JPH09133687A - Instrument for measuring quantity of serum in blood-collecting test tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively provide an instrument which can accurately and quickly measure the quantity of serum in a blood sample collected in a blood- collecting test tube and the position of the boundary between the blood clot or a separating agent and the serum and, in addition, to make it possible to directly dispense a blood sample from the test tube. SOLUTION: A personal computer 4 obtains RGB gray level information, chromaticity information, and chroma information by processing the picture information of a blood-collecting test tube 10 taken with a color CCD camera 12 and finds the position of the boundary between the serum part and other parts of a blood sample collected in the tube 10 from the chroma information. In addition, the serum is made to be collected effectively from the test tube 10 by calculating the quantity of a collectable serum from the boundary information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the amount of blood serum in a blood collecting test tube, and more specifically, for example, using a dispenser or the like, collecting serum necessary for automatic chemical analysis from a blood collecting test tube subjected to centrifugation. In doing so, the present invention relates to a serum amount measuring device that measures the amount of a serum portion in advance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a vacuum blood collection tube as a blood collection test tube is centrifuged, it is separated into two layers, a serum part and a blood clot part, inside the blood collection tube. Separated into three layers of rice cake.

From the vacuum blood collection tube from which the respective components have been separated in this way, only the serum portion necessary for chemical analysis is extracted and dispensed by an automatic machine. Conventionally, in the case of dispensing with an automatic machine, a method of dispensing only after transferring the serum part from a vacuum blood collection tube to a separately prepared sample container, but in recent years, blood is collected from a patient In many cases, the vacuum blood collection tube used at that time is used as a sample container and the serum portion is directly collected from the vacuum blood collection tube. In this case, a blood clot precipitates on the bottom of the vacuum blood collection tube, and when a separating agent is used, this separating agent remains between the serum and the blood clot, whereby the serum and the blood clot are separated from each other. Separated in a vacuum blood collection tube.

[0004]

However, when dispensing directly from a vacuum blood collection tube as described above, it is difficult to sample only a predetermined amount of serum necessary for analysis. For example, in the case of a blood collection tube that does not secure a sufficient amount of serum during dispensing, the dispensing nozzle will reach the depth of the blood clot or the separating agent, and aspirate components other than serum necessary for analysis. Therefore, the dispensing nozzle may be clogged.

For this reason, there is a case where the former method in which only the serum portion is transferred from the vacuum blood collection tube to a separately prepared sample container and then dispensed is adopted. In order to solve such a problem, when performing a direct dispensing from the vacuum blood collection tube, it is sufficient if the volume of the serum part in the centrifuged vacuum blood collection tube can be accurately measured before the dispensing, If this is realized, a limited amount of serum will
By assigning the test in order of priority, it becomes possible to effectively use the sera of a patient whose blood collection amount is small.

Based on such an idea, conventionally, a method of measuring the amount of serum in a blood collecting test tube has been proposed as follows. For example, a method has been proposed in which a sensor (interface detection sensor) that detects the boundary of each component is inserted in a blood sampling tube to detect the position of a blood clot or a separating agent. Various types of sensors in this case have been proposed, for example, JP-A-53-7.
1897 discloses a technique using an ultrasonic transmitter / receiver, and JP-A-53-116190 discloses a technique using an optical fiber.

Also, a technique has been proposed in which an electrode is inserted and a resistance value difference and an impedance difference are used. In the method of detecting the position of the blood clot or the separating agent using the above sensor, it is necessary to insert the sensor into the serum, and especially when used for analysis, the serum of the previous sample is mixed with the sample of the latter. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the sensor each time it is sampled, and it is necessary to dry the sensor after cleaning to prevent contamination after cleaning. In addition, if the sensor is touched during maintenance of the device, there is a possibility of infection from the blood of the patient, which is dangerous.

Further, such a conventional measuring method has a problem that the scale of the equipment is large, the capital investment is very expensive, and the time required for detecting the interface position for one blood sampling test tube is long.

Further, a method has been proposed in which the boundary of each component is detected by the light passing through the test tube. For example, there are several methods of recognizing the boundary by, for example, receiving light from one of the light sources outside the test tube through the test tube and receiving it at the light receiving unit, and obtaining a characteristic that the transmittance varies depending on the amount of transmitted light and the wavelength of light. Proposed. (JP-A-2-40539, JP-A-2-4053
-38968 gazette and Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 1-444464 reference).

