JPH05302926A - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to inspect the especially required inspection item in high priority when the amount of the sample required for inspecting items is short by performing the analysis based on the inspecting priority specified for every sample. CONSTITUTION:When a processing in a priority inspection mode is specified, a control device 11 computes the number of the inspection items (number of priority items), which can undergo the priority inspection, from the amount of samples to be actually measured and gives the instruction of the sucking of the sample corresponding to the number to a sampling device 5. The sampling device 5 sucks the specified amount of the sample out of a sampling container 4 based on the command and distributes the required amount of the sample into each reaction container 2. The control device 11 drives and controls a reagent pippet device 6 so that reagent corresponding to the priority inspection item is distributed into the corresponding container 2. The control device 11 gives the control command to an optical measuring device 7 so as to perform optical measurement. The operation processing part of the control device 11 is controlled so as to perform the required operation processing based on the absorbance of the selected wavelength.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer for analyzing, for example, when a sample amount required for a test item is insufficient based on a designated test order.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional automatic analyzers of a so-called random access type, which continuously measure a plurality of inspection items with one automatic analyzer, are driven and controlled in a state in which inspection orders to be measured in advance are fixed. In the case of a specimen sample in which the total amount of specimen samples required for multiple test items is insufficient, it is not possible to specify specific test items and perform preferential testing. In such a case, it is necessary to retake the sample sample due to insufficient sample volume, etc., until the analysis result of the sample sample is obtained, the burden of re-collecting blood on the patient and the burden of re-analyzing on the test side increase. It has a problem that it requires a lot of time and labor.

The present invention was devised in view of the present situation, and an object thereof is to, for example, when the amount of specimen sample required for a test item is insufficient, a specified test order is applied. Based on this, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic analyzer capable of preferentially inspecting necessary inspection items.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the automatic analyzer according to the present invention is characterized in that analysis is performed based on a test order designated for each sample.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer A according to this embodiment has a reaction container holder 1 formed in a ring shape.
And 50 which is detachably held in the reaction vessel holder 1.
The reaction container 2 of the book and the reaction container holder 1 are rotationally controlled to transfer each reaction container 2 to each of a sample dispensing position a, a reagent dispensing position b, an optical measuring position c, and a washing position d. A driving device (not shown), a sampling device 5 for dispensing a required amount of specimen sample from the sample container 4 into the reaction container 2 at the sample dispensing position a, and a reagent corresponding to the measurement item in the reaction container 2. A reagent pipette device 6 for dispensing, an optical measuring device 7 for optically colorimetrically measuring the reaction coloration state of a sample and a reagent, and an electrolyte analyzer for measuring the electrolyte of the sample sample supplied by the sampling device 5. 8, the cleaning device 9 for cleaning the inside of the reaction container 2 after the optical measurement, and the measurement data from the liquid amount detection device (not shown) attached to the sampling device 5 and the inspection request items are compared. The above each mechanism And a control unit 11 for driving and controlling, and a. In the figure, reference numeral 10 is a power source and reference numeral 12
Is an operating part, reference numeral 14 is a temperature control device, and reference numeral 15 is C
Reference numeral 16 is a display device such as RT, reference numeral 16 is a floppy disk driver into which a floppy disk for storing command signals for driving and controlling the automatic analyzer and analysis data is detachably inserted, reference numeral 17 is a printer, and reference numeral 18 is a printer. Indicates a reagent pump, and reference numeral 19 indicates a sampling pump.

The reaction container holder 1 is formed to have a substantially concave cross section so that the reaction container 2 can be held, and can be rotated stepwise in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 by a driving device such as a pulse motor. Drive control.

