KR200263137Y1 - Automatic biochip analysis machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses an automatic biochip analyzer that can automatically analyze the reaction results of the biochip. The automatic analyzer of the present invention has a loading means having a frame for providing a loading position and an analysis position of the biochip, a carriage for carrying the biochip by reciprocating between the loading position and the analysis position of the frame, and between the loading position and the analysis position of the frame. Cleaning means arranged to remove foreign substances from the biochip, illumination means for projecting light so that the image is projected from the biochip at the analysis position of the frame, a camera for capturing an image of the biochip and outputting image data, and projecting from the illumination means. It comprises a shutter means for blocking the light to limit the illumination area for the biochip, and a computer for analyzing the image data from the camera by a program. According to the present invention, the image data of the reaction result of the biochip is acquired by the camera and then analyzed and managed in real time by a computer program, thereby greatly improving the reliability and speed of the analysis result. In addition, the simple structure has a low cost, there is a practical effect that can easily analyze a large amount of biochips.

Description

Biochip Automatic Analyzer {AUTOMATIC BIOCHIP ANALYSIS MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a biochip automatic analyzer, and more particularly, to a biochip automatic analyzer capable of automatically analyzing the reaction results of the biochip.

As is well known, biochips have a high density of biomaterials such as proteins, DNA, antibodies, enzymes, microorganisms, animal and plant cells and organs, and neurons on the surface of substrates such as glass, silicon, etc. It is a kind of integrated biochemical semiconductor, and is often classified into protein chip, DNA chip, gene chip, cell chip, and bio-sensor. Biochips are used in a wide variety of fields, including gene function analysis, clinical diagnosis, antibiotic resistance testing, drug sensitivity testing, paternity and animal and plant quarantine.

Looking at an example of an analysis method using such a biochip, the tester's blood, urine, etc. are reacted with a biochip that integrates proteins and fluorescent materials used for a reaction to a specific disease or condition, and reacts to the protein, blood, and urine of the biochip. The presence of diseases or symptoms is diagnosed by analyzing the expression of fluorescent substances by the reaction of the proteins included. Biochips for diagnosing specific diseases or symptoms are called diagnostic kits, and the generalization of the biochips is rapidly progressing due to the promptness and accuracy of the diagnostic kits.

In general, analysis of biochips is performed by visual inspection or microscopic examination by an analyst. However, the visual inspection, which depends entirely on the judgment of the analyst, requires considerable skill, and there is a concern that the reliability of the test result may be lowered due to the error of each analyst. In addition, there is a problem in that the accuracy of the analysis is very different due to internal and external factors such as the fatigue of the inspector and the analysis environment. And microscopy can increase the reliability compared to visual inspection, but it has a disadvantage that takes a lot of time and manpower.

On the other hand, analytical devices for conducting large-scale analysis of biochips have been developed in various structures. As an example of an analysis apparatus, Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-39264 shows data for projecting a laser beam from a semiconductor laser onto a biochip and detecting a laser beam reflected from the biochip in order to detect fluorescent substances expressed after the reaction of the biochip. A technique for conducting a furnace analysis is disclosed. However, this technology has a problem of lowering reliability because it affects the reaction of the biochip by the heat of the laser beam, and has a disadvantage that the apparatus for generating and detecting the laser beam is expensive.

The present invention was devised to solve various problems of the prior art as described above, and an object of the present invention is to easily and accurately analyze a reaction result of a biochip, thereby enabling an automatic biochip analyzer capable of greatly improving reliability and speed. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic biochip analyzer capable of processing and managing data of analytical results in real time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a practical biochip automatic analyzer which is inexpensive by a simple structure and can easily analyze a large amount of biochips.

