these three colors of red, green, and blue, are connected to a storage calculation section 21.

Connected to the storage calculation section 21 are an output section 22 that outputs calculation results, and a control section 23 that controls the entire device. A measurement start switch and a light source 3 are connected to the control unit 23 .

Next, the operating principle of colorimetry of the inspection surface in the above configuration will be explained.

In the initial state, the light source 3 is off. When the measurer presses the measurement switch, the control section 23 directs the natural light from the measurement section that enters the measurement end 2 with the light source turned off to the photodetectors 18 and 2.
The intensity of each of the three colors is detected at o. Each photometric intensity is stored in the storage calculation unit 21 as a noise component.

At the next Q moment, the control unit 23 turns on the light source 3 and lights up the fiber 1.
The measuring section is irradiated with white light from the measuring end 2.

Of the light reflected by the measuring section, the light that enters the measuring end 2 of the fiber again is subjected to photometry of the light intensity components of the three colors, respectively.

This photometric measurement value, together with the reflected light of the irradiated white light,
It also includes noise components from natural light coming in from the outside. Therefore, the storage calculation unit 21 subtracts the intensity of the previous noise component from the measured light intensity of each color, and employs the subtracted color values as measurement data. The chromaticity is determined from the ratio of the intensity of each color component.

Next, the actual measurement procedure will be explained.

In FIG. 1, 25 is a test strip. For example, a test reagent for blood sugar level measurement is applied to the test surface 26, and by reacting with the patient's blood, the test reagent is applied to the test surface 26 according to the amount of glucose in the blood. Some parts show a color reaction. Note that the test item is not limited to blood sugar level, but may be anything that shows a color reaction, such as cholesterol level or sugar level.

In addition, 27 is a color chart of standard colors presented by the reagent supplier, and the blood sugar level can be measured by seeing which color on the color chart matches or is closest to the color of the color reaction. becomes possible.

First, before the inspection, each color of the color chart 27 is read in order with the fiber measurement end, and the intensity component of each color is stored in advance in the storage calculation section 21 in the apparatus as reference data.

If the standard color data for each type of reagent to be used is known in advance, the standard color data for each type of reagent can be stored in the memory of the device in advance, and the data can be switched depending on the reagent to be used. You can also do it.

The collected blood of the patient is attached to the reagent on the test surface 26 of the test paper 25 and reacted. As a result, the test surface 26 exhibits a color reaction depending on the amount of glucose in the blood.

Next, when the measuring end 2 is brought close to the test surface 26 of the test paper and the measuring switch 24 is pressed, the degree of coloration of the reagent, that is, the intensity ratio of each color is measured and calculated. (g The calculation unit 21 compares this measurement data with the reference color data stored in advance in the storage calculation unit 21, and finds the data that matches or is the closest between the measurement data and the reference color data. , the blood glucose level of the patient's blood can be obtained; or,
It is more accurate if the blood sugar level is set as the intermediate value between the measurement data and the reference data of two adjacent colors. This result is displayed on the output section 22.

Note that the light source used in this embodiment does not have to be a white light source, but any light source that includes at least the wavelength to be measured (for example, three-color LED) can be used.

In addition, in this example, natural light was photometered in seven states with the light source 3 turned off, and this was subtracted as a noise component.
If the measurement end 2 is brought into close contact with the measurement section during measurement to prevent external light from entering, measurement of natural light, which is a noise component, becomes unnecessary. In this case, it is more preferable to provide a light-shielding umbrella-shaped member 29 as shown in FIG. 3 in the measurement @2 to block external light.

[Embodiment 2] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, numeral 30 indicates the main body of the device, and a member 31 in the device is an LED array of three colors, red, green, and blue, and each color can be turned on independently or a plurality of colors can be turned on at the same time under the control of a control section 39. The light emitted from the LED 31 is focused by a lens 32 and enters the end of the fiber 33. fiber 3
Of the light guided to the measurement surface by 3 and reflected at the measurement surface, the light that enters the end of the fiber 34 paired with the fiber 33 travels through the fiber 34 and is focused by the lens 35 and collected by the photodetector 36. The intensity is photometered. The output of the photodetector 36 is connected to a storage calculation section 37. The memory calculation section 37 is the output section 3
8. Connected to the control unit 39.

