JPH08304413A - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an automatic analyzer which is suitable for shortening washing time of a reaction container, hence shortening measuring time as a whole. CONSTITUTION: A reaction disc is rotated by the portion of one reaction container sequentially until a reaction container at a container position 1 reaches a specimen dispensing position 6. As a result, the reaction container passing the container positions 1 and 2 is washed in place sequentially. Thereafter, in optical measurement (measurement of absorbance), a blank measurement is performed at a measuring position while the reaction disc rotates by two units, each being one rotation plus the portion of one reaction container. As for the reaction container finished with this measurement, thereafter, a dispensing of a specimen, an addition of a reagent, an agitation and a measurement are performed through a repeated rotation per unit of the reaction disc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer, and in particular, a row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop is repeatedly rotated by a plurality of reaction vessels, and during that period, those reaction vessels are washed. , An automatic analyzer adapted to perform sample dispensing, reagent addition and sample measurement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop is repeatedly rotated for each of a plurality of reaction vessels, and during that period, the entire work from washing the reaction vessel to measuring the dispensed sample is performed. An automatic analyzer that efficiently performs the above is known. A typical example thereof is described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-24380. According to this, a turntable composed of a large number of reaction vessels arranged at equal intervals on a circle is rotated once +
It is repeatedly rotated by one pitch (one reaction container), and all predetermined tasks are completed in the meantime. Of course, it is possible to obtain the same result by, for example, rotating the turn table repeatedly by 1 rotation-1 pitch, or by rotating 1/2 turn + (or-) 1 pitch, for example. .

[0003]

However, in such an automatic analyzer, further shortening of measurement time is desired. This is because shortening the measurement time is very important, for example, when measuring an urgent sample.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer which is suitable for shortening the cleaning time of the reaction container and therefore the measuring time as a whole.

[0005]

Means for solving the problems of the present invention are as follows.

1. An automatic analyzer, in which a row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop is repeatedly rotated for each of a plurality of reaction vessels, during which the reaction vessels are
In an automatic analyzer configured to perform washing, sample dispensing, reagent addition, and sample measurement at corresponding positions, the row of reaction vessels is configured to be rotatable by one reaction vessel at a time. (Claim 1).

2. The automatic analyzer of the problem solving means 1, wherein the rotation of the row of reaction vessels for each one of the reaction vessels is performed prior to the rotation of the row of reaction vessels for each of the plurality of reaction vessels. It is characterized in that the cleaning is performed for cleaning the reaction container from the cleaning position to the sample dispensing position (claim 2).

3. An automatic analyzer, which comprises a device for rotating a row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop, and the rotation of the row of reaction vessels is repeatedly executed with a plurality of reaction vessels as one unit. In the meantime, in the meantime, for the reaction vessel, washing, blank measurement, sample dispensing, reagent addition and optical measurement of the sample or in an automatic analyzer configured to perform this optical measurement and ion selective electrode measurement, The rotation of the rows of the reaction vessels is configured to be performed for each one of the reaction vessels, and the rotation of the rows of the reaction vessels is performed for each of the plurality of reaction vessels as one unit. It is characterized in that it can be executed at a higher speed than the rotation in which (1) is one unit (claim 3).

4. A row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop is repeatedly rotated for each of a plurality of reaction vessels, and in the meantime, with respect to the reaction vessels, these reaction vessels are respectively in a cleaning position, a blank measurement position, a sample dispensing position, When moved to the reagent addition position, it is possible to perform washing, blank measurement, sample dispensing, and reagent addition, respectively, while performing optical sample measurement at the optical measurement position and ion selection electrode measurement at the ion selective electrode measurement position. An automatic analyzer configured to suck a sample is characterized in that the row of the reaction vessels can be rotated by one reaction vessel at a time (claim 4).

5. The automatic analyzer of the problem solving means 4, wherein the rotation of the row of the reaction vessels for each one of the reaction vessels is performed for washing the reaction vessels from the washing position to the sample dispensing position. This is characterized in that (claim 5).

