JPH08304400A - Inspection device for specimen - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To determine the shape of precipitated particles after the tilting thereof accurately by processing image signals obtained by a camera. CONSTITUTION: A microplate 10 and a CD camera 20 are moved by a control part 40 in correspondence to the positions of the wells of the microplate 10. The image signals of the wells are obtained one by one. The individual image signal of every well is processed by a data processing part 50 so that the length of precipitated particles flowing out by the tilting after forced precipitation by magnetic force is detected. Thereby, it is possible to accurately determine whether an antibody (or an antigen) exists in a specimen or not.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention utilizes particles containing a magnetic substance (hereinafter referred to as particles in the present specification means particles containing a magnetic substance) and reacts with the particles in a sample. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for testing a sample for testing whether a specific substance is contained.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an immunoreaction test (aggregation reaction measuring method) for detecting whether or not an antibody or an antigen is present in a sample is carried out by utilizing an agglutination reaction caused by an antigen-antibody reaction. Then, whether or not the agglutination reaction has occurred is
It can be detected from the state of aggregation obtained by allowing the sample to stand. However, with this method, it took a long time for detection, and rapid inspection could not be performed.

Therefore, the present applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-14433.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 67, 67, it was proposed to use particles containing a magnetic material in the agglutination reaction measurement method and to perform forced sedimentation using magnetic force. In this method, a microplate in which a number of wells for sample storage are arranged in a matrix is used, particles containing a magnetic substance are added to the sample in the wells of this microplate, and these are mixed and reacted in a number of wells. Cause. After this reaction, the particles are forcibly settled by magnetic force, and then the microplate is tilted so that the settling particles at the bottom of the well flow out by gravity. Then, the shape of this flow-out pattern is determined to detect the presence or absence of an immune reaction. This makes it possible to efficiently test a large number of specimens.

Furthermore, if the shape determination of the flow-out pattern can be automated, errors due to individual differences can be eliminated and a higher speed inspection can be performed. The applicant of the present application has proposed a device for detecting and inspecting the shape of sedimented particles in each well of a microplate by using an optical sensor in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-324041. In this device, the number of photosensors corresponding to one row of wells is provided, and the microplate is passed over the photosensors to detect the outflow shape of the sedimented particles. Here, the detection by the optical sensor is to detect whether or not the sedimented particles are present on the line. Therefore, with this device,
The optical sensor is moved to the left and right to detect three lines in one well, and the shape of the sedimented particles is accurately obtained.

[0005]

However, this Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
Since the apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 324041 detects whether or not sedimentary particles are present on the line, if the position of this detection line is displaced with respect to the sedimentary particles, accurate detection of the shape of the sedimentary particles is possible. I can't do it. Therefore, it is required to perform positioning as accurately as possible and increase the number of detection lines.

However, there is a problem that if the number of detection lines is increased, it takes more time for detection. Further, there is a problem that the moving mechanism of the microplate and the optical sensor must be highly accurate in order to perform the positioning accurately.

Further, the applicant of the present invention has filed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-29700.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1, a device for detecting the shape of settling particles using a television camera is proposed. In this device, the entire microplate is photographed by a CCD / TV camera, and the length of the sedimented particles is detected from the change in the brightness of the obtained image signal.
However, various experiments were conducted on this device, and it was found that the measurement results varied, and it was not always possible to perform highly accurate inspection.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device for a sample which can perform an accurate inspection in a sufficiently short time.

[0009]

According to the present invention, a specimen and particles containing a magnetic substance are mixed in a well, the mixture is forcibly settled by using magnetic force, the well is tilted, and the tilted sedimentation is performed. In an inspection device for a specimen, which detects a change in shape of particles and examines whether or not a specific substance that reacts with the particles is contained in the specimen, a well containing a mixture after tilting has a predetermined width in the X direction and the Y direction. A microplate transport mechanism for stepwise transporting microplates arranged in a matrix at a pitch in the Y direction at each pitch in the Y direction, and imaging for photographing the shape of sedimented particles contained in one well of the microplate Device, imaging device moving mechanism for moving the imaging device in the X direction stepwise at each pitch in the X direction, and settling particles contained in each well obtained from the imaging device A shape detection unit that receives an individual image signal and processes the image to detect the shape of the sedimented particles after tilting, and based on the detection result of this shape detection unit, the specific substance is contained in the sample. And a determination unit that determines whether or not the determination is made.