On the surface of the vacuum blood collection tube, the sample I
Specimen ID with bar code label indicating D
This method has been adopted to prevent sample handling mistakes and rationalize measurement.However, in order to apply the above method to serum amount measurement in a vacuum blood collection tube, It is necessary to remove the barcode label showing the attached sample ID or to limit the detection only to the transmission at the position where the barcode label is not attached, which is not suitable as a method for measuring the amount of serum from a vacuum blood collection tube.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and is a state in which a bar code label indicating a sample ID is attached to the surface of a blood collection test tube without inserting a sensor into serum. However, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for accurately and quickly measuring the amount of serum, the blood clot or the boundary position between the separating agent and serum at low cost, and enabling direct dispensing from a blood collecting test tube. .

[0012]

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 1, means for obtaining color image information of the blood collecting test tube by color photographing of the blood collecting test tube and means for obtaining color image information from the color image sensing information. Means for obtaining grayscale information of red, blue, and green in each pixel, means for obtaining chromaticity information by removing lightness information from the grayscale information, means for obtaining chroma information from the chromaticity information, and the chroma It is configured to include means for obtaining the boundary line position between the serum portion and other portion of the blood component from the information, and means for calculating the amount of serum that can be collected from the boundary information.

The invention according to claim 2 is configured to include means for setting the blood collecting test tube so that a position on the surface of the blood collecting test tube where the bar code label indicating the sample ID is not attached faces the photographing direction. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the means for setting the blood sampling test tube comprises a rotating means for rotating the blood sampling test tube, a gloss sensor for detecting the bar code label position, and the gloss sensor. And a control means for controlling the rotating means based on the detection signal.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the amount of change in each dot of each pixel of red, blue and green components is calculated with respect to a predetermined dot before and after the pixel near the boundary line position obtained by the saturation,
It is configured to include means for setting the position where the amount of change is the maximum as the boundary line position.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the blood collecting test tube is photographed by placing a white member in the rear of the blood collecting test tube as seen from the photographing direction so as to be in close contact with the blood collecting test tube.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the principle of the present invention will be described. When blood is separated into each component by the centrifugation method, each component has its own unique color. By recognizing this color difference from the grayscale information of red, green, and blue (RGB) captured from the color image, the boundary between the serum portion and other portions of the blood component is recognized, and the serum amount is obtained from this.

The inventors analyzed the color image of the blood collection tube after centrifugation. As a result, the chromaticity information (mixing ratio of each RGB component to the average value of RGB) obtained by removing the lightness information from the grayscale information of RGB is obtained, and the saturation value obtained from this chromaticity information shows a high value in the serum part. It was confirmed that it was shown.

This is because the serum portion has a high transparency and can be seen as a vivid image, while the blood clot is a dark-colored solid substance, and the vividness is low on the image. In addition, the separating agent also has a milky white color, which is apparently less vivid than the serum portion. These facts apply not only when the color of the serum is yellow, which is indicated by normal blood, but also when it is close to red, and in almost all blood collection tubes, by recognizing a highly saturated region, It is possible to calculate the area of a part.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of an embodiment of the serum amount measuring apparatus of the present invention based on the above-described principle, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining the control contents of this apparatus. First, referring to FIG. 1, a blood sampling test tube serum amount measuring apparatus 1 includes a color CCD camera (hereinafter, simply referred to as a camera) 2, a video input board 3, a personal computer 4, and a test tube rotating motor (hereinafter, referred to as a motor). (Simply referred to as a motor) 5, a gloss sensor (for detecting a barcode label position) 6, a test tube chuck 7, and an image capturing illumination 8
The camera 2, the motor 5, the gloss sensor 6, the test tube chuck 7, and the illumination 8 are arranged in the dark box 9 for measurement.

Here, the camera 2 is provided with a blood sampling test tube 10.
To obtain color imaging information of the blood collecting test tube 10 by color imaging. Further, the personal computer 4 obtains red, blue, and green (RGB) density information in each pixel of color imaging from the color imaging information, and removes lightness information from the RGB density information to obtain chromaticity information. Means, means for obtaining saturation information from the chromaticity information, means for obtaining a boundary line position between a serum portion and another portion of a blood component from the saturation information, and calculating an amount of serum that can be collected from the boundary information Means for RG with respect to predetermined dots before and after a pixel in the vicinity of the boundary line position obtained by the saturation
A function is provided by software as each means of means for obtaining the amount of change in each dot of each pixel of each component B and setting the position where the amount of change is maximum as the boundary line position.

Further, the motor 5, the gloss sensor 6 and the personal computer 4 rotate the blood sampling test tube 10 so that the position where the bar code label indicating the sample ID on the surface of the blood sampling test tube 10 is not attached is the photographing direction. The personal computer 4 functions as a control means for controlling the motor 5 as a rotation means on the basis of a detection signal from the glossiness sensor 6 so that the blood collection test tube 10 is set to face. Is equipped with software.