That is, the reaction container holder 1 dispenses the first reagent corresponding to the measurement item into the reaction container 2 at the reagent dispensing position b which is the starting point for starting the apparatus from the ready state, and then the reaction is performed. The container holder 1 is rotated clockwise by 17 containers (122.4 degrees) in FIG. 1 (hereinafter, this transfer state is referred to as the first step rotation), the reaction container 2 is transferred to the sample dispensing position a, and After a predetermined analyte sample is dispensed into the reaction container 2 at the sample dispensing position a, the reaction container holder 1 is again placed in the clockwise direction in FIG.
(Hereinafter, this transfer state is referred to as the second step rotation), and the reaction container 2 at the sample dispensing position a is advanced by one container (7.2 degrees) from the reagent dispensing position b,
That is, by transferring to the stirring position h and repeating this,
As a result, drive control is performed so that each reaction container 2 is intermittently transferred one by one counterclockwise in FIG. The second reagent is dispensed into another reaction container 2 at the reagent dispensing position b when one reaction container 2 is set at the sample dispensing position a. Of course, the second step rotation may be set so as to advance a distance of 68 containers (489.6 degrees) counterclockwise in FIG. At this time, the reaction vessels 2 are intermittently transferred one by one in the clockwise direction in FIG.

On the other hand, the reaction vessel 2 has the same structure as a known transparent prismatic reaction vessel, and as described above, 50 reaction vessels 2 are arranged in the reaction vessel holder 1 at regular intervals. Held in. Of course, in order to facilitate the attachment / detachment work of the reaction container 2 to / from the reaction container holder 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the reaction container 2 may be configured to be held in reaction container cassettes in groups of five. ..

The sample container 4 is formed of a material such as synthetic resin in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a plurality of sample containers 4 are held by an endless belt-shaped chain 20. The sample container 4 is driven by a driving device (not shown). 4 is sequentially intermittently transferred to the sample suction position e. On the outer peripheral surface of the sample container 4, a label (not shown), which is a bar-coded and printed information (for example, patient registration number, examination type, hospital code, etc.) regarding the stored specimen sample, is attached. The information is read by the barcode reader R at the time of sampling and automatically input to the control device.

The sampling device 5 has an arm 5b whose one end is axially supported by a shaft 5a, a pipette 5c arranged at the other end of the arm 5b, and a liquid amount detecting device (not shown) attached to the pipette 5c. No)), and is composed of.

The above-mentioned liquid amount detecting device has a sample suction position e.
For automatically measuring the amount of the specimen sample in the sample container 4, for example, known liquid amount detecting means for converting the conduction height position of the two electrodes into the liquid amount and obtaining the amount of the specimen sample. Well-known means such as a liquid amount detecting means using an optical sensor can be applied, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

In this way, after the sample volume in each sample container 4 (hereinafter referred to as the actually measured sample volume) is measured, the data is input to the control unit 11 and is preliminarily set. It is compared and examined with the absolute specimen sample amount required for the number of test items for the specimen sample entered in (see FIG. 2). The absolute specimen sample amount is manually input to the control device 11 by the keyboard of the operation unit / display 15 described later, or is automatically input to the control device 11 by reading the inspection items and the like by OCR. It is calculated and calculated from the number of inspection items.

When the actually measured sample amount is larger than the absolute sample amount, the pipette 5c sucks a required amount of the sample sample at the sample suction position e, and then, as shown in FIG.
It is rotated clockwise to discharge the sucked specimen sample to the reaction container 2 at the sample dispensing position a, or it is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1 to collect the sucked specimen sample in the electrolyte analyzer. Driving control is performed so as to supply into the flow cell (not shown) at the specimen sample dispensing position f of 8.

On the other hand, when the control device 11 determines that the actually measured sample amount is less than the absolute sample amount, as shown in FIG. The sampling container 4 accommodated therein is passed, and the fact is output to the display 15 or the printer 17 or the sampling process is performed in the priority inspection mode described later.

As the electrolyte analysis device 8, a known electrolyte analysis device of a discrete type using a probe type ion selective electrode and a reference electrode, a continuous flow type electrolyte analysis device having a simple structure and easy operation are known. However, in this embodiment, it is desirable to apply a continuous flow type electrolyte analyzer having a simple structure.

That is, the electrolyte analyzer 8 according to this embodiment.
Although not shown, has a cell chamber through which the specimen sample diluted with a carrier liquid flows, an ion selective electrode and a reference electrode, and the sensitive surface of the ion selective electrode and the liquid junction of the reference electrode are exposed in the cell chamber. A flow cell unit arranged so as to, a means for sending a sample sample diluted with the carrier liquid so as to flow in the cell chamber, a signal processing unit for processing an electrical output signal from the ion selective electrode, And a cleaning device.