Further, an antigen or an antibody is bound to the particles, and the above-mentioned inspection is for inspecting whether or not the corresponding antibody or antigen is present in the sample. It is characterized in that the length of the sedimented particles is detected.

Further, an image memory for storing a signal of a picked-up image from the image pickup device as digital image data for each pixel is provided, and the inclination of the microplate is such that the container is inclined so that the sedimented particles flow out in the Y direction. The shape detecting unit first detects the Y-axis of the sedimented particles after tilting from the digital image data in a predetermined number of lines in the X direction at predetermined intervals, and then detects the detected axis. Detecting the length of settling particles after inclination for each line from digital image data in a predetermined number of upper and lower lines in the Y direction, and detecting the length of settling particles from the obtained plurality of Y direction lengths. Is characterized by.

Further, the shape detecting unit detects the predetermined line in the X direction for the first time by setting the interval in the Y direction to be relatively large and setting the number of lines to be detected to a predetermined small number, and in each line in the Y direction. The axis is detected using all the image data in the Y direction, and the detection in the lines above and below the obtained axis is
The feature is that the distance in the X direction is relatively small.

[0013]

The specimen testing apparatus according to the present invention has the above-described structure, and the image signal of each well is individually obtained by the image pickup apparatus. Then, the image signal is subjected to image processing to detect the shape of the sedimented particles after tilting, and thereby it is determined whether or not the specific substance is contained in the sample.

Here, since the settling particles after tilting flow out under the influence of gravity, they have an elongated shape. And
Many microplates (eg, 12 × 8 = 96)
Individual wells. Therefore, if the image signals for all the wells are obtained in one shot, the angle seen from the imaging device cannot be ignored depending on the position of the well (particularly in the peripheral portion), and the direction in which the sedimented particles flow out is the central portion. Are in different directions. Further, the length itself detected by the angle also changes. Therefore, ordinary image processing cannot perform sufficiently accurate detection. However, according to the present invention, such a problem can be solved because an individual image signal is obtained for each well.

Further, the particle is bound with an antigen (or antibody) corresponding to the antibody (or antigen) which is a specific substance to be inspected. Therefore, when these particles are added to and mixed with a sample, an immune reaction occurs when the sample contains an antibody (or antigen) that is a specific substance to be tested. Then, when an immune reaction occurs, an agglutination reaction in which particles bind to each other occurs. Therefore, the sedimented particles obtained by forcibly sucking with the magnetic force are relatively strongly aggregated, and do not flow out much due to the gravity due to the inclination.

On the other hand, when the immune reaction does not occur, the agglutination reaction does not occur, the settling of the sedimented particles is weak, and the particles easily flow out by gravity due to the inclination. Therefore, in the specimen in which the predetermined antibody (or antigen) is not present, the sedimented particles after tilting have an elongated spindle shape. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the antibody (or antigen) is present in the sample by detecting the length of the sedimented particles after tilting.

Further, by detecting the axis of the sedimentation particle first and detecting the length of the sedimentation particle from the image data of a plurality of lines parallel to the detected axis, the amount of data processing can be reduced and an accurate sedimentation particle can be obtained. The length detection can be performed.

The sedimented particles after the inclination have an elongated shape. Therefore, the axis of the sedimented particles is detected from the data of the line with a relatively large interval, and the length is detected from the data of the line with a relatively close interval above and below the axis.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Overall Configuration] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a sample testing apparatus according to this embodiment. The microplate 10 is provided with a large number (8 × 12 = 96) of wells for accommodating specimens in a matrix pattern in a predetermined pitch in the X and Y directions. Then, in the supply station A, the microplates 10 in which the specimens have been injected into the respective wells are housed in the supply stack 12 in a stacked state.