The principle of chromaticity measurement using the above configuration will be explained next. As in the previous embodiment, when the measurement switch 40 is pressed, the intensity of natural light is measured with the LED 31 turned off, and is stored in the storage calculation section 37 as a noise component. Next, the red LED of the LED 31 is made to emit light, and the red component is measured and stored (stored in the pi calculation section 37.Similarly, the green L
The ED and the blue LED are caused to emit light sequentially in time series, and the green and blue components are measured and stored in the storage calculation section 37, respectively.

When the photometry of each component is completed, the storage calculation unit 37 subtracts the noise component of the natural light measured previously from each color component, and uses these components as measurement data. Strictly speaking, each color component of natural light is determined and subtracted from the photometric value of each color component, but the method of this embodiment, which has a simple configuration, does not result in large measurement errors.

Furthermore, if the measurement ends of the fibers 33 and 34 are brought into close contact with the measurement surface to prevent external light from entering, measurement of natural light becomes unnecessary. It goes without saying that the structure shown in FIG. 3 and C is also good as before.

In the actual measurement procedure in this embodiment, as in the previous embodiment, the color chart 27 of the reference color is stored in advance prior to the test, and then the coloring state of the test surface 26 of the test paper 25 is measured. Inspection is performed by comparing this measurement data with reference color data.

According to this embodiment, since separate optical systems are used for light irradiation and light reception, a half mirror is used as compared to the previous embodiment.
There is no loss of light amount due to Furthermore, since multiple color LEDs are used and each color is photometered separately, the light receiving optical system is simple.

[Embodiment 3] In another embodiment of the present invention, a white light source or a light source containing multiple colors to be measured is used as the light source, and a wavelength selection filter that can be replaced from among a plurality of types at high speed is provided in the optical path of the light receiving optical system. , and each color is measured sequentially in time series using a single photodetector by selecting a filter. An example of a means for exchanging wavelength selection filters is to rotate a turret on which each color filter is circumferentially arranged at a high speed, so that the wavelength selection filter can be shifted at high speed.

Note that in all the embodiments described above, the inspection was performed by photometrically measuring the light intensity components of three colors, but the measurement is not limited to three colors, but may be any plurality of colors of two or more colors.

Further, in the above embodiments, the reference color data was stored in advance and then the test paper was measured and inspected, but on the contrary, the reference color data may be taken in after the measurement and compared.

Furthermore, the reference color data is not limited to the visible light region, and can be measured even if it includes other regions.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, any color reaction can be measured without being limited to a specific reagent, so it is versatile and enables testing in a wide range of fields.

Further, during measurement, since each color component is separated into a plurality of color components and each color component is measured, accurate inspection becomes possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an improved form of the measuring end. 1.33.34... optical fiber, 3... white light source, 5... nof mirror 91, 10... gikroic mirror 24.40... Measuring switch, 25...test paper, 26...test surface, 27...
・Reference color chart, 31... 3-color LED array, Figure 2, Figure 32

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a colorimetric testing device that tests a test sample by measuring the color reaction of a reagent due to reaction with a test sample, the irradiation means irradiates the reacted reagent with measurement light. and a measuring means for measuring reflected light reflected by the reacted reagent; and means for inspecting a test sample by comparing measurement data of the measuring means with reference color data. Colorimetric inspection device. 2. The measurement light includes at least a plurality of types of measurement wavelengths,
2. The colorimetric inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement data corresponds to each of the plurality of measurement wavelengths. 3. The colorimetric measurement device according to claim 2, wherein the irradiation means irradiates measurement light having a plurality of types of measurement wavelengths in chronological order.