JPH0682460A - Automatic analysis device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automate complex pretreatments and to secure a relatively long time for the pretreatments of a sample in a normal automatic analysis device. CONSTITUTION:An automatic analysis device 1 has a plurality of reaction containers 2 in which a reagent is mixed and reacted with a sample, a sample sampling mechanism 4 for dispensing the sample into the reaction containers 2, reagent sampling mechanisms 5, 6 for adding the reagent to the reaction containers 2, and a control portion. The normal analytical treatment means of the control portion control the sample sampling mechanism 4 and the reagent sampling mechanisms 5, 6 so as to mix the reagent with the sample. The pretreatment means of the control means control the reagent sampling mechanisms 5, 6 to perform a chemical pretreatment wherein a pretreatment liquid is mixed with the sample in one reaction container 2, and then cause the sample sampling mechanism 4 to reabsorb a part or the whole of the mixed liquid and discharge it into another reaction container 2.

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 automatically analyzing components of a specimen sample such as blood and urine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an automatic analyzer for automatically analyzing components of a specimen sample such as blood and urine, there is disclosed, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-62.
There is one described in Japanese Patent No. 159049. In this kind of automatic analyzer, a plurality of reaction vessels are arranged in a circular shape, and the plurality of reaction vessels are rotated and stopped in the circumferential direction for each cycle, and various analysis steps are executed when stopped. . When a diluted solution is added to the reaction vessel into which the sample has been injected before adding the reagent, the diluted sample discharging means dilutes the sample. Next, a certain amount of diluted sample is sampled from the reaction container containing the diluted sample and discharged into the reaction container at a predetermined position.After that, a reagent such as a reaction solution is added to the sample diluted sample for analysis. Done.

As another example of the above-mentioned automatic analyzer, for example, JP-A-3-25368 and JP-A-3-25368.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 65654.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional automatic analyzer, when it is necessary to dilute the sample before adding the reagent to the sample for analysis, a reaction container is used. The sample is pre-diluted. Therefore, it is convenient when pre-diluting the sample, but depending on the sample, various pre-treatments such as adding a pre-treatment liquid may be necessary, which is inconvenient when performing the pre-treatment of the sample. Will end up.

That is, when the sample is simply pre-diluted, the time from diluting the sample to re-pipetting (preparation) may be short, and it is sufficient that the sample is evenly diluted. However, when pretreating a sample, the items required for pretreatment differ depending on the sample, so the time from mixing the pretreatment liquid to the sample and re-pipetting is 5
Minutes to 10 minutes are often needed. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional automatic analyzer, the pretreatment of the sample is not taken into consideration, and there is a disadvantage that the pretreatment must be performed by a separate instrument or the like.

By the way, the pretreatment analysis of a sample means that a pretreatment liquid (for example, a stabilizer or the like) is added to the sample (not limited to one type, but may be various types), and some time (3 After re-pipetting after about 10 minutes),
A method in which a reaction reagent is added and the absorbance is measured and analyzed. In the past, a complicated operation was manually performed (the sample pretreatment is required depending on the measurement items such as digoxin). .

The object of the present invention is to automate the pretreatment requiring complicated operations without using special equipment by utilizing the equipment required for ordinary sample analysis, and to prepare the sample pretreatment time. It is an object of the invention to realize an automatic analyzer for a specimen sample that can secure a relatively long time.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. In an automatic analyzer having a plurality of reaction vessels for mixing a sample with a reagent for reaction, a sample sampling mechanism for dispensing the sample into these reaction vessels, and a reagent sampling mechanism for adding a reagent to the reaction vessel, a sample sampling mechanism And a reagent sampling mechanism for controlling the mixing of a reagent or a diluent into the sample, and a reagent sampling mechanism for mixing the pretreatment liquid with the sample in the reaction container prior to the normal analysis by the normal analysis processing means. After the chemical pretreatment, a pretreatment means for performing control to re-aspirate a part or all of the mixed solution by the sample sampling mechanism and discharge it to another reaction container.

