WO2016132798A1

WO2016132798A1 - Automated analysis device

Info

Publication number: WO2016132798A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/051484
Authority: WO
Inventors: 昌彦飯島; 創山崎
Original assignee: 株式会社日立ハイテクノロジーズ
Priority date: 2015-02-19
Filing date: 2016-01-20
Publication date: 2016-08-25
Also published as: JPWO2016132798A1; JP6470390B2; CN107533073A

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automated analysis device that reduces foaming of dissolved gas associated with an increase in the temperature of a reaction solution, reduces impacts on measurement results, and makes stable photometry possible. The present invention is provided with an ultrasonic irradiation mechanism for irradiating a reagent or reaction solution with ultrasonic waves; degassing is performed in advance by irradiation with ultrasonic waves and is followed by mixing and photometry. Due to this configuration, stable photometry becomes possible, in which during the photometry the foaming of dissolved gas and adhesion to an inner wall of a reaction container are prevented.

Description

Automatic analyzer

The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that analyzes a component of a biological sample such as blood and urine, and more particularly to an automatic analyzer that performs analysis under conditions where the temperature is higher when the reagent is used than when the reagent is stored. The present invention relates to an analyzer.

An automatic analyzer that qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes a target component by mixing a sample and a reagent in a reaction vessel and measuring the optical characteristics of the reaction solution requires stable photometric performance. In recent years, automatic analyzers that perform analysis with a small amount of a reaction solution by reducing the consumption of samples and reagents from the viewpoint of reducing running costs and reducing the burden on patients have become widespread. In such an apparatus, the reaction vessel is miniaturized to reduce the amount of reagents and samples used for measurement, and the area of the reaction solution that can be measured is reduced, so that the bundle of light from the light source used for photometry is reduced. It is necessary to make it thinner. Therefore, especially in these apparatuses, even bubbles having a smaller size than in the past may greatly affect photometry, which may hinder normal measurement.

In Patent Document 1, in the automatic analyzer, in order to remove bubbles adhering to the inner wall of the reaction vessel from the path of the measurement light, the action of the buoyancy of the bubbles themselves and the acoustic radiation pressure of the sound waves emitted from the sound wave irradiation mechanism are disclosed. A technique that uses the action is described.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200725

By the way, in general, the reagent storage of the automatic analyzer is kept at a low temperature (eg, 5 to 15 ° C.) in order to maintain the quality of the reagent. On the other hand, a thermostatic chamber equipped with a reaction vessel for mixing and measuring a sample and a reagent is kept at a higher temperature (eg, 37 ° C.) in order to increase the efficiency of the reaction and keep the reaction rate constant. ing.

In the reagent storage, the reagent is refrigerated and stored in contact with the atmosphere, so that oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc. in the atmosphere are dissolved in the reagent. On the other hand, when used for the reaction, the temperature of the reagent dispensed by the reagent dispensing mechanism into the reaction vessel in the thermostatic chamber rises by 20 ° C. or more. Therefore, the dissolved gas dissolved in the reagent in the state of refrigeration and storage in the reagent storage gradually foams as the temperature rises in the reaction vessel, and the generated bubbles adhere to the inner wall and are used for photometry. May have an effect.

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, although the bubbles already attached to the inner wall of the reaction vessel can be removed by stirring, the bubbles generated from the dissolved gas dissolved in the reagent in this way are as follows. No consideration has been made. For this reason, after the stirring operation is finished, it is impossible to prevent the influence of bubbles that are newly generated as the temperature rises. In addition, even when dissolved gas is foamed immediately after the stirring operation, small bubbles (microbubbles) with a diameter of about 0.1 mm or less are often generated and adhere to the inner wall of the cell, and the buoyancy of the bubbles themselves is extremely high. Small. Therefore, as shown in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to remove such small bubbles by a method using acoustic radiation pressure.

In view of the above problems, the present invention reduces the influence of bubbles on the cell inner wall caused by foaming of the dissolved gas in the reagent accompanying the temperature rise of the reaction solution, and the effect on photometry, thereby enabling highly accurate measurement. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer for performing.