6. The automatic analyzer of the problem solving means 4, wherein the row of the reaction vessels for each one of the reaction vessels is rotated for washing the reaction vessels from the washing position to the blank measurement position, The rotation of the row of the reaction vessels for each of the plurality of reaction vessels is performed from the blank measurement position (claim 6).

7. An automatic analyzer, comprising a device for rotating a row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop, wherein the rotation of the row of reaction vessels is referred to as a first rotation mode. A plurality of reaction vessels are intermittently repeated as one unit, and when the reaction vessels move to the washing position, the blank measurement position, the sample dispensing position, and the reagent addition position, respectively, in the meanwhile, respectively. It is possible to perform washing, blank measurement, sample dispensing, and reagent addition, as well as optical sample measurement at the optical measurement position, and sample suction for ion selection electrode measurement at the ion selection electrode measurement position, Further, the rotation of the row of the reaction vessels is used as a second rotation mode, and is used to wash the reaction vessels from the washing position to the sample dispensing position.
The third rotation mode can be carried out for each reaction container, and the same plurality of reaction containers as in the case of the first rotation mode is used as one unit as the third rotation mode. The present invention is characterized in that it can be performed at a higher speed than in the case of the rotation mode of (7).

[0013]

Operation: The rows of reaction vessels arranged in a loop are repeatedly rotated for each of a plurality of reaction vessels, and during this period, washing, sample dispensing, reagent addition, and sample measurement are performed for the reaction vessels. In addition to the operation at each position, the row of reaction vessels can be rotated by one reaction vessel separately. According to this,
The rotation of the row of reaction vessels for each one of the reaction vessels can be used for cleaning, and in this case, the cleaning time of the reaction vessels can be shortened, and therefore the total measurement time can be reduced. It can be shortened.

[0014]

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment according to the present invention. The reaction disk 1 holds a plurality of reaction vessels so that they are arranged at equal intervals on the circumference. Reaction disk 1
Is 1 rotation + 1 pitch (1 reaction container) by drive unit 2
Is intermittently and repeatedly rotated, so that the reaction disk 1 advances by one pitch (one reaction container) at each intermittent rotation.

The sample disk 3 holds a plurality of samples, and the plurality of samples are arranged on the circumference at equal intervals. The sample disk 3 is moved by one pitch (1
It is rotated by the sample). The sample of the sample disk 3 is dispensed by the sample pipettor 5 via the sample dispenser 6 into the reaction container at the sample dispensing position of the reaction disk 1.

The reagent disk 7 holds a plurality of reagents so that they are arranged at equal intervals on the circumference, and is rotated by a driving device 8. The reagent of the reagent disk 7 is dispensed by the reagent pipetter 9 via the reagent dispenser 10 into the reagent dispensed position of the reaction disk 1 into the specimen-dispensed reaction container. The sample and the reagent in this reaction container are stirred at the stirring position and react.

With respect to the reaction liquid of the sample and the reagent, the absorbance measurement for a predetermined measurement item by the photometer 11 at the optical measurement position 13 is performed at a plurality of wavelengths. When measurement using an ion selective electrode (hereinafter, simply referred to as ISE measurement) is required, the sample to which the reagent is added is sucked by the sample suction mechanism 12 at the sample suction position for ISE measurement (shown in the figure). (Abbreviated) is sucked into the ion selective electrode measuring device 13, and the electromotive force generated by the ion selective electrode is measured for predetermined measurement items, for example, sodium, potassium and chlorine. Of course, if the ISE measurement is not needed, this measurement will not be performed. In the case of ISE measurement, the reagent is only used for diluting the sample.

The signal representing the absorbance is A / D converted by the A / D converter 16 and taken into the computer 18 via the interface 17. The signal representing the electromotive force obtained by the ISA measurement is similarly processed by the computer 18.
Is taken into. The measurement result captured by the computer 18 is printed out by the printer 19 and displayed on the display device 20. The display device 20 also displays measurement conditions, device operating conditions, and the like. The operator can input information such as measurement conditions from the keyboard 21 while looking at the display device 20.