Preferably, in the above automatic analyzer,
The plurality of reaction vessels are arranged in a circular reaction disk in a circular shape at substantially equal intervals, and the reaction disks are periodically rotationally moved at a predetermined rotation angle and stopped for a predetermined time. At least a sample / reagent / diluent suction / discharge operation and a component measurement operation are performed therein. Further, preferably, in the above-mentioned automatic analyzer, if the period from the initial position state of the reaction disc to the start of rotation and the return to the initial position state is one revolution, the pretreatment and analysis are performed while the reaction disc makes approximately two revolutions. Processing is performed. Further, preferably, in the automatic analyzer, the pretreatment is performed while the reaction disk makes one revolution.

[0010]

[Function] In a normal analysis in which a sample stock solution and a reagent are mixed to measure a color change due to a reaction, a sample sampling mechanism is controlled by a normal analysis processing means to dispense the sample stock solution, and reagent sampling is performed. The mechanism is controlled to dispense the reagent. In the pre-dilution analysis of the sample, in the pre-dilution step, the sample sampling mechanism by the pre-dilution processing means is used for dispensing the sample stock solution, the reagent sampling mechanism is used for dispensing the diluting solution, and in the subsequent analysis step, The sample sampling mechanism is used to re-pipette the diluted sample and the reagent sampling mechanism is used to dispense the reagent.

In the pretreatment analysis of the sample, in the pretreatment step, the sample sampling mechanism is used for dispensing the sample stock solution and the reagent sampling mechanism is used for dispensing the pretreatment solution by the pretreatment means. , The sample sampling mechanism is used for re-pipetting the pretreated sample, and the reagent sampling mechanism is used for reagent dispensing. Therefore, ordinary analysis processing, predilution analysis processing, and pretreatment analysis can be performed with the conventional apparatus as they are, and labor can be saved.

Further, since a plurality of reaction vessels are arranged in a circular reaction disk and the reaction disk is made to circulate approximately twice, a relatively long time after mixing the sample and the pretreatment liquid ( Re-pipette is possible for 5 minutes or more),
Pretreatment analysis can be reliably performed.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment. It should be noted that the present embodiment is an example of the case where the reaction disk is rotated twice.

In FIG. 1, 1 is an automatic analyzer, 2 is a reaction container, and 3 is a reaction disk. The automatic analyzer 1 has a reaction disk 3 formed around a reaction disk 3 formed in a circular shape. A sample sampling mechanism 4 for dispensing a sample, a second reagent sampling mechanism 6 for adding a second reagent, a first reagent sampling mechanism 5 for adding a first reagent, and a reaction container 2 are washed along the rotation direction. The cleaning mechanism 7 and the absorbance measuring unit 8 for measuring the absorbance of the specimen sample in the reaction container 2 are provided.

The reaction disk 3 is formed in a circular shape, and 40 reaction vessels 2 for accommodating a sample are arranged in the circumferential direction, and are rotated and stopped in the counterclockwise direction in the figure by a driving device. Therefore, the angle (angle per reaction container) in the circumferential direction between the adjacent reaction containers 2 is 9 degrees, and in this embodiment, the reaction disk 3 has one cycle of one half rotation and one reaction container 2 It operates for one minute, that is, 189 ° rotation, and this operation is repeated for many cycles. Then, in each cycle, sample dispensing, reagent addition, etc. are performed every time the reaction disk 3 is stopped. The sample sampling mechanism 4 includes a sample table in which a large number of sample cups 10 containing various samples are arranged, a sampling probe which sucks a predetermined sample from the sample cup 10 and dispenses the sample into the reaction container, Sampling arm 11 for moving the sampling probe
It has and. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the sampling probe is moved on the locus of the circle by the movement of the sampling arm 11. In this example, the circular locus is
Around the center of the S position of the reaction disk 3 and two Ds located in front of the S position in the rotational direction.
It is set so as to pass through the center of the S position and the vicinity thereof, and the sample is dispensed into the reaction container 2 at the S position.