Features of the present invention for achieving the above object, the frame providing a loading position and analysis position of the biochip; Loading means having a carriage for carrying the biochip by reciprocating between the loading position and the analysis position of the frame; Cleaning means disposed between the loading position and the analysis position of the frame to remove foreign substances from the biochip; Illuminating means for projecting light such that an image is projected from the biochip at an analysis position of the frame; A camera for capturing an image of the biochip and outputting image data; Shutter means for blocking the light projected from the luminaire to limit the illumination area for the biochip; There is a computer-based biochip automatic analyzer for analyzing image data from a camera by a program.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration removed the cover for the loss in the automatic analyzer according to the present invention,

2 is a perspective view of the automatic analyzer of FIG. 1 viewed from the rear;

3 is a front view showing an automatic analyzer according to the present invention,

4 is a side view showing an automatic analyzer according to the present invention,

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a partially enlarged configuration of the lighting device, the shutter device, the cooling device in the automatic analyzer according to the present invention,

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the loading device and the first sensing unit in the automatic analyzer according to the present invention,

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the shutter device and the second sensing unit in the automatic analyzer according to the present invention,

8a and 8b is a cross-sectional view and a plan view partially showing the operation of the shutter device in the automatic analyzer according to the present invention,

9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a lighting device and a cooling device in the automatic analyzer according to the present invention.

♣ Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ♣

1: biochip 2: barcode

10: frame 12: table

20: loading device 21: carriage

23: motor 25: ball screw

30: first sensing unit 40: bar code reading device

50: ionizer air blower 60: lighting device

61: LED lighting device 62: optical filter unit

70: camera 80: shutter device

81: shutter 82: guide block

85: motor 86: ball screw

90: second sensing unit 100: cooling device

101: Peltier element 102: heat dissipation block

103: cooling fan 110: controller

120: cover for the loss 130: computer

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the biochip automatic analyzer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, referring to Figures 1 to 4, the automatic analyzer of the present invention includes a frame 10 constituting the appearance. The frame 10 is composed of a base 11 and a table 12 disposed on the base 11 and providing a loading position P1 and an analysis position P2 of the biochip 1. As clearly shown in FIG. 6, a barcode 2 on which the data of a unique serial number, etc., assigned to recognize the biochip 1 is attached is attached to the top surface of the biochip 1. have.

1, 2, 5, and 6, the table 12 of the frame 10 is provided with a loading device 20 for loading / unloading the biochip 1. The loading device 20 includes a carriage 21 for mounting and transporting the biochip 1. A mounting groove 21a for mounting the biochip 1 is formed on the upper surface of the carriage 21, and a light transmission window 21b for transmitting light is formed at the bottom of the mounting groove 21a. The carriage 21 of the loading device 20 reciprocates between the loading position P1 and the analysis position P2 of the table 12 by the drive of the drive mechanism 22. The drive mechanism 22 includes a ball screw 25 mounted on the upper surface of the motor 23 and the table 12 so as to be rotated by receiving the driving force of the motor 23 by the belt transmission mechanism 24. And a nut 26 mounted on a joint block 26a fixed to one side of the carriage 21 to be screwed along the ball screw 25. Both ends of the ball screw 25 are supported on the upper surface of the table 12 by a plummer block 27.

The belt transmission mechanism 24 includes a drive pulley 24a attached to the drive shaft 23a of the motor 23, a driven pulley 24b attached to one end of the ball screw 25, and a drive pulley ( 24a and a belt 24c wound around the driven pulley 24b. The movement of the carriage 21 by the drive of the drive mechanism 22 is guided in linear motion by the guide means. The guide means includes a pair of guide rails 28 mounted parallel to the upper surface of the table 12, and slides 29 fixed to the lower surface of the carriage 21 so as to slide along the guide rails 28. It consists of).

As shown in FIG. 6, the position of the carriage 21 is sensed and controlled by the first sensing unit 30. The first sensing unit 30 includes first and second sensors 31 and 32 sequentially disposed along the moving direction of the carriage 21 on the upper surface of the table 12, and first and second sensors 31 and 31. It is composed of a sensing dog (33) mounted on one side of the joint block 26a to be detected by the 32. The first and second sensors 31 and 32 may be configured as photo couplers or proximity sensors. In the present embodiment, when the carriage 21 is located at the loading position P1 of the table 12, the sensing dog 33 is sensed by the first sensor 31 of the first sensing unit 30, and the carriage When 21 is located at the analysis position P2 of the table 12, the sensing dog 33 is sensed by the second sensor 32.