The reaction container of the sample for which the measurement has been completed is washed by the washing pump 14 via the washing mechanism 15 at the washing position. Pure water for blank measurement is injected into the reaction container after cleaning. When the reaction container into which this pure water has been injected is moved to the blank measurement position, the photometer 11 performs blank measurement on this reaction container. That is, 100% alignment is performed in the transmittance base (zero alignment in the absorbance base). However, this 1
The 00% alignment is required for optical measurement using the photometer 11, and is not required for ISE measurement.

As mentioned above, the reaction disk 1 rotates intermittently repeatedly with one rotation + one pitch as one unit, but one unit of the reaction disk 1 is used for cleaning, sample dispensing, stirring, and sample suction for ISE measurement. It is executed during the stop period between the intermittent rotations. In addition, the optical measurement (absorbance measurement) of the reaction solution is performed during the rotation of the reaction disk 1.
3 and the blank measurement of the reaction vessel at the blank measurement position is also performed during the rotation of the reaction disk 1. On the other hand, the reagent dispensing is generally performed by setting a temporary stop period during the rotation of each unit, rather than during the stop period between intermittent rotations of the reaction disk 1 by one unit. It takes place during the suspension period.

The control device 22 controls each part according to a predetermined program on the basis of a command from the computer 18. That is, regarding the reaction container, when these reaction containers are moved to the washing position, the blank measurement position, the sample dispensing position, and the reagent addition position, washing, blank measurement, sample dispensing, and reagent addition are performed, respectively, and the optical Optical measurement at the measurement position, IS at the ISE measurement position
Although the E measurement is performed, the control device 2 controls each part necessary for performing such work at a predetermined timing.
Done by two.

FIG. 1 shows the relationship between the reaction vessel position and the work position of the reaction disk 1. FIG. 1 shows an example in which there are 16 reaction vessels for simplification. The numbers in circles represent the positions of the reaction vessels, which are fixed and do not change even when the reaction disk 1 rotates.

Container positions 1 and 2 are cleaning positions. The cleaning is usually performed at the container positions 1 and 2 using a period in which the reaction disk 1 is stopped every time it makes one unit (1 rotation + 1 pitch) of rotation. Therefore, one reaction container is washed twice.

Container positions 4 and 5 are blank measurement positions. The reaction vessel at vessel position 4 is blanked by photometer 11 during one unit rotation of reaction disc 1 and moved to vessel position 5, and the reaction vessel moved to vessel position 5 is rotated one more unit. The blank measurement is also performed by the photometer 11 during the period. Therefore, blank measurement of one reaction container is performed twice. However, the measurement wavelength in the first blank measurement and the measurement wavelength in the second blank measurement should be different.

The container position 6 is a sample dispensing position. Here, each time the reaction disk 1 rotates by one unit, the sample dispensing is performed during the rotation stop period. The container position 9 is a reagent dispensing position. Dispensing of reagents is generally performed by the reaction disc 1
Rather than during the stop period between intermittent rotations of 1 unit each, the temporary stop period is set during the rotation of each unit and the operation is performed during the temporary stop period. The container position 10 is a stirring position. This stirring is also similar to the reagent dispensing in terms of timing.

The container position 11 is a sample suction position for ISE measurement. The sample suction for the ISE measurement is performed at the sample suction position by utilizing the period in which the reaction disk 1 is stopped every time it rotates by one unit.

The optical measurement is carried out by the photometer 11 during each rotation of the reaction disk 1 at the measuring position 13 every time the reaction disk 1 rotates by one unit.

In the series of operations of the embodiment according to the present invention, tasks such as washing, blank measurement, sample dispensing, reagent addition, stirring, and absorbance measurement are performed while the reaction disk 1 is repeatedly rotated by one unit. Since this is different from the example, this point will be described with reference to FIG.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the reaction disk 1 is rotated by one reaction container until the reaction container at the container position 1 reaches the container position 6 or the sample dispensing position. Therefore, the reaction container reaches the sample dispensing position by rotating the reaction disk 1 by 5 reaction containers. During this time, the reaction vessels which are successively positioned in vessel positions 1 and 2 are washed in that position.