The first reagent sampling mechanism 5 and the second reagent
The reagent sampling mechanism 6 includes various reagent bottles 12, 1
4, a reagent table on which a large number of 4 are arranged, a reagent bottle 12,
A sampling probe for inhaling a predetermined reagent from 14 and dispensing it into the reaction container 2 and sampling arms 13, 15 for moving each sampling probe are provided. In addition, the first reagent sampling mechanism 5
Is set so that the sampling probe moves along the reaction container 2 located at the position R1 which is rotated 189 ° forward in the rotational direction from the position S, and the first reagent is dispensed. Be seen. Therefore, R
The angle in the direction of rotation from position 1 to position DS is 189 °. Second reagent sampling mechanism 6
In the present embodiment, is set to be a locus that moves on the reaction container 2 located at the position of R2 described later,
When necessary, the second reagent is dispensed.

The cleaning mechanism 7 is provided with a first nozzle 18, a second nozzle 19 and a third nozzle 20, each of which includes a water supply nozzle 16 and a suction nozzle 17 as a set.
8, 19, and 20 are arranged in every other reaction vessel 2. The cleaning mechanism 7 also includes a water supply pump 21 that supplies water to each water supply nozzle 16, and a suction pump 22 that sucks the cleaned water from the suction nozzle 17.

The absorbance measuring device 8 includes a light source 24 installed on the inner peripheral side of the circular reaction disc 3 and the reaction disc 3.
And a photometer 25 installed on the outer peripheral side of the reaction container 2
, A photometer 25 each time it crosses the light emitted from the light source 24.
Thus, the change in color of the reaction liquid in the reaction container 2 is measured.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the drive unit 26 of the reaction disk 3, the sample sampling mechanism 4, the first reagent sampling mechanism 5, the second reagent sampling mechanism 6 and the cleaning mechanism 7 are connected to the control unit 30. An input unit 31 is connected to the control unit 30. Then, by setting various processes by the input unit 31, the reaction disk 3
Rotation and stop operation, rotation and stop operation of each table of the sample sampling mechanism 4, the first reagent sampling mechanism 5 and the second reagent sampling mechanism 6, driving of each arm 13 and 15, suction and discharge operation by the sampling probe, The vertical drive of each nozzle 18, 19, 20 of the cleaning mechanism 7 and the drive of each pump 21, 22 are controlled. In addition, photometer 2
An absorbance analysis unit 27 is connected to 5, and a display unit 28 is connected to the analysis unit 27. The analysis unit 27 and the display unit 28 are also controlled by the control unit 30. It should be noted that the reaction disc 3, the sample sampling mechanism 4, the first reagent sampling mechanism 5, the second reagent sampling mechanism 6 and the like are controlled to perform a normal analysis process, a normal analysis processing means 32, and a pre-dilution processing means. 33, the pretreatment means 34 for performing the pretreatment analysis is constituted by the microcomputer of the control unit 30.

Next, the operation of the automatic analyzer having the above configuration will be described.
A description will be given based on the flowchart shown in FIG. When the analysis of the sample is started, first, in the S position, the sample contained in the sample cup 10 is dispensed into the reaction container 2 by the sample sampling mechanism 4 (step 10).
1). The reaction container 2 into which this sample was dispensed was then
It rotates 9 ° and is stopped at the position of R1 (step 102). Next, it is judged whether or not the preprocessing is necessary (step 103). If the preprocessing is not necessary,
In steps 108 to 113, the normal analysis of the sample or the pre-dilution process is performed. If the preprocessing is necessary, the operations of steps 104 to 113 are performed.

In the case of normal analysis, at the position R1 described above, the first reagent sampling mechanism 5 dispenses the first reagent from a predetermined reagent bottle 14 and adds it to the reaction container 2 (step 108). ). And this first
Step 109 for the reaction container 2 after addition of the reagent
In the above, the reaction disk 3 is sequentially rotated 189 ° and stopped 13 times, and the absorbance is measured by the photometer 25 of the absorbance measuring unit 8 every time the position L is passed. Further, when the reaction disk 3 is rotated by 189 ° and stopped, the sample is sequentially dispensed to the other reaction vessels 2 at the S position, and the other reaction vessels 2 are sequentially placed at the R1 position. The first reagent is added to.

The reaction vessel 2 rotated 189 ° 13 times was R
Then, at step 110, the second reagent sampling mechanism 6 dispenses a second reagent from a predetermined reagent bottle 12 and adds it to the reaction container 2 at step R110. With respect to the reaction container 2 after the addition of the second reagent, in step 111, the operation of rotating and stopping the reaction disk 3 sequentially by 189 ° is performed 20 times, and the absorbance of the absorbance is increased each time the position L is passed. The measurement is taken. Also in this case, the second reagent is sequentially added to the other required reaction vessels 2 at the position of R2.