The process of measuring the amount of the serum portion using the serum amount measuring device 1 is performed as follows. That is, the blood sampling test tube 10
Is placed in front of the camera 2, and the blood sampling test tube 1 is driven by the motor 5.
Rotate 0 so that the position where the bar code label indicating the sample ID is not attached is in front of the camera 2.

In this case, the position where the bar code label is not adhered is detected by detecting the position where the bar code label is applied. This is a commonly used method, and the gloss sensor 6 is used. It can be done easily. When the blood sampling tube 10 at the position where the barcode label is not attached is shown in front of the camera 2, the color image of the blood sampling tube 10 is captured in the video input board.

The image of the video input board 3 is loaded into the personal computer 4 in the bit map format, and each pixel of 8 dots on the left and right is extracted from the vertical center line of the blood collecting test tube image for recognition, and RGB of each pixel is extracted. Convert to grayscale information. Although the number of pixels to be extracted is 8 dots on the left and right sides in the present embodiment, it is adopted as an example of recognition calculation, and the present invention itself is not limited to 8 dots on the left and right sides. The liquid surface position of the serum portion and the boundary between the blood clot or the separating agent and the serum portion are recognized and calculated from the RGB grayscale information.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
Details of the above-described serum portion amount measurement processing will be described based on the control content of the personal computer 4.

First, in step 1 (abbreviated as S1 in the drawing; the same applies hereinafter), the blood collecting test tube is positioned using the gloss sensor 6. That is, the gloss sensor 6 is used to instruct the control side of the position without the barcode label so that the image in the recognition area shown in FIG. 3 can be captured without overlapping the barcode label 11.

In step 2, the camera 2 obtains the imaging information of the blood sampling test tube 10. That is, when the personal computer 4 receives the control signal of the gloss sensor 6, the camera 2 captures the blood sampling test tube imaging information with the camera 2.

In step 3, blood sampling tube information is transmitted from the camera 2 to the video input board 3 as an NTSC video input signal.

In step 4, the information from the video input board 3 is converted into a well-known bitmap format.

In step 5, the bitmap format information is converted into RGB density information for each pixel.

In step 6, the chromaticity information (r, g, b) is obtained by removing the lightness information from the RGB grayscale information. That is, r = R / (R + G + B) g = G / (R + G + B) b = G / (R + G + B) r + g + b = 1 chromaticity plane.

In step 7, chroma information is obtained. That is, the chromaticity information (r, g, b) is a set of points (r + g + b = 1 chromaticity plane) on the same plane, as shown in FIG. Try to find the saturation from the points. The saturation is WP / W in FIG.
Expressed as a ratio of Q (Reference: Image Processing Application Technology Industrial Research Committee). In this case, the point W in FIG. 4B represents the achromatic color with the center of gravity of the equilateral triangle. The point P is the intersection of the point on the extension of the line segment WP and the point r + g + b = 1 (r ≧ 0, g ≧ 0, b ≧ 0) on the plane.

In step 8, the boundary line is recognized. That is, since the serum part has a higher saturation value than the other parts,
The part is recognized as serum. More specifically, a moving average from the start position of saturation information acquisition to the end is obtained. This is shown in a graph in FIG. The specified value that the serum part can always be extracted is determined, and the part above the level determined by the specified value is recognized as the serum part. Fifteen dots before and after the pixels on both ends recognized as the serum part are set as the recognition area, and | R _{n + 1} −R _n | + | G
_{n + 1} −G _n | + | B _{n + 1} −B _n | (see graph in FIG. 6)
The maximum value of is detected as the surface position of the serum or the interface position between the serum and the separating agent.

By giving the type of the blood sampling tube taken to the serum boundary information obtained by the above operation,
It is possible to calculate the volume of serum that can be collected for each type of blood collection test tube.

In the recognition of the amount of blood serum based on the saturation information, the bar code label 11 is affixed to the blood collecting test tube 10 over more than half of the circumference by applying the illumination 8 to be used from the front of the blood collecting test tube 10. Even if the camera 2
When viewed from the front, the amount of serum can be recognized if the gap where the barcode label 11 is not attached is about 6 mm or more.

Further, in the present configuration for recognizing the blood serum region based on the saturation information, the photographing is performed with reflected light, and the recognition is possible without being influenced by the characters and symbols printed on the bar code label.

Furthermore, in practice, in addition to the above-mentioned processing, it is preferable to perform distance correction processing for determining the size of the object to be measured from the video image. In such distance correction, a point with a fixed distance (for example, an LED or the like) is photographed together with the image of the test tube, and the distance is constantly corrected, and the measurement accuracy is guaranteed.

