JPH08220088A - Hematocrit value measuring implement for total blood - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an implement which can simply visually measure the hematocrit value of total blood. CONSTITUTION: An implement comprises a developing layer 2, a layer containing water-soluble indicating substance and a gel made of a dry polymer absorbent sequentially provided at the end of the one side of a light permeable pipe 1 engraved with a scale. Total blood is drip-adhered to the layer 2 side, and the blood in which the substance is dissolved is absorbed into the gel to swell the gel. At this time, since the introducing degree of plasma into the gel depends upon the red blood cell concentration in the blood, the quantity of the plasma introduced into the gel, i.e., the swelling degree of the gel is read by the scale engraved at the pipe 1. A hematocrit value is measured from the scale.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a simple measuring tool capable of rapidly measuring the hematocrit value in whole blood.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The hematocrit value in whole blood (hereinafter, simply referred to as hematocrit) indicates the volume percentage of red blood cells in whole blood. The value is used as an index for knowing the degree of anemia, polycythemia, or the like, or is used as a method for correcting the measurement value of a whole blood compatible test piece that may give an incorrect value due to the influence of hematocrit. .

As a conventional method for measuring hematocrit, which is a method of measuring a hematocrit value with a test piece type without using a large-scale device, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-3260 discloses a gel containing a coloration indicator. A method using a medium is disclosed. However, while the above method is simple and convenient so that it can be processed into a test piece, this method and the test piece show that the indicator substance in the wet gel migrates into the whole blood sample, that is, "diffusion". Phenomenon ”is used, so that it has a drawback that it takes time to produce a result.

Similarly, as a measuring material for measuring the hematocrit value in a test piece type, Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-17706 discloses that if whole blood is spotted on a sheet, a concentric circle containing red blood cells and a thin concentric circle containing red blood cells. It is mentioned that the hematocrit value can be measured from the ratio of the diameter of. However, the above method requires a conversion table for determining the ratio of the diameters of the concentric inner circles and the outer diameter of the concentric circles, and a conversion operation for each measurement, which is troublesome.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a simple measuring tool capable of rapidly measuring the hematocrit value in whole blood. Furthermore, it is also one of the objects to provide a measuring tool that does not need to optically measure the measurement result optically using a machine and that can be accurately measured visually.

[0006]

In view of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, as a result of researching a measuring tool capable of obtaining a quicker result, it was found that the above-mentioned problem can be solved by the following method. That is, a device for measuring the hematocrit value in a sample using whole blood as a sample, which is made of a water-swellable dry gel medium in a state of being biased to one end in a pipe made of a light-transmitting material. A hematocrit value measuring device in a whole blood sample, characterized in that a measurement layer, a colored layer containing a water-soluble indicator substance, and a development layer are provided in this order, and the scale is shown on the pipe. .

The absorption rate of a dry gel medium (an index of how much gel absorbs liquid and swells) changes due to the inhibition of absorption of plasma components into the gel by red blood cells in a whole blood sample. . That is, the less red blood cells, the higher the absorption rate of plasma in whole blood into the gel medium, and the larger the amount of plasma in the gel medium. Conversely, the more red blood cells there are, the lower the absorption rate of plasma in whole blood into the gel medium and the smaller the amount of plasma in the gel medium. Therefore, the degree of inhibition of red blood cells can be known by measuring the amount of plasma entering the gel medium, and as a result, the hematocrit value in the whole blood sample can be measured. Since the original gel medium before the measurement is in a dry state, the plasma component is absorbed into the dry gel medium at a very high speed, and a quick measurement can be realized.

When the hematocrit value of a whole blood sample is measured using the measuring tool of the present invention, an appropriate amount of whole blood is spotted from the spreading layer side of the tool. The spotted whole blood is immediately and uniformly spread by the action of the spreading layer. After spreading, the plasma in the whole blood diffuses the water-soluble indicator substance in the colored layer, and the water-soluble indicator substance dissolves in the plasma. Red blood cells, which are particles, cannot enter the measurement layer made of the dry gel medium, but plasma in which the indicator substance is dissolved permeates into the dry gel medium, and the measurement layer swells. At this time, if there are few red blood cells, the gel will swell greatly with a large amount of plasma components, and the gel will extend long in the pipe, and if there are many red blood cells, the gel will swell a little with a small amount of plasma components and stretch short. The degree of extension is read on the scale shown on the pipe. The gel has a coloration of the water-soluble indicator in plasma and is therefore easy to read.

A test tool for measuring hematocrit value, which is different from the present invention, can be prepared by applying the above principle. For example, on a transparent or semi-transparent support, a measurement layer made of a dry gel medium in which a light reflecting agent is mixed, a colored layer containing a water-soluble indicator substance, and a spreading layer for spreading a whole blood sample are provided. Completion by providing in order. However, this test tool is inconvenient in that the detection result cannot be determined without using a dedicated photometric device. However, since the measuring tool of the present invention is a type in which the degree of swelling of the dry gel is read on a scale, there is an advantage that such a dedicated photometric device is not required.

【Constitution】

In the measuring device of the present invention, the gel medium used is an absorbent. This absorbent is a swelling absorbent material whose swelling absorption rate changes with hematocrit. Highly desirable for the present invention is, for example, polyethylene oxide.