Then, the microplates 10 are taken out one by one from the supply stack 12 and transferred to the dispensing station B. At this dispensing station B, a reagent that is an aggregating agent is injected into each well of the microplate 10. For example, the dispenser 14 is moved by a drive mechanism (not shown), and a predetermined reagent is sequentially added to each well in a predetermined amount. For example, let X be the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.
Direction, and the horizontal direction on the paper surface is the Y direction as shown in the drawing, first, the microplate 10 is placed below the dispenser 14.
The first row of wells is placed, the dispenser is moved in the X direction, and the reagent is added to the wells of the first row of the microplate 10. Next, the microplate 10 is moved in the Y direction by one pitch of the well arrangement, the dispenser 14 is moved in the X direction, and the reagent is added to the well in the next row. Then, by repeating this, the reagent is added to all the wells.

Here, this reagent contains particles to which a specific antigen (or antibody) is bound, and when this is added to a sample, it will be detected in the sample depending on whether an immune reaction occurs. Determine if antibody (or antigen) is present. Various reagents are used according to the type of test. Since the particles contained in this reagent contain a magnetic substance such as ferrite, the particles are affected by the magnetic force. As the sample, for example, serum diluted to an appropriate concentration is used, and it is determined whether or not a specific antibody is present in the serum. For example, if the sample is 25 μl and the reagent is 2
It is about 5 μl.

When the addition of the reagent to all the wells is completed, the microplate 10 is stirred at the stirring station C.
Transfer to. The stirring station C is composed of a vibrating device 16 that vibrates while holding the microplate 10. Then, by vibrating the microplate 10 by the vibrating device 16, mixing of the reagent and the sample injected at the dispensing station B is promoted. In this example, stirring is performed for about 5 minutes to ensure that an immune reaction occurs.

The transportation of the microplate 10 from the supply station A to the agitation station C is carried out by using a holder mounted on one belt for the microplate 10.
Is carried out by a method such as moving the belt while holding.

When the stirring of the reagent and the sample is completed in the stirring station C, the microplate 10
Are transferred to the magnet / collection station D. This magnet
At the lower part of the collection station D, a vertically movable magnet plate 1
8 are provided. The magnet plate 18 has magnets arranged at positions corresponding to the respective wells of the microplate 10, and attracts particles in the mixture downward.

In addition, in the present embodiment, each well of the microplate has a conical shape with its bottom protruding downward at the center, and the particles in the mixture are in the center (the lowest part) of the well. It is gathered in and is settled by force. As a result, when the microplate 10 is viewed from above or below, it seems that a black dot is formed at the center of each well. The forced sedimentation process by the magnetic force is performed by positioning the microplate 10 on the magnet plate 18 for about 1 minute.

When the forced sedimentation treatment by the magnet is completed, the microplate 10 is placed in the stirring station C.
Is inverted and transferred to the tilt station E adjacent to.
In this tilting station E, the microplate 10 is tilted by 60 °, for example. By performing this tilting process for about 2 minutes, the sedimented particles flow out under the influence of gravity. Then, the situation of this outflow greatly differs depending on whether or not an immune reaction has occurred.

That is, when an immune reaction occurs (a predetermined antibody (or antibody) exists in the sample), an agglutination reaction in which particles bind to each other occurs. Therefore, the sedimented particles forcibly sucked by the magnetic force are relatively strongly aggregated, and do not flow out much due to the gravity due to the inclination. On the other hand, when the immune reaction is not generated, the agglutination reaction does not occur, the settling of the settling particles is weak, and the particles easily flow out by gravity due to the inclination. Therefore, in a specimen in which an immune reaction has not occurred (the predetermined antibody (or antigen) was not present), the precipitated particles have an elongated spindle shape. Since each well has a relatively small surface tension, the liquid in the well does not flow out even when tilted.