The reaction vessel 2 rotated 189 ° 20 times is stopped at the position of the first nozzle 18 of the cleaning mechanism 7, and the step 1
At 12, the reaction liquid in the reaction vessel 2 is sucked and discharged by the suction nozzle 17 of the first nozzle 18 and washed by the cleaning liquid from the water supply nozzle 16, and then the reaction disk 3 is rotated 189 ° only twice. Such an operation is repeated three times, and the same reaction container 2 is sequentially washed by the second nozzle 19 and the third nozzle 20. In such a normal analysis, as shown in FIG. 4, the first reagent (0 minutes) was added at the position 1 of R1 and the second reagent (5 minutes) was added at the position of R2, and after about 10 minutes, washing was performed. Mechanism 7 (first nozzle 18,
The reaction container 2 is washed by the second nozzle 19 and the third nozzle 20). Then, in step 113, it is judged whether or not there is a next analysis. If there is no next analysis, the analysis ends, and if there is a next analysis, the process returns to step 101 and the same processing is repeated.

When the pretreatment is necessary, the pretreatment liquid is added to the reaction container 2 from the predetermined bottle 14 by the first reagent sampling mechanism 5 at the position R1 (step 104). As for the reaction vessel 2 after the addition of, in step 105, the reaction disk 3 is sequentially rotated 189 ° and stopped 40 times (for one rotation).
As shown in FIG. 4, the reaction treatment with the pretreatment liquid is performed from about 12 minutes after the sample is dispensed. In this pretreatment, the measurement of the absorbance by the photometer 25 and the cleaning by the cleaning mechanism 7 are not performed.

Reaction vessel 2 rotated 189 ° 40 times
Stops at the DS position. That is, the reaction container 2 returns to the original position of S when 40 cycles (about 12 minutes for one revolution) of the rotational movement of 189 ° which is one cycle is returned to the position of DS when 41 cycles are repeated. In other words, the reaction disk 3 makes one rotation in 40 cycles, where one rotation makes it possible to start rotation and return to the initial position again. Then, the reaction disk 3 reaches the DS position in 41 cycles. At the DS position, the sample sampling mechanism 4 sucks the reaction liquid in the reaction container 2 (step 106), and re-pipettes (discharges) it into the reaction container 2 at the S position (step 107). afterwards,
With respect to the reaction container 2 in which the reaction solution has been put in by the re-pipette, normal processing using the above-mentioned reagent (step 108)
~ 113) are performed.

If necessary, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, in the middle of step 105 of the pretreatment step, about 5 minutes after the sample is dispensed, the second sampling mechanism is placed at the position R2. The addition of the second reagent according to 6 may be performed.

When the sample is pre-diluted,
In the above-mentioned ordinary process, a diluent is used as the first reagent, and the sample sampling mechanism 4 sucks the sample at the DS position after one rotation and movement, and re-pipettes (discharges) it into another reaction container 2 at the S position. For example, it is possible to pre-dilute the sample.

As described above, in this embodiment, when pretreatment of the sample is performed, it is possible to secure a time of about 5 minutes or more after mixing the pretreatment liquid with the sample. Preprocessing can be performed, and the conventional apparatus for normal processing can be used as it is. Furthermore, in addition to the pretreatment of the sample, it is possible to perform normal analysis treatment and predilution treatment.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the above example, the reaction container 2 was rotated and moved by two laps when performing the pretreatment analysis of the sample. However, in the example described below, the process is performed in less than two laps to improve the processing capacity. It is the one.

