JPH0373858A - Biochemical analysis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the constitution of the apparatus by constituting an incubator of an upper member which is movable and adjusts temp. from above and a lower member which adjusts temp. from below. CONSTITUTION:The lower member 55a adjusts the part transferred to the prescribed position of a test film 12 to a prescribed temp. from low. The upper member 55b presses the film 12 from above when the film 12 moves to the prescribed position and when the film moves to the position adjacent to the prescribed position along the extending direction of the film 12. This member moves back and forth between these two positions. Further, the member 55b adjusts the part transferred to the prescribed position of the film 12 to the prescribed temp. from above. Since the upper member of the incubator itself moves in such a manner, the need for a shutter is eliminated and the constitution of the apparatus is correspondingly simplified.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is a method of spotting a test liquid such as blood or urine onto a long tape-shaped test film and measuring the optical density of the test film. This invention relates to a biochemical analyzer that determines the concentration of biochemical substances in a liquid to be tested.

(Prior Art) Qualitative or quantitative analysis of specific chemical components in a test liquid is a commonly performed operation in various industrial fields. In particular, quantitative analysis of chemical components or formed components in biological body fluids such as blood and urine is extremely important in the field of clinical biochemistry.

As a method for quantitatively analyzing chemical components or formed components in a liquid to be tested, it is possible to detect specific chemical components or formed elements contained in the liquid to be tested by simply applying small droplets of the liquid to be tested. A dry type chemical analysis slide capable of quantitative analysis has been developed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-21877, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-164358, etc.) and has been put into practical use. By using this chemical analysis slide, it became possible to analyze the test liquid more easily and quickly than with the conventional wet analysis method. In medical institutions, laboratories, etc., it is necessary to analyze a large number of test liquids, so in recent years, instead of the chemical analysis slides mentioned above, long tape-shaped slides containing reagents that react with the test liquid have been used. A biochemical analyzer using a test film has been proposed (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,480, U.S. Pat. No. 3,26
Specification No. 0.413, Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-21877,
(See JP-A-1-20453, JP-A-1-20454, JP-A-1-20455, and JP-A-1-80863). A biochemical analyzer using this test film usually pulls out the test film one after another, deposits a measured amount of the test liquid on the pulled out part, and holds it at a constant temperature for a predetermined period of time in an incubator. Incubation) to cause a color reaction (pigment formation reaction), and a measurement irradiation light containing a wavelength pre-selected by a combination of the components in the test liquid and the reagent contained in the test film is applied to the test film. It is configured to irradiate the landing position and measure its reflection density.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Here, in the biochemical analyzer using the long tape-shaped test film described above, a test liquid is spotted on the test film, and then the test film is spotted. If the test film is transported to an incubator for incubation for a predetermined period of time, and then the test film is transported to a position where a measuring means is placed for measurement, the transport accuracy of the transport means for transporting the test film can be improved. This will greatly affect the measurement accuracy, and if the transport accuracy is poor, the test liquid will be spotted on the test film at a position slightly off from the predetermined position. This results in a decrease in measurement accuracy due to causes such as being transported to different positions, which deteriorates the conditions for constant temperature maintenance, and measurement being performed at a location slightly away from the spotted location.

For this reason, after pulling the test film into position,
Spot and incubate at the specified location.