According to this structure, blood is directly collected from the patient by using the device for recognizing the serum volume in the blood collecting test tube 10 and the boundary position between the blood clot or the separating agent and the serum from the color image by the camera 2. With the blood sampling test tube 10,
Since the amount of serum can be accurately obtained before dispensing with the barcode label still attached, analysis / test with higher priority depending on the amount of serum that can be collected from the collected blood. It is possible to allocate serum from this, and valuable serum can be effectively used.

By notifying the dispenser of the liquid surface position of the serum and the boundary position between the blood clot or the separating agent and the serum, it is not necessary to insert the sensor into the blood sampling test tube 10 and, therefore, the sensor cleaning is not necessary. A safe dispenser can be easily manufactured.

Further, such a measuring apparatus has the advantages that the scale of the equipment is small, the cost required for equipment investment is low, and the time required to detect the interface position for one blood sampling test tube is short.

In the above arrangement, the type of blood sampling test tube to be used can be recognized from the captured color image. Further, behind the blood collecting test tube 10 seen from the camera 2, a white-colored member which is substantially adhered to the blood collecting test tube 10,
For example, when a white or light gray paper or plastic object is placed, the lightness, saturation, and hue of the serum image in the part with the barcode label and the part without the barcode label in the blood sampling tube image An image with almost no difference can be obtained, and the blood collection tube can be imaged with less influence of the barcode label.

[0043]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1, the amount of serum can be accurately obtained before dispensing, and therefore, the amount of serum that can be collected from the collected blood is determined according to the amount of serum that can be collected. , It becomes possible to allocate serum from analysis / test with higher priority, so that valuable serum can be effectively used, and the liquid level of serum and the position of the boundary between clot or separating agent and serum can be dispensed. By informing the user, it is not necessary to insert the sensor into the blood sampling test tube, so a safe dispenser that does not require sensor cleaning etc. can be easily manufactured, and the scale of the equipment is small, resulting in capital investment It has the advantages of low cost and short interface position detection time for a single blood sampling test tube.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the blood collecting test tube in which blood is directly collected from the patient, the amount of serum can be accurately measured while the bar code label showing the sample ID is still attached.
Can be obtained before dispensing.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the position where the bar code label is not attached can be easily detected by the gloss sensor, and the position of the blood sampling tube can be properly controlled.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the position of the boundary between the blood serum component and the other portion of the blood component can be identified more accurately from the saturation information.

According to the invention of claim 5, the lightness, saturation, and serum of the serum image in the portion with the barcode label and the portion without the barcode label in the blood sampling tube image,
An image with almost no difference in hue can be obtained, and the blood collection tube can be imaged with less influence of the barcode label.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of an embodiment of a serum amount measuring device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart explaining the control contents of the same device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between an image in a recognition area and a barcode label.

4A is a diagram showing chromaticity information, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing saturation.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a moving average from the start position of saturation information acquisition to the end thereof.

FIG. 6 | R _{n + 1} −R _n | + | G _{n + 1} −G _n | + | B
Graph showing _{n + 1} −B _n |

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Serum amount measuring device 2 Color CCD camera 3 Video input board 4 Personal computer 5 Test tube rotation motor 6 Gloss sensor 10 Blood sampling test tube 11 Bar code label

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G06T 7/00 G06F 15/62 395 15/70 310

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A means for color-imaging a blood sampling test tube to obtain color imaging information of the blood sampling test tube, and a means for obtaining grayscale information of red, blue, and green in each pixel of color imaging from the color imaging information. A means for obtaining chromaticity information by removing lightness information from the grayscale information, a means for obtaining chroma information from the chromaticity information, and a boundary between a blood serum component and another portion of the blood component from the chroma information. An apparatus for measuring the amount of serum in a blood collecting test tube, comprising: means for obtaining a line position; and means for calculating the amount of serum that can be collected from the boundary information. 2. The blood collecting test tube is configured to include a means for setting the blood collecting test tube so that a position on the surface of the blood collecting test tube where the bar code label indicating the sample ID is not attached faces the imaging direction. The blood serum test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blood test tube is used. 3. The means for setting the blood sampling test tube comprises rotating means for rotating the blood sampling test tube, a gloss sensor for detecting the bar code label position, and a detection signal from the gloss sensor. The control means for controlling the rotating means is included, and the serum amount measuring device in a blood collecting test tube according to claim 2, characterized in that. 4. A change amount at each dot of pixels of each component of red, blue, and green is calculated with respect to a predetermined dot before and after a pixel in the vicinity of a boundary line position obtained by the saturation, and a position where the change amount is maximum 4. The serum amount measuring device for a blood collecting test tube according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to include a means for setting the boundary line position. 5. The blood collecting test tube is photographed by placing a white member in close contact with the blood collecting test tube in the rear of the blood collecting test tube as seen from the photographing direction. The serum level measuring device in the blood collecting test tube according to any one of 4 to 4.