JPS5942255B2 - Liquid sample concentration measuring device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic measuring device for clinical testing, and more particularly to a device for measuring the concentration of a liquid sample, such as the concentration of hemoglobin among blood components.

Conventionally, automation of blood-related parameters has progressed, making it possible to save labor, but on the other hand, various problems arise due to the configuration of a liquid flow system, such as residues from the previous analysis sample, inclusion of air bubbles, and non-uniformity of the measurement solution. The disadvantage was that measurement errors could occur due to factors such as gender.

In particular, when measuring hemoglobin concentration, methods such as rinsing out the previous sample with clean water are used to reduce the effects of the previously analyzed sample remaining in the system. There are disadvantages such as water droplets affecting the next measurement, the amount of remaining water droplets changes depending on the suction pressure of the device, and the cleaning effect is also affected by the viscosity of the measurement ball. There is a drawback that simply flowing clean water for a certain amount of time or a predetermined amount through the measurement system cannot effectively cover all the measurement samples. The concentration measuring device of the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and provides a device that can be used not only for measuring hemoglobin concentration but also for other fields of measuring the concentration of relatively high-concentration liquids.

The apparatus of the present invention will be explained below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the measuring block of FIG. 1, partially in cross section.

The concentration measuring device of the present invention includes a cleaning liquid tank 1, a sample introduction pipe 2, a cleaning liquid introduction pipe 3, a valve 4, and a measurement block 5.
, discharge pipe 6, valve T) arithmetic circuit 8, alarm circuit 9,
Consists of an alarm device 10, a measured value recording display circuit 11, etc.
Furthermore, the measurement block 5 includes a flow cell 12, a light source power supply circuit 13, light sources 14 and 15, optical filters 16 and 17, light receiving elements 18 and 19, preamplifiers 20 and 21, and the like.

The flow cell 12 has two optical axes 22 in one fluid passage,
23, the passage 2 is configured into two systems so that optical measurements can be made separately, and the space across which the respective optical axes intersect is narrow.
4, and when the liquid inside is stationary, the liquid in the two spaces has a shape that does not easily mix.

When filling the flow cell 12 with liquid, the liquid is introduced from below in order to prevent bubbles from being generated and to easily drain them even if bubbles are generated.

Further, in order to reduce the amount of liquid remaining, the liquid is introduced from above, but in general, the generation of bubbles often becomes a problem, so a method of introducing the liquid from below is more commonly used.
In the apparatus of the present invention, consideration is given so that measurement accuracy will not be affected even when any of the above methods is used.

In FIG. 1, before a sample is introduced from the sample introduction pipe 2, the cleaning liquid is first introduced from the cleaning liquid tank 1 into the measuring block 5 through the cleaning liquid introduction pipe 3 and the valve 4, and the flow cell 12 shown in FIG. The inside of the lens is filled with cleaning liquid, and photometry of the two optical axes 22 and 23 is performed.

This corresponds to zero point adjustment, and the amount of light on both optical axes at this time must be equal. If bubbles are generated, the bubbles move upward, causing an imbalance in the amount of light between the two optical axes, and a signal is transmitted from the arithmetic circuit 8 to the alarm circuit 9, and the alarm device 10 issues an alarm by sound or lamp. The cleaning fluid is then re-introduced. When the zero point adjustment is completed, the liquid is discharged from the discharge pipe 6 and valve 7.

At this time, when discharging the liquid from above the flow cell 12,
The liquid remains as water droplets, but is transferred and discharged to the outside together with the first part of the next sample solution. A sample is introduced into the flow cell 12 through the sample introduction pipe 2 and valve 4. If there is too much liquid remaining in the flow cell 12 at this time, even the initial part of the sample will not be sufficiently drained, which will cause an imbalance between the two optical axes 22 and 23, but the sample will continue to be introduced. , continues until equilibrium is reached. Even if air bubbles are mixed in, this process continues until the air bubbles are removed. In addition, if some abnormality occurs in the measuring device, for example, if a leak occurs or if the sample is not mixed uniformly, the optical axis 22
23 does not reach equilibrium, the alarm circuit 9 detects an abnormality, and the alarm device 10 issues an alarm. Except for samples with very high viscosity, it is usually sufficient to reach equilibrium just by suctioning a predetermined amount of the sample, and when the amount of light between the optical axes 22 and 23 reaches equilibrium, the light receiving elements 18 and 19 and the preamplifiers 20 and 21 The output is sent to the measurement value recording/display circuit 11 via the arithmetic circuit 8 and recorded or displayed as a measurement result.

When the measurement is completed, the sample is discharged from the inside of the flow cell 12, and then a cleaning liquid is introduced from the cleaning liquid tank 1 to clean the flow cell 12 and adjust the zero point.

By repeating the above steps, samples are sequentially measured.As described above, according to the present invention, most conventional automatic analyzers open valves or transfer liquid depending on the time. In contrast, this device can reliably perform each measurement in response to fluctuations in measurement conditions due to external temperature, sample viscosity, etc., making it possible to perform more accurate measurements. It is possible to quickly detect an abnormality and issue an alarm, and it is also possible to configure it with two flow cells, a main flow cell and a secondary flow cell, regardless of the shape shown in this example. It is very effective to use it as a concentration measuring device such as an automatic blood analyzer.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the measurement block shown in FIG. 1...Cleaning liquid tank, 5...Measurement block, 8...Arithmetic circuit, 9...Alarm circuit, 10...Alarm device , 11...Measurement value recording and display circuit, 12...Flow process.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Two or more cells are connected and arranged in series in one fluid passage with a difference in head, and a light source emits light to each cell, and a light source that receives light passing through each cell and converts it into electricity. A concentration measuring device for a liquid sample, in which a light-receiving element is set for each cell, and when the outputs of the light-receiving elements all match, a measured value is displayed, and when they do not match, an alarm is issued. 2. The liquid sample concentration measuring device according to claim 1, wherein each cell of the flow cell is connected with a narrow passageway.