As one aspect for solving the above-described problems, a container that contains a reagent or a reaction liquid, a light source that irradiates light to the container, and a detector that detects a signal generated based on light emitted from the light source, A control unit that analyzes the reaction solution based on the output of the detector, and a sound wave irradiation unit that irradiates the container with sound waves, and the control unit includes a reagent contained in the container or a reaction Provided is an automatic analyzer characterized by controlling the operation of the sound wave irradiation unit so as to deaerate by irradiating a liquid with a sound wave, and an analysis method using the apparatus.

According to the above aspect, photometry is performed using a reagent or a reaction solution that has been degassed in advance by a sound wave irradiation mechanism, so that the influence on data due to bubbles / foaming bubbles in the reaction vessel is prevented and stable. A measurement result can be obtained and an automatic analyzer with high reliability can be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the basic composition of the automatic analyzer which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of deaeration and stirring in the automatic analyzer which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows an example of deaeration and stirring of the reaction liquid in the reaction container by an ultrasonic wave in the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment (first embodiment). It is a block diagram which shows an example of the reaction liquid deaeration by an ultrasonic wave, and the stirring by a stirring rod in the automatic analyzer which concerns on this Embodiment (2nd Embodiment). It is a block diagram which shows an example of the reagent deaeration in the reagent container by an ultrasonic wave in the automatic analyzer which concerns on this Embodiment (3rd Embodiment). It is a block diagram which shows an example of the reagent deaeration in the container by an ultrasonic wave in the automatic analyzer which concerns on this Embodiment (4th Embodiment).

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Throughout the description, the same components in the drawings may be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof may be omitted.
<Device configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the basic configuration of the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment. The automatic analyzer 100 mainly includes a sample container 103 that accommodates a sample disk 101 and its concentrically arranged sample 102, a reaction disk 104 and a reaction container 105 that is concentrically arranged, a sample dispensing mechanism 106, a reagent Reagent container 109 for accommodating various reagents 108 arranged concentrically with the disk 107, a reagent dispensing mechanism 110, a sound wave irradiation mechanism 111, a stirring mechanism 112, a constant temperature bath circulating liquid 113, a photometric mechanism 114, a reaction container cleaning mechanism 115, an overall control unit 121, an input unit 119, and an output unit 120. The overall control unit 121 includes a control circuit 116, a photometry circuit 117, and a computer 118, an input unit 119 (for example, a pointing device, a keyboard, a tablet, and the like), a graphical user interface (GUI) relating to measurement results and various operations. Etc. are provided. In this figure, the overall control unit 121 is connected to each component unit and controls the entire apparatus, but may be configured to include an independent control unit for each component unit.

Analysis by the automatic analyzer 100 is mainly performed as follows. First, the sample 102 set on the sample disk 101 is dispensed from the sample container 103 to the reaction container 105 by the sample dispensing mechanism 106. The reaction container 105 containing the sample 102 is moved to the reagent dispensing position by the rotation operation of the reaction disk 104, and the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 puts the reagent 108 used for analysis into the sample 102 from the reagent container 109. Dispense into the reaction vessel 105. Here, the mixed solution of the sample 102 and the reagent 108 accommodated in the reaction vessel 105 is referred to as a reaction solution 122. Subsequently, after the reaction solution 122 in the reaction vessel 105 is degassed by the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111, the reaction solution 122 in the reaction vessel 105 is stirred by the stirring mechanism 112. The reaction vessel 105 is maintained at a constant temperature, for example, 37 ° C., by a constant temperature bath circulating liquid 113 filled in the lower part of the reaction disk 104 to promote the reaction and stabilize the progress of the reaction.