Next, when performing an optical measurement, a blank measurement is performed on the reaction container moved from the container position 15 to the container position 4. This blank measurement is performed by the photometer 11 in the process of rotating the reaction desk 1 by one unit. The reaction container moved from the container positions 4 to 5 by the rotation of the reaction disk 1 by one unit is similarly measured by the photometer 11 in the process of rotating the reaction disk 1 by another unit. However, the measurement wavelength is different in both blank measurements. With respect to the reaction container for which blank measurement has been completed, sample dispensing, reagent addition, stirring, and absorbance measurement are performed by rotating the reaction disk 1 by one unit.

On the other hand, when the ISE measurement is performed instead of the optical measurement, the blank measurement is not necessary.
Specimen dispensing is executed for the reaction container moved from No. 6 to No. 6. After that, the reaction disk 1 is rotated one unit at a time, and during that period, reagent addition (for sample dilution), stirring, and sample suction for ISE measurement are performed.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the reaction disk 1 is rotated by one reaction container until the reaction container at the container position 1 reaches the container position 4 or the blank measurement position. Therefore, the reaction container reaches the container position 4 by rotating the reaction disk 1 by three reaction containers. During this time, the reaction vessels which are successively positioned in vessel positions 1 and 2 are washed in that position.

After the reaction container at the container position 1 moves to the container position 4, the reaction disk 1 is divided into two units by one unit in order to bring the reaction container at the container position 4 to the sample dispensing position 6. Is rotated. Meanwhile, the blank measurement is performed in the case of the optical measurement, but the blank measurement is omitted in the case of the ISE measurement. That is, in the case of ISE measurement, the reaction disk 1 is simply rotated by 1 unit for 2 units.

For the reaction container that has moved to the sample dispensing position 6, sample dispensing is performed, and then the reaction disk 1 is rotated by one unit at a time, during which, in the case of optical measurement, reagent addition, In the case of stirring and absorbance measurement, in the case of ISE measurement, reagent addition, stirring, and sample suction for ISE measurement are performed.

The rotation speed of the reaction disk 1 per unit is such that the rotation of the reaction disk 1 per unit, which is performed during the time the reaction container moves from the container position 4 to the sample dispensing position 6, It is set so as to be performed at a speed faster than the rotation of the reaction disk 1 unit by unit after reaching the sample dispensing position 6.

Among the rotations of the reaction disk in units of one unit, in the second embodiment, the rotation in units of one unit performed from the container position 4 to the sample dispensing position is performed at high speed. If the rotation is the normal rotation, and the other rotations of one unit are the normal rotations, and the rotation of the reaction disk is one rotation of each reaction container is the washing rotation, the time until the sample dispensing in the first and second embodiments is the conventional example. Table 1 shows a comparison with that in Table 1. However, according to the time calculation result of Table 1, the time required for one unit of rotation is set to 18 seconds for normal rotation and 10 seconds for high speed rotation.
In case of washing rotation, the time required to rotate 1 reaction container is 3
When set to seconds.

[0037]

[Table 1]

It can be seen from Table 1 that the time until sample dispensing is shorter in both the first and second examples than in the conventional example. This is because when the ISE measurement was carried out in the first embodiment, the rotation of the reaction disk by one unit was used for cleaning, and in the first embodiment, the optical measurement (in Table 1, (Denoted as "colorimetric") is based on a combination of the rotation of the reaction disc, which is used for cleaning, and the normal rotation. Further, in the second embodiment, the reaction disc is used. It is apparent that this is due to the combination of the use of 1 unit of rotation for cleaning for high speed rotation.