A biochemical analyzer configured to perform all measurements has been proposed (see the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-80883). However, in the biochemical analyzer described in JP-A-1-80863, in order to meet the requirements of transporting the test film and holding the test film at a predetermined temperature from above and below, an incubator is required. The upper member that presses the test film from above is configured to move up and down, and there is also a requirement to hold the test film from above and below to maintain it at a predetermined temperature, and a requirement to perform spotting at that position while holding the test film. In order to meet the above requirements, the upper part of the incubator is equipped with a shutter that moves from side to side, and it is necessary to move both the upper part of the incubator itself and the shutter, making the structure complicated. was there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a biochemical analysis device that allows spotting, incubation, and measurement to be performed at the same location, and is equipped with an incubator that has a simple structure.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The biochemical analyzer of the present invention includes a test liquid storage means for storing a test liquid, a long tape-like material that reacts with the test liquid and causes an optical density change. A test film storage means for storing a test film, a transfer means for transporting a portion of the test film stored in the test film storage means to be used for the next measurement to a predetermined position, and a test film storage means for storing a portion of the test film stored in the test liquid storage means. a spotting means for taking out the test liquid and spotting it on the portion of the test film that has been transferred to the predetermined position; an incubator that maintains the portion of the test film that has been transferred to the predetermined position at a predetermined temperature; In the biochemical analyzer equipped with a measuring means for measuring the optical density of the portion of the test film transferred to the predetermined position, the incubator heats the portion of the test film transferred to the predetermined position from below to the predetermined temperature. a lower member to be adjusted; when located at the predetermined position and when located at an adjacent position adjacent to the predetermined position along the extending direction of the test film, the lower member presses the test film from above and is positioned midway between these two positions; and an upper member that reciprocates between these circumferential positions to open the test film, and adjusts the portion of the test film transferred to the predetermined position to the predetermined temperature from above. It is characterized by:

(Function) In the biochemical analyzer of the present invention, since the upper member of the incubator itself moves, a shutter is not required, and the structure of the apparatus can be simplified accordingly. In other words, the upper member presses the test film when it is in the predetermined position and the adjacent position, and moves back and forth to release the test film when it is in the middle of these two positions. Placed in the middle to transfer the test film, place the upper member in the adjacent position and perform spotting while holding the test film;
Thereafter, incubation can be performed by placing the upper member at the predetermined position and holding the test film together with the lower member.

Incidentally, the measurement of the optical density at the position where the test film is spotted is carried out by inserting the test film into the test film through an opening provided in the lower member, similar to the biochemical analyzer described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-80883. Light is irradiated, the reflected light is received by a light receiving sensor, and its optical reflection density is determined.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the biochemical analyzer of the present invention.

The illustrated biochemical analyzer 10 is equipped with a transparent lid 11, and the lid 11 is opened to accommodate and take out the test liquid, a long tape-shaped test film 12, etc. It is composed of This device IO has
For example, a test liquid storage means 13 is provided for accommodating a large number of test liquids such as serum and urine arranged in a circular shape.
It is taken out and placed. The test film 12 is
A plurality of types of test films 12 are prepared corresponding to the measurement items, such as containing a reagent that exhibits a color reaction with only a specific chemical component or tangible component to be measured in the test liquid. The unused portion of the test film 12 is wound in a film supply cassette 15, and the portion used for the above measurement is wound in a film winding cassette 16. Also, the glue in this cassette 1B
Test film 1 is placed in the center of a as described below.
2 into the device IO, this test film 12
A hole 18b is provided which engages with the rotating shaft of a motor for drawing out the film from the film supply cassette 15. The test film 12 is stored in the device 10 while being wound in a cassette 15,18. The film supply cassette 15 and the film take-up cassette 16 are separated as shown in this figure.

In order to measure multiple items at the same time using this device IO, the test film storage section 17 is designed so that unused portions of a large number of test films 12 can be stored in parallel.
It consists of a large number of test film accommodating means each accommodating one film supply cassette 15.

The spotting means 14 has a spotting nozzle 14a at its tip, is moved in the direction in which the rail 18 extends by a moving means 19 placed on the rail 18, takes out the test liquid from the test liquid storage means 13, Test film 12 pulled out from each test film storage means as described below
Place the dot on the specified position on the top. Further, the moving means 19 is configured to move the spotting means 14 in the vertical direction as well.
When the spotting means 14 is moved by the moving means 19 in the left and right direction in which the rail 18 extends, the spotting means is in an elevated position, and during removal of the test liquid, spotting, and cleaning to be described later. It will be lowered.