When the reaction liquid 122 in the reaction vessel 105 passes through the photometric mechanism 114 as the reaction disk 104 rotates, its optical characteristic change is measured via the photometric circuit 117. The photometric data obtained in this way is sent to the computer 118, the concentration of the target component in the sample is obtained by the calculation unit 123 in the computer 118, and the obtained data is stored in the data storage unit 124. The result is displayed on the output unit 120. The reaction vessel 105 after the reaction is washed by the reaction vessel washing mechanism 115 and repeatedly used for the next reaction, or discarded in a reaction vessel discarding section (not shown).
<Operation flow>
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of deaeration and stirring operations in the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment. The instruction of each operation based on this flow is issued by the overall control unit 121 shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, in step 201, first, a sample to be analyzed is dispensed into a reaction container (step S201). Next, in step 202, whether the degassing target is the reaction liquid in the reaction container or the reagent in the reagent container, that is, whether the place to be degassed is the reaction container or not. Depending on whether or not, the subsequent steps are divided into two patterns. Here, the object of the deaeration process can be set in advance as an analysis condition by the operator via the input unit 119 or the like and stored in the data storage unit 124 (step S202). Here, when the degassing target is the reaction liquid stored in the reaction container, the process proceeds to step 203, where the reagent is dispensed into the reaction container (step S203), and then into the reaction liquid in step 204. The reaction solution is degassed by the sound wave irradiation (step S204), and then bubbles generated by stirring the reaction solution are removed (step S205). If the target of the degassing process is a reagent contained in the reagent container, the reagent in the reagent container is degassed by irradiating with sound waves in step 206 (step S206), and then degassed in step 207. The reagent thus dispensed is dispensed into the reaction container (step S207), and then the reaction solution is stirred in step 208 (step S208). Finally, in step 209, the optical property change is measured for the reaction solution that has undergone either step 205 or step 208 (step S209). In step 210, the result of the analysis process is acquired and processed. The process ends (step 210). Even when the second reagent is added, Step 201 to Step 210 are repeated in the same manner as the first reagent.

In the present embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 2, the example in which the reagent is dispensed after dispensing the sample into the reaction container has been described. However, the sample is dispensed after the reagent has been dispensed into the reaction container first. In the apparatus configured to be poured, a reagent or reaction solution degassing step may be applied.

Moreover, in this Embodiment, as a liquid which deaerates dissolved gas by irradiation of a sound wave, it is good not only for a reagent but for a buffer solution, a diluent, and a pretreatment liquid.
(First embodiment)
The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of degassing and stirring of the reaction liquid in the reaction vessel using ultrasonic waves in the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment. Specifically, in the reaction disk 104 of the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment, a vertical cross-sectional view of the thermostatic chamber 301 and the reaction vessel 105 corresponding to the area where the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 and the stirring mechanism 112 are installed. Show. 3A is a step of degassing the reaction liquid 122 by the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 to positively foam the microbubbles 302, and FIG. 3B is a step of removing the microbubbles 302 in the reaction liquid 122 by the stirring mechanism 112. It is a step to do. In FIG. 3, the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 and the stirring mechanism 112 can be used together by the same mechanism, that is, the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 operates in FIG. 3A and the stirring mechanism 112 operates in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a deaeration-only sound irradiation mechanism 111 suitable for deaeration and a stirring-only stirring mechanism 112 suitable for stirring are provided in different places as shown in FIG. 1. It can also be configured. The deaeration step shown in FIG. 3A and the bubble removal step shown in FIG. 3B may be performed continuously in the same apparatus operation cycle, or may be performed in different operation cycles. . For example, after the microbubbles 302 attached to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 in the degassing step shown in FIG. 3A are greatly grown for a certain time due to the temperature rise of the reaction liquid 122, the bubbles shown in FIG. By performing agitation in the removal step and using the subsequent photometric data for concentration calculation, the bubble removal operation can be performed more reliably.

The sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 shown in FIG. 3A is mainly composed of a piezoelectric element 303 which is a sound source and a piezoelectric element driving circuit 304. The piezoelectric element driving circuit 304 is connected to the control circuit 116 and controlled based on an instruction from the control circuit 116. The control circuit 116 performs control in accordance with an instruction from the overall control unit 121 responsible for higher-level control. One or a plurality of electrodes (not shown) are arranged on the surface of the piezoelectric element 303, and the region to be irradiated with the sound wave is selected by selecting the position of the electrode to which the voltage is applied. Parameters such as the intensity of the sound wave irradiated from the piezoelectric element 303 and the irradiation time include the total amount of the reaction liquid 122 and the height of the liquid surface stored in the reaction vessel 105, the viscosity of the reaction liquid 122, and the reaction liquid 122. It is configured to be adjustable depending on the wettability between the reaction vessel 105 and the like. The ultrasonic wave 305 generated in the piezoelectric element 303 by the piezoelectric element driving circuit 304 reaches the reaction liquid 122 in the reaction vessel 105 through the constant temperature bath circulating liquid 113 filled in the constant temperature tank 301.