Further from Table 1, in the case of ISE measurement,
It can be seen that it is more preferable to use the second embodiment in the case of the second embodiment in the case of optical measurement from the viewpoint of time reduction. In any case, shortening the time until sample dispensing results in shortening the measurement time as a whole.

[0040]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, an automatic analyzer suitable for shortening the cleaning time of the reaction container and therefore the measuring time as a whole is provided. It

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a rotation operation of a reaction disk and each work position.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the overall configuration of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: reaction disk, 2, 4, 8: drive device, 3: sample disk, 5: sample pipettor, 6: sample dispenser, 7: reagent disk, 9: reagent pipettor, 10: reagent dispenser,
11: photometer, 12: sample suction mechanism, 13: ion selective electrode measuring device, 14: washing pump, 15: washing mechanism, 1
6: A / D converter, 17: interface, 18: computer, 19: printer, 20: display device, 21:
Keyboard.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Kahei Shiraishi 1040 Igemo, Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi Science Systems Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop is repeatedly rotated for each of a plurality of reaction vessels, during which washing, sample dispensing, reagent addition and sample measurement are performed on the reaction vessels. An automatic analyzer which is configured to be able to perform at each corresponding position, wherein the row of reaction containers is configured to be rotatable by one reaction container. 2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the row of reaction vessels for each of the plurality of reaction vessels is performed prior to the rotation of the row of reaction vessels for each of the plurality of reaction vessels. Is performed for cleaning the reaction container from the cleaning position to the sample dispensing position. 3. A device for rotating a row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop, wherein the rotation of the row of reaction vessels is repeatedly executed with a plurality of reaction vessels as one unit, and during that time, For the reaction vessel, washing, blank measurement, sample dispensing, reagent addition and optical measurement of the sample or in the automatic analyzer configured to perform this optical measurement and ion selective electrode measurement, in the column of the reaction vessel The rotation is configured to be performed for each one reaction container, and the rotation of the row of the reaction containers is performed for each of the plurality of reaction containers as one unit and for each of the plurality of reaction containers as one unit. An automatic analyzer characterized in that it can be executed at a higher speed than rotation. 4. A row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop is repeatedly rotated by a plurality of reaction vessels, during which the reaction vessels are respectively placed at a washing position,
When moving to the blank measurement position, sample dispensing position, reagent addition position, washing, blank measurement, sample dispensing, respectively
In the automatic analyzer configured so that reagent addition can be performed, optical sample measurement can be performed at the optical measurement position, and sample suction for ion selective electrode measurement can be performed at the ion selective electrode measurement position, the reaction container Row of 1
An automatic analyzer characterized by being configured so that it can be rotated by each reaction container. 5. The automatic analyzer according to claim 4, wherein the rotation of the row of the reaction vessels for each one of the reaction vessels is performed to wash the reaction vessels from the washing position to the sample dispensing position. An automatic analyzer characterized in that 6. The automatic analyzer according to claim 4, wherein the rotation of the row of the reaction vessels for each one of the reaction vessels is performed to wash the reaction vessels from the washing position to the blank measurement position. The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the row of the reaction vessels for each of the plurality of reaction vessels is rotated from the blank measurement position. 7. A device for rotating a row of reaction vessels arranged in a loop, wherein the rotation of the row of reaction vessels is used as a first rotation mode for a plurality of reaction vessels. Is intermittently repeated as one unit, and during that time, when the reaction vessels move to the washing position, the blank measurement position, the sample dispensing position, and the reagent addition position, respectively, the washing, the blank measurement, Specimen dispensing and reagent addition can be performed, optical specimen measurement at the optical measurement position, so that the specimen suction for ion selective electrode measurement can be performed at the ion selective electrode measurement position, further,
The rotation of the row of reaction vessels is referred to as a second rotation mode,
The reaction container from the washing position to the sample dispensing position can be washed one reaction container at a time, and the third rotation mode is the first rotation mode. An automatic analyzer characterized in that the same plurality of reaction vessels as one unit are used as one unit and can be performed at a higher speed than in the case of the first rotation mode.