After spotting on the test film 12, the spotting nozzle 14a connects the test film accommodating section 17 and the test liquid accommodating means 1.
3, it is cleaned by a nozzle cleaning section 20 located close to both, and is reused for the next spotting.

As will be described later, the spotted test film 12 is incubated in an incubator, and the optical density is measured by a measuring means 70 (see FIG. 3) provided for each test film storage means.

Control of all the device IO operations, processing of measurement data, etc. are performed by the circuit section 21 and the computer 2 connected to this circuit section 21.
2. The operation/display section 23 provided on the front side of the circuit section 21 includes a power switch of the device 10 and a device I.
An ammeter and the like for monitoring current consumption in O is provided. The computer 22 includes a keyboard 24 for giving instructions to the device IO, a CRT display 25 for displaying auxiliary information for instructions, measurement results, etc., a printer 26 for printing out the measurement results, and a keyboard 24 for giving various instructions to the device IO. A floppy disk device 27 is provided in which a floppy disk is loaded for storing commands, measurement result data, and the like.

FIG. 2 shows the biochemical analyzer 10 whose perspective view is shown in FIG.
FIG.

A large number of test film storage means constituting the test film storage section 17 are configured such that predetermined positions 28 where all the test films pulled out from therein are spotted are aligned on a straight line, and nozzle on top,
The cleaning section 20 and the test liquid extraction position 13b in the test liquid storage means 13 are arranged in an array.

The liquid to be tested storage means 13 is configured to accommodate a large number of liquids to be tested in respective storage portions 13a arranged in a substantially circular shape. In addition, this test liquid storage means 13 is configured such that each storage section 13a arranged in a circular shape is rotated, and among the test liquids stored in this storage section 13a, the following The test liquid used for measurement is automatically rotated by a rotating means (not shown) so that it is located at the take-out position 13b. In order to prevent deterioration due to evaporation of the test liquid stored in the storage part 13a, the storage part 13a other than the extraction position 13b is
A lid (not shown) is placed over it.

The spotting means 14 is moved in the direction in which the rail extends by a moving means 19 mounted on the rail 18, and is moved to the take-out position L3b.
The liquid to be tested is taken out and spotted on the test film at a predetermined position 28.

FIG. 3 is a side view taken along line xx' in FIG. 2. The internal structure of the main parts is clearly shown.

The test film 12 is stored in a film supply cassette 15 and loaded into the device 10, and as it is used in the device (0), it is sequentially wound into a film winding cassette IB. as 1
The film winding cassette 16 is housed in a cold storage 50 whose temperature is controlled to 5° C., and the film winding cassette 16 is housed in a winding chamber 51 . The cold storage 50 accommodates the film supply cassette 15 in an interior 50c surrounded by a heat insulating wall 50a.
0a includes a cooling device 5 for cooling the inside 50c to the above temperature.
8 is attached, and the inside 50c is maintained at a substantially uniform temperature. By keeping the interior 50C at a low temperature as described above, the temperature of the film supply cassette 15 is also kept at the low temperature. Further, a desiccant (not shown) is stored in the film supply cassette 15, and the inside of the cassette 15 is kept in a dry state. The test film 12 pulled out from the cassette 15 passes through the film drawer opening 50b of the cold storage 50, and finally reaches the film winding cassette 16.
It is wound up.

The hole 16b provided in the center of the roll lea in the film take-up cassette 16 is connected to the rotation shaft of a take-up motor 53, which is an example of a transfer means according to the present invention, provided in the take-up chamber 51. As the motor 53 rotates, the test film 12 is intermittently pulled out from the film supply cassette 15 via the film draw-out port 50b of the cold storage 50 and wound onto the film winding cassette 16.