In FIG. 3A, by continuously irradiating the ultrasonic wave 305, cavitation in the reaction liquid 122 (a phenomenon in which bubbles are generated and disappeared in a short time due to a pressure difference in the liquid flow). And the dissolved gas becomes microbubbles 302 and adheres to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105, whereby the reaction liquid 122 is degassed. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the step of degassing the reaction liquid 122 by the irradiation of the ultrasonic wave 305, the drive region of the piezoelectric element 303 is selected according to the liquid level of the reaction liquid 122, It is desirable to control so that the ultrasonic wave 305 is irradiated to the whole area below the liquid level of the reaction liquid 122 so that the degassing can be performed efficiently. In order to easily cause cavitation in the reaction liquid 122, it is desirable to irradiate ultrasonic waves having a frequency of 1 MHz or less. Furthermore, the frequency and irradiation time of the ultrasonic wave 305 may be selected so that more efficient deaeration is possible depending on the properties of the reaction liquid 122.

In FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, the microbubbles 302 are shown larger than the actual ratio, but in reality, the bubbles of the dissolved gas that are foamed are very small.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111. If the dissolved gas in the reaction liquid 122 can be degassed, the piezoelectric element 303 is disposed on any of the front surface, side surface, and upper and lower surfaces of the reaction vessel 105. May be. Alternatively, the piezoelectric element 303 may be immersed in the reaction liquid 122 and the reaction liquid 122 may be directly irradiated with ultrasonic waves.

Here, in the degassing step shown in FIG. 3A, the microbubbles 302 are attached to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105, and the measurement is performed using the region excluding the attached portion of the microbubbles 302 to the inner wall. In the case of performing the measurement, the measurement can be performed without performing the bubble removal step described later. However, as described above, the microbubbles 302 are actually very small, and depending on the situation, it may be difficult to completely remove the bubbles only by irradiating sound waves.

Therefore, the bubble removal step shown in FIG. In the bubble removing step shown in FIG. 3B, the ultrasonic wave 305 is irradiated only to the vicinity of the liquid surface of the reaction liquid 122 (the area near the liquid surface), and the liquid surface of the reaction liquid 122 is vibrated, and the reflection plate By the action of the ultrasonic wave 305 reflected by 306, large bubbles are actively taken in from the liquid surface and pushed into the reaction liquid 122. A swirling flow is generated in the entire reaction liquid 122 due to the movement of large bubbles taken into the reaction liquid 122, and stirring is performed. In this agitation operation, the micro bubbles 302 adhering to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 can be removed as a result by the action of the large bubbles taken into the solution and the swirling flow of the entire reaction solution 122. In the step of stirring the reaction liquid 122 by irradiation with the ultrasonic wave 305, it is desirable to select the ultrasonic wave 305 having parameters and frequencies suitable for the vibration of the liquid surface and the sustaining of the swirling flow.

As shown in this embodiment, by performing a step of stirring the reaction liquid 122 subsequent to the step of degassing the reaction liquid 122, new microbubbles 302 associated with the irradiation of the ultrasonic wave 305 in the stirring step are generated. Foaming can also be suppressed.
(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the aspect in which the deaeration step and the bubble removal step are performed using the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 has been described. Here, an example in which the deaeration step is executed by the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 and the bubble removal step is executed by the stirring mechanism 112 will be described.

The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of reaction liquid deaeration using ultrasonic waves and stirring using a stirring bar in the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4A shows a step of degassing the reaction liquid 122 with the ultrasonic wave 305, and FIG. 4B shows a step of removing microbubbles with the stirring rod 401. FIG. 4 shows a configuration in which the sound wave irradiation step and the stirring step are performed at the same location, but as described above in the first embodiment, each step is performed at different locations. It doesn't matter.

