JPH0426434B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention uses a Dip and Read type test piece to take out the test piece, immerse it in the test liquid, perform photometry,
The present invention relates to a continuous automatic analysis method and apparatus that automatically performs calculations, disposal, etc.

Currently, the test strip 2 most commonly used for analyzing blood, urine, etc. is a transparent plastic strip with a reagent surface 2A at one end and a gripping section 2B at the other end, as shown in Fig. 3. It is something. still,
The number of reagent surfaces 2A corresponding to the number of measurement items is provided, but standard reflective pieces may also be provided. Also,
In the illustrated example, a small piece of filter paper impregnated with a reagent is attached with double-sided adhesive tape as the reagent surface 2A, but there are also other types in which the reagent is applied together with a base material to form a film. And these reagent pieces are
The so-called Dip and
It is used for read-type inspections, but now the read stage has been made into a device, making it possible to fix or judge the amount, and there are also machines that automate everything from photometry to calculation, concentration display, and test piece ejection. but
Currently, we rely on humans to perform the dipping step, so we remove test pieces one by one from a sealed container, which increases the number of specimens, immerse them in the test liquid and compare them with a color chart, or set them in the measuring section of an optical measuring device. The repeated work of discarding test pieces after measurement imposes a heavy burden on the operator. Moreover,
Since a certain reaction time is required, the operator is completely restrained during the measurement. Furthermore, if the measurement is carried out manually, the immersion time and the time until the start of immersion measurement tend to vary and measurement errors are likely to occur. Therefore, it is desirable to perform complete automation including this Dip step.

However, in order to achieve complete automation including the dip stage, it is necessary to develop a mechanism for regularly taking out test pieces,
In addition, an automatic test piece operation mechanism is required to immerse the removed test piece in the test liquid and set it correctly in the photometry section. Moreover, they need to operate accurately and preferably be small and inexpensive.

The present invention was developed based on the above-mentioned requirements, and organically combines an automatic test piece operation mechanism, an automatic test piece supply mechanism, a conventionally known photometry mechanism, etc.
All processes of Dip and Read are performed automatically and continuously. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an example of the device of the present invention showing its operating state, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof. The continuous automatic analyzer 1 using this test piece is
A test piece automatic supply mechanism 4, a sample container supply mechanism 5, a photometry mechanism 6, etc. are arranged around a test piece automatic operation mechanism 3. Further, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 7 is a control section, 8 is an input section, and 9 is an output section.

The automatic test piece operation mechanism 3 supports a rotating part 15 consisting of an arm 12 having a test piece holder 11 at its tip, an arm driving shaft 13, and a shaft rotation motor 14 by a vertical shaft 17, and drives it up and down. It is suspended by a wire 19 wound around the shaft of a motor 18 so as to be movable up and down. Further, a slider 16 that supports one end of the arm drive shaft 13 to prevent it from swinging is driven in the left-right direction by a wire 21 wound around the shaft of a left-right drive motor 20. This slider 16 is supported by a left and right drive shaft 22, and the entire slider 16 is incorporated into a frame 23.

Further, the test piece holder 11 of this example has a release 24.
Scissor mechanism (beak mechanism) that opens and closes by pushing and pulling
In this example, the release 24 is operated by a solenoid 25, but it may also be operated by an air cylinder, or the scissors mechanism may be opened and closed directly by a solenoid or an air cylinder. Further, instead of the scissor mechanism, a method of directly holding the device by air suction may be adopted. Among these, the release type is desirable because it is lightweight and strong. These releases and air pipes may be floating in other spaces passing through the arm 12. Furthermore, each of the motors 14, 18, 20
A pulse motor is preferable for accurate positioning.

However, the automatic test piece operation mechanism 3 is not limited to the one shown in the drawings, but any structure may be used as long as it moves the arm 12 vertically, horizontally, and rotates as described below using a motor, wire, screw, cylinder, etc. can also be used.

Next, the test piece automatic feeding mechanism 4 feeds the test pieces 2 one by one, and various structures can be considered. In this example, the hopper 26 into which the test piece is
A bottom portion 28 with a test piece insertion groove 27 and the groove 27
A slide base type is used in which the test piece insertion groove 27 is moved out of the hopper by sliding the bottom part 28, which has wall parts 29 and 30 including two inner wall surfaces 29a and 30a parallel to the hopper.

In addition, FIGS. 4a and 4b show the details, and the bottom part 28 is moved between the inner wall surfaces 29a and 30a (fourth
While the test piece 2 is being moved from side to side (between Figures 1 and 2), one of the test pieces 2 put into the hopper 26 fits into the groove 27 at a position in the hopper.
When the detectors 34 detect the test piece 2 in the groove 27, the bottom 28 moves further outward, and the groove 27 stops at the test piece 2 takeout position (the state shown in FIG. 1). In addition, if the test piece 2 is inserted into the groove 27 facing downward, the detector 34 detects this and the bottom 28
is further advanced (to the position of the groove 37), and the lever 35 of the reversing mechanism pushes out the test piece 2 while inverting it toward the wall portion 29 side. Then, when the bottom part 28 moves backward, it fits into the groove 27 at the lower end of the outer wall surface of the wall part, checks again whether it is facing the surface at the position , and if it is correct, it reverses and stops at the position.