The spreading layer of the test device of the present invention is preferably one that can spread the spotted sample uniformly and allow all the components (in this case, whole blood) in the sample to permeate. For example, a water-insoluble fibrous or non-fibrous porous layer whose surface and inside are hydrophilic is used. Regarding the shape and distribution density of the pores, it is suitable that the whole blood component easily penetrates and spreads, and the pore diameter of 3 to 20 μm is suitable. This spreading layer has a role of preventing the gel on the spotting side from being extruded from the pipe when the gel swells, and a role of preventing a colored layer described later from flowing out of the pipe at the moment of spotting.

The colored layer of the test device of the present invention contains a water-soluble indicator substance to be added to a whole blood sample, which is optically detectable and does not denature the whole blood sample.
For example, it may be a colored molecule such as food blue dye 1. The indicator layer may be contained in the colored layer by a method commonly used in this industry, such as a method of impregnating a porous matrix such as filter paper or a method of layering a mixture kneaded with a water-soluble binder. is there. Examples of water-soluble binders include synthetic polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylic acid and polyacrylamide, and natural polymers such as cellulose derivatives and metrolose. These binders may be a single substance or a mixture of two or more kinds.

The pipe containing the layers required for measurement is transparent or translucent and light-transmissive, inert to reagents, and strong enough to hold the colored layer and the measurement layer. Any material may be used as long as it is a material. For example, glass, polyester (such as polyethylene terephthalate), cellulose ester (such as cellulose acetate propionate), and a synthetic resin pipe such as polymethylmethacrylate are used. The inner diameter of the pipe may be about 1 mm, and may be the same as that of a commercially available blood tube.

When laminating the layers, the materials forming these layers may be sequentially packed into the pipe in appropriate amounts, but the pipes must be packed at one end of the pipe in a biased manner. Then, calibrate the surface of the pipe that is in a hollow state opposite to the end. It goes without saying that this scale is determined in advance from the ratio of hematocrit value and swelling ratio.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The basic structure of the hematocrit measuring tool of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 (a conceptual diagram of a cross section), and FIG. 3 shows another embodiment. 2 is a bird's-eye view of the whole image of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a bird's-eye view of the whole image of FIG. The A direction is the spotting side of the whole blood sample. The tool of FIG. 3 is obtained by processing both ends of the pipe of the tool of FIG. 1 and closing it so that the gel and other layers do not protrude outside the pipe when the gel swells. In both of the measurement tools shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the measurement layer 4, which is affected by the hematocrit absorption swelling rate, the coloring layer 3, and the spreading layer 2 are sequentially packed in the light transmissive pipe 1. In FIG. 3, in particular, the air outlet 5 is provided so that the gel swells smoothly because the pipe is blocked. Further, in order to prevent the development layer from being pushed out from the direction A by the gel when it is swollen, several holes 7 (blood sample supply port) are formed in the blocked portion of the pipe.

When measuring the hematocrit value of a whole blood sample in both the measuring tools of FIGS. 1 and 3, first, whole blood is spotted from the direction A of the tool, that is, from the side of the spreading layer 2. Whole blood may have any amount between 3 and 100 μl, and 15 μl or more is a suitable amount as a sufficient amount for measurement. As a method for easily depositing this amount, there is a method in which the end on the A direction side of this device is dipped into blood (one drop is enough). Then, a proper amount of blood is sucked into the spreading layer by capillary action, and the spotting is completed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a slight distance between the opening portion of the pipe and the leading portion of the spreading layer. As a result, even when the device is attached to the blood, the liquid is retained in this portion and is more easily absorbed. The spotted whole blood is spread uniformly by the action of the spreading layer 2 immediately after the spotting. After spreading, the plasma in whole blood disperses the water-soluble indicator substance in the colored layer 3, and the water-soluble indicator substance dissolves in the plasma.

Red blood cells cannot enter the measurement layer 4 made of a dry gel medium, but plasma in which the indicator substance is dissolved permeates into the dry gel medium and the measurement layer 4 swells. At this time, the degree of permeation is affected by the red blood cells, so the gel medium swells while being affected by the hematocrit value. The gel medium swells while being affected by the hematocrit value.At this time, if there are few red blood cells, a large amount of plasma components will cause the gel to swell greatly, and the gel will elongate in the pipe. The gel swells up a little and expands shortly. The degree of extension is read on the scale 6 shown on the pipe. The gel has a coloration of the water-soluble indicator in plasma and is therefore easy to read.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a cross section of the hematocrit measurement tool of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bird's-eye view conceptual view of the entire image of the test device of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a cross section of a tool according to another aspect of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a bird's-eye view conceptual diagram of an overall image of the test device of FIG. 3. 1; Light-transmissive pipe, 2; Development layer, 3; Colored layer, 4; Measurement layer 5; Air exhaust port, 6; Scale, 7; Blood sample supply port A; Spotting side direction

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tool for measuring a hematocrit value in a sample using whole blood as a sample, which is a water-swelling dry gel in a state of being biased to one end in a pipe made of a light-transmitting material. A measurement layer consisting of a medium, a colored layer containing a water-soluble indicator, and a spreading layer are provided in this order, and the scale is shown on the pipe, the hematocrit value measurement in a whole blood sample Tools. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the gel is polyethylene oxide.