Film supply cassette 15 and film winding cassette 16
In the exposed portion of the test film 12 between the two, an incubator 55 is arranged to temporarily hold the film inside and allow it to pass therethrough. This incubator 55 is
Place the test film at a specified temperature (e.g. 37°C) from below.
It consists of a lower member 55a that adjusts the temperature to the predetermined temperature, and an upper member 55b that presses the test film from above and adjusts it to the predetermined temperature. A measuring means 70 for measuring the optical reflection density of the test film from below the test film is arranged below the lower member 55a.

Figures 4A, 4B, and 4C are cross sections taken along lines Y-Y' and z-z', respectively, of the upper and lower members of the incubator, and the holes in Figures 4A and 4B. It is a diagram.

The upper member 55b is connected to a support member 55c shown in FIG. 3 by a spring 55d, and is pushed downward by the spring 55d. Further, this upper member 55b is provided with a roller 55e projecting downward, and this roller 55e
By fitting the downwardly protruding portion into the groove 55f provided in the lower member 55a, the downwardly protruding film holding portion 55g of the upper member 55b presses the test film 12 placed on the long groove 55h of the lower member 55a. Press from above.

A heater and a temperature detection sensor (not shown) are provided inside the upper member 55b and the lower member 55a, respectively, so that the portion of the test film held between the incubator 55 (the upper member 55b and the lower member 55a) reaches a predetermined temperature. is maintained. Since the upper member 55b moves as will be described later, wiring to an internal heater and temperature detection sensor is performed using a flexible flat cable 56 (see FIG. 3).

When the motor 57 shown in FIG. 3 rotates, the coupling 59
A rod 60 having a male thread on its outer periphery rotates through the rod 60 . This rod 60 has a block 61 provided with a female thread.
Since this block B1 is connected to the support member 55c through the bar 62, the rotation of the rod 60 causes the support member 55c and the upper member 55b supported by the support member 55e to move as shown in the figure. Move left and right.

The movement of the upper member 55b starting from the predetermined position shown in the figure will be described.

When the motor 57 rotates and the upper member 55b starts moving to the left in the figure, the roller 55e of the upper member 55b, which had been fitted into the groove 55f' of the lower member 55a, comes off from the groove 55f. The member 55b lifts up and releases the pressure on the test film 12, allowing the test film 12 to move freely. In this state, the motor 53 in the winding chamber 51 rotates, and the portion of the test film to be used for the next measurement is moved to a predetermined position where it is held between the upper member 55b and the lower member 55a as shown in FIG. do.

The motor 57 continues to rotate, and the upper member 55b further moves to the left in the figure. When the presence of the block 61 is detected by the photoelectric sensor 63 and the block 61 has moved a little further to the left in the figure, the upper member 55b moves further to the left in the figure. The roller 55e is in the groove 5
5f (see FIG. 4B) and is stopped by fitting into a groove 551 having a similar shape. The position where the roller 55e fits into the groove 551 is the adjacent position according to the present invention, and
A portion adjacent to the portion transferred to the second predetermined position is held down by the upper member 55b.

In this state, the spotting nozzle 14a descends through the opening 55j and spots the liquid to be inspected on the test film L2. When this spotting is completed, the spotting nozzle 14a rises again.

The motor 57 then rotates in the opposite direction. This motor 57
The rotation of the roller 55e and groove 55i of the upper member 55b
The upper member 55b is disengaged from the test film 12.
The block 61 moves to the right in the figure, and the photoelectric sensor 64 detects the block 61.The block 61 is detected by the photoelectric sensor 64, and after passing the block 61, the roller 55e moves into the groove 55f'.
to fit. As a result, the spotted portion of the test film 12 is held between the upper member 55b and the lower member 55a of the incubator 55 and maintained at a predetermined temperature.

While being held in this manner, the optical reflection density of the test film is measured by the measuring means 70 disposed below the lower member 55a.

The irradiation light passing through the optical fiber 71 passes through the irradiation optical system 72, and then passes through the half mirror 73 and the measurement opening 55k (see FIG. 4B) provided in the lower member 55a, and is used to spot the test film 12. The reflected light is detected by the light receiving element 74. Further, in order to monitor the amount of irradiated light, the light reflected from the half mirror 73 is detected by the light receiving element 75.