Here, as the detector 34, one or an appropriate combination of optical sensors such as a transmission type photointerrupter for detecting the presence or absence of the test piece 2 and a reflection type photointerrupter for determining the front and back side is used. The presence or absence of the test piece 2 and whether it is front or back may be determined by detecting the height of the portion 37. Further, a detector 3 corresponding to each of the reagent surfaces 2A
A plurality of test pieces 4 may be provided to determine the type of test piece and check for breakage of the test piece, and remove other types or defective items from the system.

Note that the reversing mechanism may be omitted, and when the test piece 2 is reversed, the test piece holder 11 may be driven so that the front and back sides of the test piece 2 are reversed. Various modifications of the take-out mechanism 4 are possible, such as fixing the bottom part 28 and making the wall part movable.

Alternatively, a cassette-type automatic test piece supply mechanism 4 can also be used. FIG. 5 shows an example of this, in which a large number of test specimens 2 packed in a cassette 46 are pushed out one by one from the bottom with a slider 47 and placed at a take-out position, and confirmed with a detector 48. Then, at this position, the specimen is taken out by the specimen holder 11.

Incidentally, although the sample container supply mechanism 5 and the photometry mechanism 6 in this example incorporate conventionally known mechanisms, various other modifications are possible. The sample container supply mechanism 5 of this example is of a turntable type, and the sample turntable 36 has a number of ports 38 on its circumference for receiving sample containers 37, and is driven to rotate in forward and reverse directions by a motor 39. Ru.
If the sample turntable 36 is made detachable and replaceable one after another, a large amount of samples can be processed efficiently. On the other hand, the photometry mechanism 6 consists of a photometry section 40 and a reaction turntable 41 as a support for guiding the test piece 2 to the photometry section 40. The reaction turntable 41 has a plurality of radial grooves 42 as places for placing the test piece. The motor 43 rotates intermittently in a fixed direction. The photometry section 40 has a groove 42
is placed above a certain position where it stops. The photometry section 40 includes an optical system 44 and a tension mechanism 45 that moves the test piece 2.

Next, the measurement operation by the above example device 1 will be explained. First, the arm 12 of the automatic test piece operating mechanism 3 moves outward (to the left in the figure) by the rotation of the motor 20, and at the same time, the rotating part 15 descends due to the rotation of the motor 18, and the test piece holder 11 holds the test piece. The test piece 2 of the automatic supply mechanism 4 comes to the take-out position A. At this time, the test piece holder 11 is open and closed after holding the grip part of the test piece 2 in its mouth. Then each motor 18, 20
rotates in the opposite direction, and then the shaft rotation motor 14 rotates, and the test piece holder 11 is moved to the test piece immersion position B.
I'm coming. The test piece holder 11 is lowered as it is, and the reagent surface 2A is immersed in the test liquid for a predetermined time. Next, the motor 18 rotates to pull up the test piece 2,
Furthermore, the motors 18 and 14 rotate, and the test piece holder 1
1 is the position C of the turntable groove 42 of the photometry mechanism 6.
Now, the test piece 2 is released and placed in the groove 42. As the test piece 2 rotates on the turntable 41, it is sent to the photometry section 40 and measured. Subsequently, the test piece holder 11 returns to position A, and the same operation is repeated.

The operation of each of these mechanisms 3, 4, 5, and 6 is controlled by a microcomputer in a control section 7, respectively. This microcomputer also calculates the concentration of each test substance from the reflectance, and outputs the results to the display section 49. Further, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 50 is a printer, 51 is an external output, and 52 is a keyboard.

Next, the liquid level detection mechanism 10 will be explained. This is because the test piece 2 is automatically inserted into the sample container 37, so if there is too little sample liquid, the reagent surface 2A will not be immersed, and if there is too much, the immersion time will be longer and there is a risk that accurate measurements will not be possible. This is to detect the liquid level in advance before immersion and to adjust the degree of insertion of the test piece 2 or to forewarn a shortage of the test liquid. This liquid level detection is performed using two long and short electrodes 54 and 5 supported at the tip of the nozzle arm 53.
Do it in 5. The nozzle arm 53 is driven by a nozzle motor 56, and each electrode 54, 55 is cleaned in a cleaning tank 57 after each measurement.The longer electrode 54 also serves as a suction nozzle, from which the The test liquid is led to a specific gravity unit 58 and its specific gravity is measured. However, if suction is performed prior to immersing the test piece 2, the liquid level will drop, so this amount may be predicted in advance, or the liquid level may be detected once, and then suction may be performed after immersion. These operations are performed by controlling the rotation of the turntable 36. Note that this liquid level detection may be performed using an optical sensor using reflected light or the like.

