JPH1073532A - Measuring apparatus for liquid sample - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a measuring apparatus by which a liquid sample is analyzed with high accuracy and with good reproducibility by a method wherein a rocking means is installed at a housing member and the liquid sample and a reagent are stirred in a measuring operation. SOLUTION: By an instruction through a keyboard, a control part finishes prescribed preparations, 'Measuring preparations completed' is displayed on a display device, and LED's 10, 11 are turned on. At this time, an operator removes a lid 9 at a support member 5, a sample tube 2 which houses a blood sample in a prescribed quantity is loaded into a housing member 3, the lid 9 is mounted and attached, and a reagent in a prescribed quantity is injected into the sample tube 2 via an injection hole 9a. The control part detects the injection of the reagent by means of a change in a quantity of received light by a photodiode 10a, a motor 7 is driven for about 0.5 to 1.0sec, and a substance contained in the sample tube 2 is stirred. In addition, simultaneously with the driving operation of the motor, the clocking operation of the solidification time (t) is started, a quantity of scattered light Q detected by a photodiode 11a is measured at every prescribed time, and its measured values are stored sequentially in a built-in RAM. After that, a solidification curve, the solidification time and the like are displayed on the display device by a prescribed processing operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid sample measuring device, for example, a blood coagulation measuring device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of liquid sample measuring apparatus,
There is known a method in which a reagent is supplied to a container containing a blood sample, and the time until the coagulation of the blood sample is optically detected is measured (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-34592). .

[0003]

However, since such a conventional apparatus does not include a stirring device, it is necessary to separately stir the reagent and the liquid sample. Therefore, there is a problem that the stirring is troublesome, the stirring is not uniform, and the measured value is poor in reproducibility. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a liquid sample measuring apparatus with a stirring function capable of obtaining a highly reproducible measurement result without the need for stirring the reagent and the liquid sample. Is provided.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a storage member for removably storing a light-transmitting container, a support member for swingably supporting the storage member, a light source for irradiating the container with light, and a container. A light detector for detecting light from a light source through the heater, a heater for heating the container, and a rocking means for rocking the storage member, wherein the rocking means is provided in the storage member. A liquid sample measuring device is provided.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is applicable to any liquid sample measuring device for optically measuring the concentration, reaction time, etc. of a liquid sample. One example is a blood coagulation measuring device, which measures coagulation ability after adding a reagent to a blood sample of a mammal including a human, and contributes to diagnosis of a disease or the like. The measurement items include prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen amount (Fbg),
There are activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and the like, which are determined by which components in the blood are reacted by the added reagent.

[0006] The translucent container applied to the present invention only needs to be transparent at least in a portion related to optical detection.
Usually, a glass or resin test tube having a diameter of 10 to 20 mm and a height of 50 to 100 mm is used, and a liquid sample (eg, a blood sample) and a reagent (eg, a coagulation reagent) to be measured are put into this container. The storage member for removably storing the container is, for example, a member for storing a transparent bottomed cylindrical container (test tube) so that the axis of the container is vertical. It is preferable to be detachable in the axial direction.

This device comprises a light source for irradiating the container with light,
Equipped with a light detector that detects light from the light source through the container,
For example, a light emitting diode is used as a light source, and a photodiode or a phototransistor is used as a photodetector.

The photodetector detects the reaction of the liquid sample with the reagent as a change in the amount of light. When detecting the change in the amount of transmitted light due to coagulation, the light source and the photodetector are connected to a container. When a change in the amount of scattered light is detected on a straight line with the interposition therebetween, the light source and the photodetector are arranged such that the optical axes of the light sources and the photodetectors are substantially orthogonal to each other at substantially the center of the container.

[0009] Since the measuring device starts timing from the time when the reagent is charged into the container containing the liquid sample, the measuring device further includes another light source and a photodetector for detecting the time when the reagent is charged. Is preferred. In this case, the light source and the light detector are located above the light source and the light detector for detecting the reaction, so that the increase in the contents of the container accompanying the introduction of the reagent is detected by a change in the amount of transmitted light. Will be installed.

In other words, when the housing member houses the translucent cylindrical container so that the axis of the container is vertical, first and second light sources arranged vertically above and below are provided as light sources, respectively. If the first and second light sources arranged to detect the light from the first and second light sources via the container are provided as the detectors, the first light source and the first photodetector can supply the reagent. Detecting the second light source and the second light detector,
A reaction will be detected.