In this way, the shape of the settling particles flowing out due to the inclination does not immediately return even if the shape is returned to the horizontal. Therefore, after tilting for a predetermined time in the tilting station E, the microplate 10 is returned to the horizontal position and transferred to the imaging station F.

In the photographing station F, a CCD camera 20 as an image pickup device is provided on the lower side, and an illumination device 22 is provided on the upper side. Then, the microplate 10 moves between the CCD camera 20 and the illumination device 22.

Here, in this embodiment, in the imaging station F, the microplate 10 is moved in the Y direction at each well pitch. On the other hand, the CCD camera 20 moves in the X direction at each well pitch while the microplate 10 is stationary. As a result, each image of each well of the microplate 10 is displayed by the CCD camera 2
It is output individually from 0. Then, the image signal for each well is analyzed by the data processing device, and it is determined whether or not the antigen (or antibody) is present in the sample according to the flow-out shape of the sedimented particles. In the normal case, the well pitch in the microplate 10 is the same in both the X and Y directions, and the movement amount per movement is the same in both the X and Y directions.

The illuminating device 22 includes a cold cathode tube 22a.
And a diffusion plate 22b for diffusing light,
Achieves flicker and even lighting.

When the photographing is completed in this way, the microplate 10 is attached to the magnet / collection station D.
It is again transferred onto the magnet plate 18 of FIG. A recovery stack 24 is arranged above the magnet plate 18. Then, by moving the magnet plate 18 upward, the microplate 10 is collected in the collection stack 24.

As described above, in this embodiment, the magnet plate 18 is arranged below the recovery stack 24, and the microplate 10 can be recovered in the recovery stack 24 by utilizing this magnet plate 18. Therefore, forcible sedimentation by magnetic force and recovery of the microplate 10 are performed by one magnet.
It takes place at the collection station. Therefore, it is possible to save the space of the device as a whole.

Further, in this embodiment, the supply stack 12 and the recovery stack 24 are arranged at both left and right ends. Therefore, when supplying and discharging the microplate 10, a relatively large space can be used, and the supply and discharge of the microplate can be performed easily. For example, the microplate 10 is automatically supplied to the supply stack 12, the microplate 10 is discharged from the recovery stack 24, the supply stack 12 and the recovery stack 24.
It is also easy to automatically replace itself.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the apparatus of this embodiment. In this way, from the right side toward the apparatus, the supply station A, the dispensing station B, the stirring station C, the tilting station E, the photographing station F, the magnet
The collection station D is provided in order. Also,
On the front side of the dispensing station B, the reagent loading place 30
(In the figure, a reagent bottle 32 is placed) is provided, and the dispenser 14 sucks a predetermined amount of the reagent from the reagent bottle 32 and injects it into each well of the microplate 10. Further, an operation panel 34 for performing various operations is provided on the left side of the front surface of the apparatus, and a printer 36 for issuing processing results is provided on the right side of the front surface of the apparatus.

[Structure for photographing / image processing] FIG.
The functional block diagram of this apparatus is shown. On the operation panel 34,
A control unit 40 is connected, and this control unit 40 controls various operations of the device. That is, the controller 42 controls the drive unit 44, which is a microplate transport mechanism, to control a predetermined movement of the microplate 10, and the controller 46 controls the drive unit 48, which is an image pickup apparatus movement mechanism. , Controls the movement of the CCD camera 20. The control unit 40 also controls the timing of capturing image data for each well in the CCD camera 20.

The CCD camera 20 is connected to a data processing unit 50 which functions as a shape detection unit and a determination unit, processes the image data from the CCD camera 20 and determines whether an immune reaction has occurred. Then, the determination result is output from the printer 36. The image memory 52 stores image data, and has a capacity to store at least one screen of image data.