The ion electrode exposed facing the cell chamber may be one kind, but it is preferable to provide a plurality of kinds such as sodium, potassium and chlorine. As the carrier liquid, a standard liquid whose electrolyte concentration is adjusted to a predetermined value is usually used.

A reagent pipette device 6 for dispensing a reagent corresponding to a measurement item includes a reagent container holder 6a arranged in a ring shape on the outer periphery of the reaction container holder 1 and the reagent holder 6a in the clockwise direction in FIG. Is a drive device (not shown) for controlling rotation in the counterclockwise direction, a required number of first reagent containers 6c or second reagent containers 6d that are detachably installed in parallel in the reagent container holder 6a, 1 reagent aspirating position g ₁ or the second reagent aspirating position is g ₂ from the incoming reagent container 6c or the 6d on the sucking first or second reagent requirements reagent dispensing position b the reaction vessel 2 Reagent pipette 6 for dispensing the reagent aspirated into
e. The first reagent is kept cold at 8 ° C to 10 ° C by the first reagent cooler (not shown), and the second reagent is kept in the second reagent cooler (not shown).
Therefore, the temperature is always kept at 8 ° C to 10 ° C.

The reagent container holder 6a is controlled to rotate in the normal and reverse directions according to a command from the control device, and the reagent container 6 corresponding to the measurement item.
c or 6d is transferred to the reagent suction positions g ₁ and g ₂ .
The reagent suction positions g ₁ , g of the reagent container 6c or 6d
_As the transfer means to ₂ , it is possible to apply a known moving mechanism such as a slide rail and a step motor drive,
Further, each of the first and second reagent containers 6c or 6d to be set is set at a predetermined position and the type of the stored reagent is stored in the control device.

Next, the reagent pipette 6e is arranged at the other end of the arm 6g which rotates about the shaft 6f, and the reagent pipette 6e is transferred to the washing position after the reagent dispensing.
Cleaning work is performed.

The agitator 21 attached to the arm 6g is inserted into the reaction container 2 at a position h one container upstream from the reagent dispensing position b in synchronization with the reagent suction operation of the reagent pipette 6e. Then, the mixed liquid (sample) of the specimen sample and the reagent in the reaction container 2 is stirred and mixed. Of course, the stirring body 21 is transferred to the cleaning position after the stirring work and is subjected to the cleaning work.

In the reagent measuring method, the wicking system is filled with distilled water, and the reagent and distilled water are suctioned and measured in a state of being separated from each other via air, and then only the reagent is discharged. The inside of the reagent pipette 6e is washed from the rear through washing water, and the outside is washed with distilled water. Also,
The reagent pipette 6e is provided with a suction amount confirmation device (not shown) having a known configuration for confirming the suction amount of the reagent, and detects the absolute amount of the reagent each time the reagent suction operation is performed. When the reagent amount is insufficient, this is automatically corrected.

The optical measuring device 7 forming the detecting portion or the observation point includes all the reaction vessels 2 passing through the optical measuring position c.
It is a colorimetric measurement of the reaction state of the sample inside, and although it is not shown in detail in the figure, the light source and the measurement light from this light source are measured in the same manner as the configuration and operation of a known diffraction grating type optical measuring device. An optical system (not shown) that guides light through an optical fiber to irradiate the reaction container 2, a light dispersion element, and a light receiving element that receives the amount of light after the measurement light has passed through the reaction container 5 at predetermined wavelengths. The control device selects the absorbance value and the absorbance of the sample after the second reagent is dispensed from among these, and stores the data in the storage unit.

That is, the light quantity of the wavelength corresponding to the measurement item received by the light receiving element is converted into a voltage and the analysis value thereof is processed, and the storage section (not shown) for storing the measurement result. And a data processing device including an operating unit / display 15 for performing all operations of the automatic analyzer and a printer 17, and the result is displayed on the display 1 together with a reaction time course.
5 or output to the printer 17 or the like.