1 to 3, between the loading position P1 and the analysis position P2 of the table 12, the barcode 2 of the biochip 1 mounted and transported in the seating groove 21a of the carriage 21 is transferred. Bar code reading device 40 for reading () is provided. An ionizer air blower (50) is a cleaning means for removing foreign substances such as dust attached to the surface of the biochip 1 by static electricity on the upper surface of the table 12 adjacent to the barcode reader 40. Is installed. The ionizer air blower 50 generates negative (+) ions and positive (+) ions to remove static electricity charged in the biochip 1 during the handling of the biochip 1 and at the same time by forced ventilation of air. The foreign substance is removed from the biochip 1 and removed.

1 to 5 and 9 together, the automatic analyzer of the present invention illuminates the biochip 1 to obtain image data from the biochip 1 located at the analysis position P2 of the table 12. The illumination device 60 and the camera 70 which image | photographs the image of the biochip 1 projected by the illumination of this illumination device 60, and outputs image data are provided. The lighting device 60 is composed of an LED lighting device (Light Emitting Diode Illuminator) 61 which projects light upward through the light transmission window 21b of the carriage 21 on the upper surface of the table 12. An optical filter unit 62 is mounted on an upper portion of the LED lighting device 61, and the optical filter unit 62 blocks the light of a specific wavelength transmitted from the LED lighting device 61 from being transmitted or blocked. Exit through the exit window (63). The optical filter unit 62 may block a specific color of the image projected from the biochip 1, thereby improving the sharpness of the image. Camera 70 is composed of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device Camera), the lens 71 of the camera 70, the barrel 72 for forming a dark chamber so as to be close to the biochip 1 of the analysis position (P2) It is installed. At the distal end of the barrel 72, a field stop 74 is mounted with a view 70 of the camera 70 relative to the biochip 1, that is, an incident window 73 for limiting the imaging range. The camera 70 is fixed to the post 13 of the table 12.

3, 5 and 7, the automatic analyzer of the present invention includes a shutter device 80 that can block light projected from the lighting device 60. The shutter device 80 has a shutter 81 arranged to be close to the exit window 63 of the optical filter unit 62, and the shutter 81 exits from the exit window 63 of the optical filter unit 62. The first light emitting window 81a and the second light emitting window 81b each having a size smaller than the size of the exit window 63 may be provided at predetermined intervals so as to limit the illumination area of the biochip 1 due to the light. It is formed along the direction.

Guide blocks 82 are fixed to the lower surface of the shutter 81, and guide holes 82a are formed at both sides of the guide block 82. As shown in FIG. A pair of guide bars 83 pass through the guide holes 82a of the guide block 82, and both ends of the guide bars 83 are fixed in parallel to the upper surface of the table 12 by the fixing block 84. have. Thus, the guide block 82 linearly moves along the guide bar 83. The shutter device 80 has a ball screw 86 that is rotated by the driving of the motor 85 as a driving means for operating the shutter 81, and the nut 87 screwed along the ball screw 86. Is fixed to the guide block 82.

As shown in FIG. 7, the position of the shutter 81 is detected and controlled by the second sensing unit 90. The second sensing unit 90 may be sensed by the first to third sensors 91 to 93 and the first to third sensors 91 to 93 which are sequentially disposed along the movement direction of the shutter 81. It consists of the sensing dog 84 formed in one side of the shutter 81 so that it may be. The first to third sensors 91 to 93 may be configured as photocouplers or proximity sensors.