The upper member 55b, the support member 55c for supporting and moving the upper member 55b, the motor 57, etc. are configured as an integrated module, and when loading the test film 12 into the apparatus, etc. By lifting the lever 80 by hand, it is disengaged from the main body and rotated about the shaft 81 to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4C, the long groove 55h of the lower member 55a through which the test film passes has slopes 55 at both ends.
1 is formed, and the film holding portion 55g of the upper member 55b is formed with a slope 55+a so that its cross section is approximately V-shaped so as to fit into the long groove 55h of the lower member 55a. By forming these slopes 55f and 55m, even if the upper member 55b moves in the vertical direction and there is some play in the left-right direction, the film holding part 55g reliably fits into the long groove 55h and the test film 12 is held. It will be held securely.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the walls 55n that guide the width direction of the test film (2) on the left and right sides of the long groove 55h are the fourth walls 55n that guide the test film (2) in the width direction.
At the center position in Figure B, a relief portion 55o is formed so as not to contact the side surface of the test film 12. This prevents the test liquid from reaching the wall 55n and staining the wall 55n when, for example, a slightly larger amount of the test liquid is spotted on the test film 12. It's for a reason.

The concentration signal measured as described above is input to the computer 22 (see FIG. 1), and the computer 22
Using the conversion table (calibration curve) between optical density and substance concentration stored in 2, the substance concentration of the biochemical substance in the test liquid corresponding to each measurement item is determined.

As explained above, in the above embodiment, the roller 55e
By means of the grooves 55f and 551, movement in the vertical direction as well as in the horizontal direction can be created by simply moving the upper member 55b in the horizontal direction.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, the biochemical analyzer of the present invention is capable of distributing the biochemical analysis device when the upper member of the incubator is located at a predetermined position where spotting is performed and when the upper member of the incubator is located at a predetermined position where spotting is performed and It is configured to move back and forth between these two positions so that when it is located at an adjacent position adjacent to a predetermined position, it presses the test film from above and when it is located between these two positions, it releases the test film. , spotting, incubation, and measurement can be performed at the same location, and there is no need to provide a shutter or other moving mechanism other than the moving mechanism for the upper member, which simplifies the structure.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a biochemical analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main parts of the biochemical analyzer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4A, 4B, and 4C are side views taken along line xx' in FIG. 2, showing the upper and lower members of the incubator, and FIG. FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the Y-Y' line and the Z-Z' line, respectively. 10...Biochemical analyzer 12a...Measurement part 13...Test liquid storage means 14a...Spotting nozzle 15...Film supply cassette 16...Film winding cassette 17... Test film storage section 21...Circuit section 55...Incubator 55b...Upper member 55f, 551...Groove 12...Test film 12b...Surface to be measured 14...Spotting means 22... ... Computer 55a ... Lower member 55e ... Roller 5γ ... Motor

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A test liquid storage means for storing a test liquid, a test film storage means for storing a long tape-shaped test film that reacts with the test liquid and causes a change in optical density;
A transfer means for transferring a portion of the test film accommodated in the test film storage means to be used for the next measurement to a predetermined position; an incubator for keeping the portion of the test film transferred to the predetermined position at a predetermined temperature; and an incubator for keeping the portion of the test film transferred to the predetermined position at a predetermined temperature. In a biochemical analyzer equipped with a measuring means for measuring optical density, the incubator includes: a lower member that adjusts the portion of the test film transferred to the predetermined position to the predetermined temperature from below; When the test film is located at an adjacent position adjacent to the predetermined position along the extending direction of the test film, the test film is pressed from above, and when the test film is located between these two positions, the test film is released. A biochemical analysis device comprising: an upper member that reciprocates between these two positions and adjusts the portion of the test film transferred to the predetermined position from above to the predetermined temperature.