"Acquisition of Image Data" Next, the photographing operation in the photographing station F will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is confirmed whether the microplate 10 and the CCD camera 20 are at the origin position (S1). If the microplate 10 and the CCD camera 20 are at the origin position, the microplate 10 is moved in the Y direction, and the first row well is located above the track of the CCD camera 20. (S2). Next, the CCD camera 20 is moved in the X direction to position the first well above the CCD camera 20 (S3). In this state, the image data of the first well is loaded into the image memory 52 via the data processing unit 50 (S4). Then, the data processing unit 50 performs the processing described below on the captured image data to determine whether an immune reaction has occurred.

In this way, when the image data acquisition for the first well is completed, it is judged whether or not it is the end point in the X direction (S5). If it is not the end point, the process returns to S3 and the CCD camera 20 is set. Move one pitch in the X direction.
As a result, the second well in the first row is located above the CCD camera 20, so image data for this well is captured and processed. In this manner, the CCD camera is moved in the X direction by one pitch of the well, and data acquisition is repeated.

When the data acquisition and processing for one column is completed, YES is obtained in S5, and it is then determined whether or not it is the end point in the Y direction (S6). If it is not the end point, the moving direction of the CCD camera 20 is reversed with X = -X (S7), and the process returns to S2. Therefore, the microplate 10 is moved in the Y direction by one pitch of the well, and the next row of wells is positioned above the track of the CCD camera 20. Then, in this state, the CCD camera is moved by one pitch in the -X direction, and the image acquisition for each well is repeated (S3 to S5).

In this way, the images of the wells are sequentially captured, and when the image capturing for all the wells is completed, YES is obtained in S6, and the image capturing for one microplate 10 is completed.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the CCD camera 20 is moved in the X direction, and when the end point in the X direction is reached, the microplate 10 is moved in the Y direction repeatedly.
Capture images of all wells.

Here, since the settling particles after tilting flow out under the influence of gravity, they have an elongated shape. And
Many microplates (eg, 12 × 8 = 96)
Individual wells. Therefore, when the image signals of all the wells are obtained in one shot, the angles of the wells in the peripheral portion viewed from the image pickup device cannot be ignored, and the direction in which the sedimented particles flow out in the image data is different from that in the central portion. Direction. Also, the length itself in the image changes depending on the angle. Therefore, the conventional apparatus cannot detect the shape of the sedimented particles after tilting sufficiently accurately. However, in this embodiment, since the individual image signal for each well is obtained, it is possible to perform sufficiently accurate detection without the problem of the angle.

[Image Processing Operation] As described above, when the image data of each well is captured one by one, the data processing unit 50 processes each image data to determine whether an immune reaction has occurred. To do. About this, FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

First, image data is fetched (S11).
In this embodiment, the image data obtained from the CCD camera 20 has a data amount of 512 × 128 pixels, and the data of each pixel is represented by 256 gradations, that is, digital data of 0 to 255 depending on the degree of brightness. ing. Therefore, the smaller the numerical value is, the light is not transmitted, that is, black is shown.

Then, the particle axis is calculated from such image data (S12). This particle axis calculation is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), for example, 32 lines (1
This is done by taking out pixel data of every 6 pixels), judging the black portion from this data, and connecting the centers thereof.

Here, the particle axis is parallel to the horizontal direction of the image (arrangement of pixels). That is, when the microplate 10 is tilted, its axis is in the horizontal direction, and the settling particles are
Flow in the direction. Then, by setting the horizontal direction of the CCD camera 20 to the Y direction, the particle axis becomes the horizontal direction of the pixel array. Therefore, the particle axis can be detected by the majority vote of the center points of the black portions in the 32 vertical lines. Depending on the case, the particle axis may be detected in any direction by the method of least squares or the like.