3 to 5 and 9, the automatic analyzer of the present invention includes a cooling device 100 for cooling the heat of the lighting device (60). The cooling device 100 is in close contact with the lower surface of the LED lighting device 61 and the Peltier device 101 which absorbs and cools the heat of the LED lighting device 61 by the Peltier Effect, and the Peltier device 101. The heat dissipation block 102 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the heat dissipation block 102 to absorb heat emitted from the Peltier element 101 and release the heat into the atmosphere. The heat dissipation block 102 is installed on the base 11 of the frame 10, and a cooling fan for cooling the heat dissipation block 102 by forced ventilation on the upper surface of the base 11 adjacent to the heat dissipation block 102 ( 103 is installed.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the automatic analyzer of the present invention includes a controller 110 that is installed on the upper surface of the base (11). The controller 110 includes the motor 23 of the loading device 20, the barcode reader 40, the ionizer air blower 50, and the lighting device 60 according to data such as an order, condition, and position set by a program. The operation of the camera 70, the motor 85 of the shutter device 80, the second sensing unit 90, the Peltier element 101 and the cooling fan 103 of the cooling device 100 is controlled. The periphery of the frame 10 is blocked by the cover for the dark room 120 fixed to the base 11 and the table 12, the entrance to allow the passage of the carriage 21 on one side of the cover for the dark room (120) 121 is provided. Since the dark room cover 120 completely blocks the interference of light from the outside, it is possible to increase the accuracy and reliability of the image data of the biochip 1 obtained by the imaging of the camera 70.

In addition, the barcode data output from the barcode reading device 40 and the image data of the biochip 1 output from the camera 70 are input to the computer 130 in real time. The computer 130 has a microprocessor, an output device such as a monitor 131, a printer, and an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. The computer 130 displays the image data of the biochip 1 on the monitor 131 and analyzes it by a program, for example, diagnosing the presence of a disease or symptom, and processing and storing the data and barcode data accordingly. The computer 130 is provided outside the network cover 120 to interface with the controller 110 so that the controller 110 can be controlled by an analyzer.

The following describes the operation of the biochip automatic analyzer of the present invention having such a configuration.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, a reaction of the biochip 1, for example, the tester's blood, urine, etc. is reacted with the biochip 1 for analysis by an automatic analyzer of the present invention, The bar code 2 on which data on the unique serial number and the like is recorded is attached.

Next, the analyst mounts the biochip 1 in the seating groove 21a of the carriage 21 positioned at the loading position P1 of the table 12, and then mounts the motor 23 of the drive mechanism 22. Drive it. The driving force of the motor 23 is transmitted to the ball screw 25 by the belt transmission mechanism 24, and the carriage 21 is moved to the table 12 by a nut 26 which is screwed in accordance with the rotation of the ball screw 25. ) Is passed from the loading position (P1) of the passing through the entrance and exit 121 of the cover for the net 120 to the analysis position (P2). At this time, the carriage 21 is linearly moved by the slide 29 sliding along the guide rail (28).

In addition, the barcode reading device 40 reads the barcode 2 of the biochip 1 while the carriage 21 is moved from the loading position P1 of the table 12 to the analysis position P2. To the computer 130. The ionizer air blower 50 removes the static electricity of the biochip 1 that has passed through the barcode reader 40 and simultaneously removes foreign substances from the biochip 1 by forced ventilation of air. Therefore, the accuracy and reliability of the image data of the biochip 1 obtained by the imaging of the camera 70 can be improved.

5, 6 and 8A and 8B, when the carriage 21 reaches the analysis position P2 of the table 12, the second sensor 32 of the first sensing unit 30 is sensed. The dog 33 is detected, and the detection signal of the second sensor 32 is input to the controller 110. The controller 110 stops the motor 23 of the loading apparatus 20 according to the detection signal of the second sensor 32, and thus the carriage 21 is stopped at the analysis position P2 of the table 12. . When the motor 85 of the shutter device 80 is driven to rotate the ball screw 86, the nut 87 is screwed in accordance with the rotation of the ball screw 86 and guided by the screw movement of the nut 87. The block 82 transfers the shutter 81 while linearly moving along the guide bar 83. The first to third sensors 91 to 93 of the second sensing unit 90 detect the sensing dog 94 and output a detection signal for the transfer position of the shutter 81. The controller 110 determines the transfer position of the shutter 81 according to the detection signals input from the first to third sensors 91 to 93 and reaches the position where the shutter 81 is set. Stops driving. At this time, the controller 110 controls one of the first and second floodlights 81a and 71b of the shutter 81 to be aligned with the exit window 63 of the optical filter unit 62.