That is, in the two-round method shown in FIG. 1 (the first lap is used for the pretreatment step and the second lap is used for the analysis step), the pretreatment analysis enters the second lap. At the time, even if the reaction vessel 2 of the pretreatment analysis came down,
Each of the nozzles is configured to pass the reaction container 2 without descending. Therefore, when there is a reaction container 2 to be moved to the second lap in any one of the reaction containers 2 positioned below the first to third nozzles, all of the first to third nozzles are Of these, the reaction container 2 requiring the cleaning process is forcibly moved to the second lap, and as a result, the reaction container 2 requiring the cleaning process cannot be reused as a whole. The processing capacity will decrease. It may be possible to control the driving of each of the first to third nozzles individually, but the control becomes complicated.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the nozzles 18, 19, 2 of the cleaning mechanism 7 are arranged.
It is configured such that a decrease in processing capacity can be prevented while simultaneously driving 0s. That is, in the present embodiment, the re-pipette is not performed in the second round, but as shown in FIG. 6, the re-pipette is performed in about seven minutes of the first round. Also in this embodiment, since the half rotation and the rotation system of one reaction container (189 °) are used in one cycle, one cycle after the addition of the second pretreatment liquid at the position of R2, As shown in 5, the reaction vessel is R2 + 1
It will stop at the position, and after 7 cycles, it will stop at the R2 + 7 position. R2 + 7 position is
It is located between S and DS and can be re-pipetted. In this case, when there is no allowance in the geometrical dimensions of the reaction container 2 and the sampling probe, the rotation center of the arm 11 of the sample sampling mechanism 4 can be shifted and moved as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. It becomes possible to insert the sampling probe into the center of the reaction container 2.

By doing so, the reaction container to be wasted can be minimized, the deterioration of the processing capacity can be prevented to the minimum, and the pretreatment time can be sufficiently secured as in the above embodiment.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the automatic analyzer, the normal analysis processing means for controlling the mixing of the reagent or the diluent with the sample and the pretreatment liquid with the sample in the reaction container are mixed. After that, a pretreatment unit for performing control to re-aspirate a part or all of the mixed liquid and discharge the mixed liquid into another reaction container. Therefore, it becomes possible to automatically perform the pretreatment which conventionally requires a complicated operation manually, and it is possible to save labor. In addition, a sufficient time required for the pretreatment can be ensured, and reliable pretreatment can be performed. Furthermore, by using the conventional apparatus as it is, ordinary analysis items and items requiring pretreatment can be analyzed at the same time, and predilution can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control unit in the example of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of preprocessing analysis in the example of FIG.

4 is an explanatory diagram of a pretreatment analysis process in the example of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of an automatic analyzer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an explanatory diagram of a preprocessing analysis process in the example of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic analyzer 2 Reaction container 3 Reaction disk 4 Sample sampling mechanism 5 1st reagent sampling mechanism 6 2nd reagent sampling mechanism 7 Cleaning mechanism 8 Absorbance measurement part 26 Reaction disk drive part 27 Analysis part 28 Display part 30 Control part 31 Input part 32 normal analysis processing means 33 pre-dilution processing means 34 pre-processing means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic analysis having a plurality of reaction vessels for mixing a sample with a reagent for reaction, a sample sampling mechanism for dispensing the sample into these reaction vessels, and a reagent sampling mechanism for adding a reagent to the reaction vessel. In the device, the normal analysis processing means for controlling the mixing of the reagent or the diluent into the sample by the sample sampling mechanism and the reagent sampling mechanism, and the inside of the reaction vessel by the reagent sampling mechanism prior to the normal analysis by the normal analysis processing means After the chemical pretreatment of mixing the pretreatment liquid with the sample of 1., a pretreatment means for performing control so that part or all of the mixed liquid is re-sucked by the sample sampling mechanism and discharged into another reaction container, An automatic analyzer characterized by the features. 2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The plurality of reaction vessels are arranged in a circular reaction disk in a circular shape at substantially equal intervals, and the reaction disks are periodically rotationally moved at predetermined rotation angles and stopped for a predetermined time. An automatic analyzer characterized in that at least a sample / reagent / diluent suction / discharge operation and a component measurement operation are performed during a period. 3. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2, wherein
When the rotation from the initial position state of the reaction disk to the start of rotation and the return to the initial position state is one revolution, the pretreatment and the analysis process are performed while the reaction disc makes approximately two revolutions. Automatic analyzer. 4. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
If the period from the initial position state of the reaction disk to the start of rotation and the return to the initial position state is one revolution, the pretreatment is performed while the reaction disc makes one revolution. Analysis equipment.