In this way, when the particle axis is obtained, a total of nine horizontal lines including this particle axis and four lines above and below the particle axis are selected (S13). In this example, four lines are selected every other line from the particle axis. As described above, in this example, when the particle axis is obtained, all pixels in the vertical direction are used to perform detection with the highest accuracy, and the line in the horizontal direction is selected every other line and is relatively wide with a small amount of data. The range is detected and the outflow shape of the sediment particles is effectively grasped. Further, since the vertical size of the sedimented particles is known when the particle axis is calculated, the number of lines to be selected and the interval thereof may be determined based on this size.

Next, the data of each pixel on the selected line is extracted and binarized (S14). Here, the extracted data is, for example, data as shown in FIG. In addition, in this figure, for convenience,
Only pixels x 5 horizontal lines are shown.

Then, this data is set to 2 with a predetermined threshold value.
The value is converted into data of "1" and "0". When the example of FIG. 8 is binarized with the threshold value 150, the data shown in FIG. 9 is obtained. This "0" part is a black pixel, that is, a particle pixel determined to be a particle.

Next, regarding the binarized data of 9 lines,
A logical sum is calculated (S15). Ie, 9 in the vertical direction
If any one data has "0", the data at that horizontal position is set to "0".

Then, the particle length is obtained (S16) by counting the pixels (particle pixels) of continuous value "0" from the obtained data for one line, and this is output (S17).

In this way, the particle length for one well is obtained. Then, when an immune reaction has occurred, the precipitated particles have a strong cohesive force, and thus it is difficult for the particles to flow out, and when an immune reaction has not occurred, the precipitated particles tend to flow out. Therefore, depending on the particle length, it is determined that the sample contained the antibody or antigen (+), suspicious (±), or the sample did not contain the antibody or antigen (−). For example, if the particle length is 125 pixels or more (-), 7
It is determined that 5 pixels or less is (+), and the range of 76 to 124 pixels is (±).

The determination results thus obtained are collectively output from the printer 36 when the determination for all the wells of one microplate 10 is completed.

[Movement Mechanism in Tilt, Photographing, Magnet / Recovery Station] FIG. 10 shows the structure of the transport mechanism of the microplate 10 in the tilting station E, the photographing station F, and the magnet / collection station D. The microplate 10 is held by the holder 60. The holder 60 has a frame shape that holds the peripheral portion of the microplate. A rotary shaft 60a in a direction (X direction) orthogonal to the moving direction (Y direction) of the microplate 10 is formed on one end side (left side in the drawing) of the holder 60. Therefore, in the tilt station E, the microplate 10 is tilted by rotating the rotary shaft 60a by a rotary drive mechanism (not shown) that engages with the rotary shaft 60a.

Further, the holder 60 has a tilt station E.
Attached to a belt 62 extending from the magnet to the magnet / collection station D. In addition, the belt 62 is used for the holder 60.
On the other hand, it is located on the back side of the device. The belt 62 is wound around a pair of pulleys 64 and 66, and the pulley 66 is rotatable by a stepping motor 68. Therefore, by rotating the pulley 66 with the stepping motor 68, the movement between the stations and the movement in the Y direction at the photographing station F are performed.

In the magnet / collection station D, the collection stack 24 is arranged above the belt 62, and the magnet plate 18 is arranged below. And this magnet plate 18
Is attached to the upper end of the rod 70, and the rod 70 moves up and down by a motor 72. Therefore, by moving the rod 70 upward while holding the microplate 10 above the magnet plate 18 and holding the microplate 10 by the magnet plate 18, it is possible to perform the forced precipitation treatment by magnetic force. .

Further, with the microplate 10 for which the photographing processing has been completed being positioned above the magnet plate 18, the rod 70 is greatly raised and the microplate 10 is inserted into the collecting stack 24 from below. The microplate 10 can be collected in the collection stack 24. A pinion 72a is attached to the motor 72, and a rack 70a is attached to the rod 70. Therefore, the rod 70 can be moved up and down by the rack and pinion.

Incidentally, position detectors such as photoelectric sensors are provided in various places of the apparatus, and movements are controlled by using the detected values.