The washing device 9 is constructed in the same manner as a known multi-stage washing device having a washing water supply device 9a and a washing water draining device 9b. The washing operation by the washing device 9 is carried out at the reagent dispensing position b. In step 2, the second reagent is dispensed in synchronization with the dispensing timing. That is, in the cleaning work, in the first stage, the sample in the reaction container 2 after the optical measurement is aspirated and discarded, and in the second stage, cleaning water is supplied to stir and clean the inside of the reaction container 2, and the third stage Then, the cleaning water is aspirated and discarded, and in the fourth stage, the cleaning water is supplied again into the reaction vessel 2 to supply the cleaning water.
The inside is stirred and washed, and the fifth stage is configured to suck and discard the washing water. Of course, the number of cleanings is not limited to the two-stage cleaning as in this embodiment, and it is possible to set a larger number of cleanings according to the requirement of cleaning accuracy.

On the other hand, the control unit 11 is composed of a well-known microprocessor (MPU), drives and controls each of the above-mentioned mechanisms at a predetermined timing, and arithmetically processes the data measured by the optical measuring device 7. The output is controlled to the display 15 or the printer 17.

Further, the control device 11 is configured to have a determination circuit for comparing the actually measured sample amount to the absolute sample amount, and as described above, the actually measured sample amount is equal to the absolute sample amount. If the amount is larger, a required amount of the specimen sample is sucked and dispensed into the reaction container 2 or / and the flow cell of the electrolyte analyzer 8, and then the required amount of the reagent corresponding to the measurement item is dispensed. Noted, as with conventional automatic analyzers,
The analysis processing is performed according to the procedure based on the inspection order designated in advance.

On the other hand, when the actually measured sample amount is less than the absolute sample amount, the controller 11 determines that the sample is insufficient and allows the sample container 4 containing the sample sample to pass without sampling. Alternatively, each mechanism is driven and controlled so as to perform the processing in the priority order inspection mode.

In the priority inspection mode, when the sample amount of the sample is insufficient, which test item should be preferentially analyzed from the originally analyzed test items is specified, and the range of the measured sample amount of the sample is specified based on this specification. Analysis processing is performed in the inside.
The priority inspection order is specified manually by the keyboard of the operation unit / display 15, or the inspection item specified in the priority inspection order column of the inspection request form is OCR.
Can be configured to specify by automatically reading. Of course, the priority inspection order may be designated and input by the barcode label attached to the sample container 4, and the designation information may be read by the barcode reader.

When the processing in the priority inspection mode is designated in this way, the control device 11 calculates the number of inspection items that can be inspected in the priority order (hereinafter referred to as the number of priority items) from the measured sample amount of the sample. The sampling device 5 is instructed to aspirate the specimen sample corresponding to the number of priority items, and the sampling device 5 suctions the specimen sample from the sampling container 4 by the instruction amount based on the instruction. While dispensing the required amount into each reaction container 2, the control device 11 drives and controls the reagent pipette device 6 to dispense the reagent corresponding to these priority inspection items into the corresponding reaction container 2. In addition, a control command is output to the optical measuring device 7 so that the wavelength corresponding to the corresponding priority inspection item is selected and the optical measurement is performed. Of course, the arithmetic processing unit of the control layer 11 is controlled to perform necessary arithmetic processing based on the absorbance of the selected wavelength.

In the above embodiment, the case where the amount of the specimen sample is measured by the liquid level detection device attached to the pipette has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. Before setting in the automatic analyzer, measure the liquid amount in each sample container 4 in advance,
The data can be configured to be input to the control device 11, or by measuring the fluid shortage of the blood collection tube,
Corresponding to this, the automatic analyzer can be configured to be driven and controlled.

[0033]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the present invention is configured as described above, priority is given to particularly necessary test items based on the designated test order when the sample quantity required for the test items is insufficient. Therefore, there is an excellent effect that the burden of re-drawing blood on the patient and the burden of re-analysis on the examination side can be significantly reduced as a result.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control flow chart of a control device in the automatic analyzer.

[Explanation of sign]

 A automatic analyzer 1 reaction container holder 2 reaction container 6 reagent pipette device 7 optical measurement device 11 control device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic analyzer which performs analysis based on a test order designated for each sample.