As shown in FIG. 4, by providing a plurality of piezoelectric elements 303 in the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 and irradiating the reaction vessel 105 with ultrasonic waves 305 from a plurality of directions, the reaction liquid 122 is degassed more efficiently. It is good also as a structure. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the step of removing the microbubbles by the stirring mechanism 112 may be configured to stir the reaction liquid 122 by rotating the stirring bar 401. Even with this configuration, the microbubbles 302 attached to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 can be removed using the swirling flow of the entire reaction liquid 122.
(Third embodiment)
In the above-described embodiment, the aspect in which the steps of deaeration and bubble removal are performed after dispensing the reagent into the reaction container has been described. Here, an example in which a degassing process is performed on a reagent before dispensing, which is stored in a reagent container, will be described.

A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of reagent deaeration inside the reagent container using ultrasound in the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment. The present embodiment is characterized in that the sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 is installed at the installation position of the reagent container 109 in the reagent disk 107. FIG. 5A shows a step of degassing the reagent 108 by the ultrasonic wave 305, and FIG. 5B shows a step of sucking the degassed reagent 108 by the reagent nozzle 501 of the reagent dispensing mechanism 110. The ultrasonic wave 305 is irradiated to the reagent 108 before being dispensed into the reaction container 105, and the reagent 108 is degassed in advance in the reagent container 109. The microbubbles 302 generated at this time adhere to the inner wall of the reagent container 109. Thereafter, only the reagent 108 is sucked by the reagent nozzle 501 of the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 so that the microbubbles 302 adhering to the inner wall are left behind. The adhesion of the microbubbles 302 to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 can be suppressed. The sound wave irradiation mechanism 111 shown in FIG. 5 may be arranged at all the installation positions in the reagent disk 107, or only at a specific installation position, and selects the reagent 108 in which the attachment of the microbubbles 302 becomes a problem. It is good also as a position to install here. Furthermore, in the configuration shown in the third embodiment, since the degassing of the reagent 108 may be completed before dispensing into the reaction vessel 105, the ultrasonic wave 305 is periodically irradiated to remove the reagent 108. It can also be set as the structure hold | maintained in the deaerated state always. Alternatively, in consideration of re-dissolution of the gas in contact with the reagent 108 during storage in the reagent disk 107, a configuration may be adopted in which the ultrasonic wave 305 is irradiated and degassed immediately before the reagent 108 is dispensed. .
(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a mode in which the reagent dispensed in the reaction container containing no sample is degassed and bubbles are removed will be described. A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of reagent deaeration in the reaction container using ultrasound in the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6A shows a step of degassing the reagent 108 by the ultrasonic wave 305, and FIG. 6B shows a step of sucking the degassed reagent 108 by the reagent nozzle 501 of the reagent dispensing mechanism 110. FIG. 6 shows a configuration in which the sound wave irradiation step and the reagent suction step are performed at the same location, but each step may be performed at different locations. In the present embodiment, the reagent 108 is first dispensed into the first reaction container by the reagent dispensing mechanism 110, and is shown in FIG. 6A in the first container (a container for degassing). A deaeration step and a reagent suction step shown in FIG. Due to the irradiation of the ultrasonic wave 305 in the deaeration step, the microbubbles 302 adhere to the inner wall of the first container 601. Subsequently, the reagent nozzle 501 sucks only the reagent 108 with respect to the degassed reagent 108 and performs a dispensing operation so as to leave the microbubbles 302 attached to the inner wall. The sucked and degassed reagent 108 is dispensed into a second container (reaction container) (not shown), mixed with the sample 102, and photometrically measured. By comprising in this way, the foaming in the 2nd container used for photometry and adhesion to the inner wall of the microbubble 302 can be suppressed.

For example, when analyzing a blood coagulation reaction or the like, the coagulation reaction starts when the sample and the reagent are mixed. Therefore, deaeration cannot be performed on the reaction solution in which the sample and the reagent are mixed. . However, according to the third and fourth embodiments described above, since the reagent before mixing with the sample can be degassed, the generation of bubbles thereafter is suppressed, and the influence on the analysis result Can be reduced.