As such, when one of the first and second floodlights 81a and 71b of the shutter 81, for example, the first floodlight 81a, is aligned with the exit window 63 of the optical filter unit 62, the LED The light projected from the luminaire 61 is filtered by the optical filter unit 62 and the output window 63 of the optical filter unit 62, the first floodlight 81a of the shutter 81 and the carriage 21. Is sequentially projected through the light-transmitting window 21b of the biochip (1). As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the first and second floodlights 81a and 71b of the shutter 81 may emit light from the exit window 63 of the optical filter unit 62. The illumination area of the biochip 1 can be limited. Therefore, the image of the biochip 1 may be adjusted and projected only on a predetermined portion by the illumination of the illumination device 60. As a result, by adjusting the imaging range of the camera 70 with respect to the image data of the biochip 1 can be obtained by limiting the image data of the biochip 1 to a specific area, and must be processed by a program of the computer 130 Since the size of the image data to be reduced can be reduced, the image data can be processed quickly.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the camera 70 captures an image projected onto the biochip 1 by illumination of the LED lighting device 61, and outputs the image data to the computer 130. The computer 130 displays the image data of the biochip 1 on the monitor 131 and analyzes it by a program, for example, diagnosing the presence of a disease or symptom, and processing and storing the data and barcode data accordingly. When the analysis of the biochip 1 is completed, the motor 23 of the loading apparatus 20 is driven to return the carriage 21 from the analysis position P2 of the table 12 to the loading position P1. When the carriage 21 reaches the loading position P1 of the table 12, the sensing dog 33 is detected by the first sensor 31 of the first sensing unit 30, and the first sensor 31 of the first sensor 31 is detected. The detection signal is input to the controller 110. The controller 110 stops the motor 23 of the loading apparatus 20 according to the detection signal of the first sensor 31, and thus the carriage 21 is stopped at the loading position P1 of the table 12. . The analyst mounts another biochip 1 in the seating groove 21a of the carriage 21 and performs a curvature analysis of the biochip 1 according to the above-described analysis operation.

The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of one embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be appropriately changed within the scope of the claims. For example, the shape and structure of each component specifically shown in the embodiment of the present invention can be modified.

As described above, according to the biochip automatic analyzer according to the present invention, the image data about the reaction result of the biochip is acquired by a camera and analyzed and managed in real time by a computer program, thereby greatly improving the reliability and speed of the analysis result. You can. In addition, due to the simple structure, the price is low, and there is a practical effect that can easily analyze a large amount of biochips.

Claims (5)

A frame providing a loading position and an analysis position of the biochip; Loading means having a carriage for carrying the biochip by reciprocating between a loading position and an analysis position of the frame; Cleaning means disposed between the loading position and the analysis position of the frame to remove foreign substances from the biochip; Illuminating means for projecting light to project an image from the biochip at an analysis position of the frame; A camera for capturing an image of the biochip and outputting image data; Shutter means for limiting an illumination area for the biochip by blocking light projected from the lighting means; And a computer configured to analyze the image data from the camera by a program. The biochip automatic analyzer of claim 1, wherein the lighting means comprises an LED lighting device and an optical filter unit for filtering the light projected from the LED lighting device. According to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a cooling means for cooling the heat of the lighting means, the cooling means is in close contact with the lighting means and the Peltier element for absorbing and cooling the heat of the lighting means, and And a heat dissipation block in close contact with the peltier element and absorbing heat emitted from the peltier element into the atmosphere, and a cooling fan cooling the heat dissipation block by forced ventilation. The method of claim 3, wherein the shutter means, A shutter disposed close to an emission window of the optical filter unit constituting the lighting means, the shutter having a first light emission window and a second light emission window for limiting an illumination area of light emitted from the light emission window of the optical filter unit; A guide block fixed to a lower surface of the shutter and having guide holes formed at both sides thereof; A pair of guide bars through the guide holes of the guide block to guide the linear movement of the guide block; Biochip automatic analyzer consisting of a drive means for providing a driving force to move the guide block. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the cleaning means comprises an ionizer air blower, a barcode reading device that reads a barcode attached to the biochip in proximity to the ionizer air blower and inputs the barcode to the computer, and the surroundings of the frame. Biochip automatic analyzer further comprises a cover for the dark room to block the light from the outside.