As described in detail above, the present invention provides a
Hold and lift the grip of the test piece that is supplied one by one, insert the reagent side of the test piece into the sample liquid in the sample container that is sent one by one, and immerse it for a predetermined time. This is a continuous automatic analysis method and apparatus using a reagent piece, which is set on a support table and then photometrically measured on the reagent surface after a predetermined period of time. Therefore, Dip
Using a read-type test piece, all processes such as taking out the test piece, immersing it in the test liquid, photometry, calculation, and disposal can be performed automatically. The burden on the operator is greatly reduced compared to the previous model, and since there are no variations in the immersion time or the time from immersion to the start of measurement, there are no measurement errors, and the operator only needs to inject the test liquid into the sample container. It is possible to save labor because only one person needs to do this. In addition, without using a special test piece for automatic analyzer,
Test pieces that can be used for visual inspection can be directly used in this continuous automatic analyzer, making it highly versatile.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the device of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram thereof, Fig. 3 is a side view of the test piece, Fig. 4a is a perspective view showing the automatic test piece feeding mechanism, b is also a partial vertical sectional view, and Fig. 5 is a cassette type automatic test piece feeding mechanism. It is a perspective view showing an example of a device. 1... Continuous automatic analyzer, 2... Test piece, 2A
... Reagent surface, 2B ... Gripping section, 3 ... Test piece automatic operation mechanism, 4 ... Test piece automatic supply mechanism, 5 ... Sample container supply mechanism, 6 ... Photometry mechanism, 7 ... Control section, 10 ... Liquid level detection mechanism, 11 ... Test piece holder, 12 ... Arm, 13 ... Arm drive shaft, 14 ... Shaft rotation motor, 17 ...
Shaft, 18... Vertical drive motor, 20...
Left and right drive motor, 22... Left and right drive shaft, 24... Release, 25... Solenoid, 2
6...Hopper, 27...Test piece insertion groove, 28...
...Bottom, 29...Wall surface, 29a...Inner wall surface, 30
...Wall surface, 30a...Inner wall surface, 34...Detector,
35... Lever of reversing mechanism, 36... Sample turntable, 40... Photometry section (6), 41... Reaction turntable (6), 44... Optical system, 4
6...Cassette, 53...Nozzle arm, 54...
... Long electrode (suction nozzle), 55 ... Short electrode, 56
... Nozzle motor, 58 ... Specific gravity unit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Take out the test pieces one by one from the test piece automatic supply mechanism, hold the test pieces by the test piece automatic operation mechanism, transfer them to the upper part of the sample containers that are sent sequentially, and remove the test pieces from the sample container. It is immersed in the test liquid in the container, and after a predetermined period of time, it is pulled up and transferred to the upper part of the test piece holder.Then, it is set on the test piece holder and the holding of the test piece is released, and after a predetermined period of time, the reagent surface is automatically photometered. A continuous automatic analysis method using a test piece characterized by: 2. A continuous automatic analysis method using a test piece according to claim 1, wherein the test piece is held by a scissor mechanism at the tip of a drive arm. 3. Prior to immersion of the reagent surface, the height of the liquid level of the sample liquid in the sample container is measured, and the insertion depth of the test piece is determined according to the measured height. Continuous automatic analysis method using the described test piece. 4. A test piece characterized by comprising an automatic test piece supply mechanism and an automatic test piece operation mechanism that holds the test piece taken out from the mechanism, immerses it in a test liquid, and sets it on a test piece support stand. A continuous automatic analyzer using 5. Around the automatic test piece operation mechanism, which has a test piece holder at the tip of the arm that is driven horizontally, vertically, and rotationally by the rotation of the motor, there is an automatic test piece supply mechanism,
The sample container supply mechanism and the photometry mechanism are arranged, and the test piece holder is placed at the test piece take-out position of the automatic test piece supply mechanism, at the test piece immersion position of the sample container supply mechanism, and at the test piece placement position of the support stand of the photometry mechanism. Controls the rotation of the motor to move sequentially, and also controls the drive of the automatic specimen operation mechanism, the drive of the sample container supply mechanism, the drive of the support stand and photometry section of the photometry mechanism, and input/output to the control section. A continuous automatic analyzer using the test piece according to claim 4, comprising an operating section. 6. The automatic test piece feeding mechanism has a hopper for feeding the test piece, which has a bottom part with a test piece insertion groove and a wall part including two inner wall surfaces parallel to the groove, and slides the bottom part to insert the test piece into the test piece insertion groove. A continuous automatic analyzer using the test piece according to claim 4 or 5, which is moved outside the hopper. 7. A continuous automatic analyzer using the test piece according to claim 4 or 5, which is provided with a liquid level detection mechanism on the side of the sample container supply mechanism. 8. A continuous automatic analyzer using a test piece according to claim 7, wherein the liquid level detection mechanism includes two electrodes, a signal processing circuit thereof, and an electrode drive motor. 9. A continuous automatic analyzer using the test piece according to claim 8, in which one of the electrodes is a suction nozzle.