"Movement mechanism of CCD camera" FIG.
The movement mechanism of the CD camera 20 is shown. CC as shown
The D camera 20 is fixed to the substrate 80. And
The substrate 80 is fixed to a guide 84 via a support member 82, and the guide 84 holds the rail 86 and can move on the rail 86.

Further, the support member 82 is fixed to the belt 88, and the belt 88 is used for the stepping motor 9.
It is wound around a pulley 92 rotated by 0.
Therefore, by driving the stepping motor 90, CC
The D camera 20 can be moved by a predetermined distance.

[0063]

As described above, according to the sample inspection apparatus of the present invention, the image signal of each well obtained by the image pickup apparatus is processed. Therefore, the image of each well can be made highly accurate, and the image does not change depending on the position of the well. Therefore, the shape of the sedimented particles after the inclination can be accurately detected, and an accurate inspection can be performed.

In particular, it is possible to surely test whether or not an antibody (or antigen) is present in a sample by detecting whether or not an immune reaction occurs.

Further, the axis of the sedimented particles is first detected, and the length of the sedimented particles is detected from the image data of a plurality of lines parallel to the detected axes, so that the amount of data processing can be reduced and accurate sedimentation particles can be obtained. The length detection can be performed.

Further, the axis of the sedimented particles is detected from the data of the line having a relatively large interval, and the length is detected from the data of the line having a relatively close interval above and below the axis, whereby the slanted shape after tilting is detected. The length of the sedimented particles can be detected efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a sample inspection apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an example.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of shooting.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a photographing procedure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of image processing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating detection of sedimented particles.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of image data.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing data after binarization.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a transport mechanism for the microplate 10.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a moving mechanism of a CCD camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 microplate, 20 CCD camera, 34
Operation panel, 36 printer, 40 control unit, 42, 4
6 controller, 44, 48 drive unit, 50 data processing unit, 52 image memory.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sample and particles containing a magnetic substance are mixed in a well, the mixture is forcibly settled by using magnetic force, the well is tilted, and a change in the shape of the sedimented particle after tilting is detected. Then, in the inspection device of the specimen for inspecting whether or not the specimen contains the specific substance that reacts with the particles, the wells containing the mixture after inclination were arranged in a matrix in a predetermined pitch in the X and Y directions. A microplate transport mechanism that transports the microplate in the Y direction stepwise at each pitch in the Y direction, an imaging device that captures the shape of the sedimented particles contained in one well of the microplate, and this imaging device Image pickup device moving mechanism for moving the image pickup device in a stepwise manner at every pitch in the X direction, and receiving individual image signals of the sedimented particles contained in each well obtained from the image pickup device. Then, image processing is performed on this to determine whether or not the specific substance was contained in the sample based on the shape detection unit that detects the shape of the sedimented particles after tilting and the detection result of this shape detection unit. An inspection apparatus for a specimen, comprising: a determination unit. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein an antigen or an antibody is bound to the particles, and the test is to test whether or not the corresponding antibody or antigen is present in a sample, The shape detection unit detects the length of sedimented particles after tilting, the inspection device for a specimen. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an image memory that stores a signal regarding an imaged image from the imager as digital image data for each pixel, and the tilt of the microplate is settled particles. By tilting the container so as to flow out in the Y direction, and the shape detecting unit first detects the axis of the sedimented particles in the Y direction after inclination from the digital image data in a predetermined number of lines in the X direction at predetermined intervals. Then, the length of the sedimented particles after tilting for each line is detected from the digital image data in a predetermined number of lines in the Y direction above and below the detected axis, and the obtained lengths in the Y direction are detected. An inspection device for a specimen, which is characterized by detecting the length of sedimented particles. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the shape detecting unit first detects a predetermined line in the X direction by relatively widening an interval in the Y direction to detect a small number of lines. For each line in the Y direction, the axis is detected using all the image data in the Y direction, and the detection in the lines above and below the obtained axis should be performed with a relatively small interval in the X direction. Characteristic specimen inspection device.