A feature of the present invention lies in that the liquid sample and the reagent contained in the container are efficiently agitated at the start of the measurement by rocking the container by the rocking means. For example, a motor in which a weight member is eccentrically provided on an output shaft is installed in a storage member, and the storage member is swung by a reaction of the weight when the motor is rotated can be used. The swing in the present invention is a pendulum movement, a reciprocating movement, an eccentric rotation movement or a combined movement of two or more of these movements, whereby a plurality of kinds of contents in the transmitted light container stored in the storage member are stored. It tries to mix things uniformly.

Further, the swing means is constituted by a magnetic member provided on the storage member and an electromagnet provided on the support member facing the magnetic member, and the magnetic member is intermittently attracted by the electromagnet and stored. The member may be swung.

The measuring apparatus is provided with a heater for keeping the contents of the container, that is, the liquid sample at a predetermined temperature, for example, at 37 ° C., for example, by using a resistance heating heater (Nichrome wire) provided on the housing member. Heater) is used. In this case, it is preferable to include a temperature sensor that detects the container temperature, and a controller that controls the heater current based on the sensor output to keep the container temperature constant.

Further, in the supporting member for swingably supporting the storage member, the support member may be swingably supported by holding or suspending the storage member via an elastic member such as rubber or a spring. Can be.

Preferably, the present invention further comprises a measurement control means for measuring the reaction time. In this case, the measurement control means comprises a light-transmitting container containing the liquid sample contained in the storage member, When reagents are loaded into
After detecting the introduction of the reagent by a change in the detection value of the first photodetector, the swing means is driven for a predetermined time, and the second
It is configured to measure a reaction time from a change with time of a detection value of the photodetector.

The measurement control means includes a CPU, a ROM, an R
It can be constituted by a microcomputer composed of AM. Further, it is preferable to further include output means for outputting the measurement result, for example, a CRT, a liquid crystal display or a printer.

[0017]

1 is a top view of a main body of a blood coagulation measuring apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a main body), FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG.
3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are sectional views taken along the lines CC, DD, and EE of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 1 is provided with a storage member 3 for removably storing a resin sample tube 2 as a transparent container, and the storage member 3 is rocked via an elastic member 4 made of rubber or the like. A supporting member 5 movably supporting, a nichrome wire coil heater (heater) 6 wound on an upper outer surface of the storage member 3, and a rocking means installed at a lower end of the storage member 3 to rock the storage member 3 The motor 7 includes a weight member whose center of gravity is eccentric, that is, an unbalancer 8, on an output shaft 7 a of the motor 7. Further, the main body 1 includes a lid 9 for covering the upper part of the support member 5, and a reagent injection hole 9 a is provided in the center of the lid 9.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the main body 1 is provided with LEs as first and second light sources provided on a support member 5.
D10 and D11 are provided, and the LEDs 10 and 11 are vertically arranged in parallel with the axis of the sample tube 2, that is, the axis of the storage member 3.

The supporting member 5 is provided with a photodiode 10a (FIG. 3) as a first photodetector and a photodiode 11a (FIG. 2) as a second photodetector. Can receive light from the LED 10 through the sample tube 2,
The photodiode 11 is disposed so as to face the LED 10.
a is arranged so that the optical axes of the LED 11 and the photodiode 11a are orthogonal to the axis of the sample tube 2 in order to receive light from the LED 11 scattered by the contents of the sample tube 2.

That is, the light emitted from the LED 10 passes through the openings 21 and 22 as shown in FIG.
, And received by the photodiode 10a through the openings 23 and 24, and the light emitted from the LED 11 passes through the openings 25 and 26 as shown in FIG.
Is scattered by the contents inside, and the scattered light is
The light is received by the photodiode 11a via 7, 28.

A temperature detecting thermistor 16 (FIGS. 3 and 6) is provided on the side surface of the holder 3. A bottom plate 12 is attached to the bottom of the support member 5, and 2
Two circuit boards 13 (FIG. 2) and 14 (FIG. 3) stand upright.

Next, the procedure for assembling the main body 1 will be described with reference to a longitudinal sectional view of the storage member 3 (FIG. 8) and a top view of the elastic member 4 (FIG. 9). First, a coil presser plate 15 is adhered to the upper end of a housing member 3 (FIG. 8) molded of a resin such as polycarbonate or polyacetal, and a coiled portion 3a is wound with a nichrome wire coated with a heat-resistant resin to form a coil heater. Create 6. Next, after bonding the thermistor 16 to the side surface of the storage member 3, the motor 7 having the unbalancer 8 is fitted into the output shaft from the lower end of the storage member 3 and bonded.