101 ... Sample disc 102 ... Sample 103 ... Sample container 104 ... Reaction disc 105 ... Reaction vessel 106 ... Sample dispensing mechanism 107 ... Reagent disc 108 ... Reagent 109 ... Reagent container 110: Reagent dispensing mechanism 111 ... Sound wave irradiation mechanism 112 ... Stirring mechanism 113 ... Constant temperature bath circulating liquid 114 ... Photometric mechanism 115 ... Reaction container cleaning mechanism 116 ... Control circuit 117 ... photometry circuit 118 ... computer 119 ... input unit 120 ... output unit 121 ... overall control unit 122 ... reaction liquid 123 ... calculation unit 124 ... memory Part 301 ... thermostat 302 ... microbubble 303 ... piezoelectric element 304 ... piezoelectric element drive circuit 305 ... ultrasonic wave 306 ... reflector 401 ... stirring bar 501 ... reagent Noz 601 ... container

Claims

A container for storing a reagent or reaction solution;
A light source for irradiating the container with light;
A detector for detecting a signal generated based on light emitted from the light source;
Based on the output of the detector, a control unit for analyzing the reaction solution;
A sound wave irradiation unit for irradiating the container with sound waves,
The controller is
An automatic analyzer characterized in that the operation of the sound wave irradiation unit is controlled so as to deaerate by irradiating the reagent or reaction liquid stored in the container with sound waves.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The controller is
An automatic analyzer characterized by controlling the operation of the sound wave irradiation unit so that the degassed reaction liquid is further stirred by irradiation with sound waves.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The controller is
The operation of the sound wave irradiation unit is controlled so that the reagent or reaction liquid stored in the container is degassed by irradiating the entire region below the liquid level with sound waves. Automatic analyzer.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The controller is
The reaction liquid stored in the container is degassed by irradiating the entire region with sound waves below the liquid level,
The degassed reaction liquid is stirred by selectively irradiating a sound wave in a region near the liquid surface,
An automatic analyzer for controlling an operation of the sound wave irradiation unit.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
A stirring unit for stirring the reaction solution contained in the container;
The controller is
An automatic analyzer characterized by controlling the operation of the agitation unit to agitate the degassed reaction liquid by the agitation unit.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 5, wherein
The stirring unit includes a rotatable stirring bar,
The controller is
An automatic analyzer characterized by controlling the operation of the stirring section so as to stir the degassed reaction liquid by the rotation of the stirring bar.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
A dispensing part for aspirating and discharging the reagent;
The controller is
An automatic analyzer that controls the operation of the dispensing unit so that the degassed reagent is aspirated from the container and discharged to another container containing a sample.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 7,
The controller is
After the discharge operation, the light source and the detection unit are configured to irradiate light to the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent stored in the other container and detect a signal generated based on the irradiation. An automatic analyzer characterized by controlling its operation.
An automatic analyzer according to claim 4, wherein
A reflector for reflecting the sound wave emitted from the sound wave irradiation unit;
The controller is
The operation of the sound wave irradiation unit is controlled so that the degassed reaction liquid is agitated by selectively irradiating a sound wave in a region near the liquid surface and reaching the reflection plate. The automatic analyzer characterized by doing.
A container containing a reaction solution containing a sample and a reagent;
A light source for irradiating the container with light;
A detector for detecting a signal generated based on light emitted from the light source;
A control unit for analyzing the reaction liquid based on the output of the detector, and an analysis method in an automatic analyzer comprising:
The controller is
A first step of degassing the reaction liquid stored in the container by irradiating the entire area below the liquid surface with sound waves;
After the first step, a second step of stirring the degassed reaction liquid is performed.
The analysis method according to claim 10, comprising:
In the second step, the control unit stirs the degassed reaction liquid by selectively irradiating a sound wave in a region near the liquid surface.
The analysis method according to claim 10, comprising:
The automatic analyzer includes a stirring unit having a rotatable stirring bar,
In the second step, the control unit agitates the degassed reaction liquid by rotating the stirring rod.