On the other hand, the LED 10, 1
1 and the photodiodes 10a and 11a are attached,
An elastic member 4 (FIG. 9) made of rubber or the like is pressed down to the lower end of the groove 4a and fixed while being fitted from the upper opening of the support member 5 into the groove 4a of the inner wall. Next, the storage member 3 is inserted into an insertion port 4c (FIG. 9) provided in the receiving portion 4a of the elastic member 4, and is fixed by pressing down. Next, after the bottom plate 12 on which the circuit boards 13 and 14 are erected in advance is fixed to the bottom of the support member 5, the lid 9 is mounted on the top of the support member 5. Thus, the assembly work of the main body 1 is completed.

The elastic member 4 elastically balances and connects the storage member 3 and the support member 5 to each other by four legs 4b extending in four directions from the receiving portion 4d. This is because the storage member 3 and the support member 5 maintain the same concentric state with each other, and the storage member 3 performs a swinging motion around the axis of the support member 5 by driving the motor 7. is there. In other words, this is to prevent only one side of unbalanced swing.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the blood coagulation measuring device. The control unit 18 includes a CPU, ROM, R
The microcomputer includes a microcomputer including an AM, a heater 6, a motor 7, a display device 19, and a driver circuit for driving the LEDs 10, 11, and receives outputs from the keyboard 17, the photodiodes 10a, 11a, and the thermistor 16, and , Motor 7, display device (CRT) 1
9 and the LEDs 10 and 11 are driven. The built-in components of the control unit 18 include the circuit boards 13, 1
4

In such a configuration, the keyboard 17
The controller 18 drives the heater 6 to heat the storage member 3, detects the temperature of the storage member 3 by the thermistor 16 and sets the temperature of the storage member 3 to 37 ° C. Hold at 1.0 ° C.

When the temperature of the storage member 3 reaches 37 ° C., the control unit 18 displays “measurement preparation completed” on the display device 19 and turns on the LEDs 10 and 11. Therefore, the user removes the lid 9 from the support member 5, loads the sample tube 2 containing a predetermined amount of blood sample (for example, 50 μl of plasma) into the storage member 3, attaches the lid 9, and puts the lid 9 through a pipette (not shown). A predetermined amount of a reagent (for example, 100 μl of a PT reagent) is injected into the sample tube 2 through the injection hole 9a.

When detecting the injection of the reagent by the change in the amount of light received by the photodiode 10a, the control unit
The contents of the sample tube 2 are agitated by driving the motor 7 for only 1.0 second. The control unit 18 starts counting the coagulation time t simultaneously with the start of driving of the motor 7, and also controls the photodiode 11a every predetermined time (for example, every 0.1 second).
Are measured, and the measured values are sequentially stored in a built-in RAM.

Eventually, the rate of change of the amount of scattered light Q becomes zero (saturated).
, The control unit 18 ends the measurement, and displays the temporal change of the scattered light quantity Q, that is, the coagulation curve as shown in FIG.
9 is displayed. At the same time, the minimum level of the scattered light amount Q is set to 0% and the maximum level is set to 100%, and the time t ₁ corresponding to the 50% level is calculated as the coagulation time and displayed on the display device 19. Thus, the measurement of the coagulation time is performed.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the liquid sample and the reagent contained in the container are stirred by the rocking of the container at the time of measurement, so that the sample can be analyzed with high accuracy and high reproducibility. . In addition, since the stirring operation and the measurement operation can be performed by the same device, the labor of the stirring operation can be omitted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view showing an apparatus main body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing a measuring method according to an example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Sample tube 3 Storage member 4 Elastic member 5 Support member 6 Coil heater 7 Motor 8 Unbalancer 9 Lid 10 LED 10a Photodiode 11 LED 11a Photodiode 12 Bottom plate 13 Circuit board 14 Circuit board

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage member for removably storing a translucent container, a support member for swingably supporting the storage member, a light source for irradiating the container with light, and a light from the light source via the container. A liquid sample measuring device comprising: a photodetector for detection; a heater for heating a container; and a rocking means for rocking a storage member, wherein the rocking means is provided in the storage member. 2. The liquid sample measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the swinging means comprises a motor and a weight member eccentrically provided on the motor shaft. 3. The liquid sample measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the light source and the photodetector are provided on the support member.