JPS6125064A - Automatic chemical analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a more correct and highly reliable analysis value with a high accuracy, by monitoring variations in optical nature for each reaction vessel with a monitor unit of the apparatus itself to avoid the generation of an abnormal value die to contamination thereof. CONSTITUTION:The detector section output of a photometer 18 is connected to a multiplexer 23 through a D/A converter 21. One of output terminals of the multiplexer 23 is connected to a control data processor 17 while the other thereof to a monitor unit 26, the output of which 26 is connected to the processor 17. A moving device 29 of the photometer 18 is engaged with a guide member of reaction vessels 5 movably through a synchronizer. Then, for example, absorbance when the apparatus if clean is measured for each of the reaction vassels in terms of wavelength used to determine the mean thereof, which is memorized into the monitor unit 26 as reference value. In operation, the processor 17 automatically sends the photometer 18 to the analysis position and the contamination checking position according to the set program, for example, after one month of use to perform a photometry at points. Thus, for example, actual absorbance is compared with the set reference value to facilitate the detection of contamination in any reaction vessel 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a direct photometric automatic chemical analyzer, and in particular, to a reaction vessel that can be washed and used as a photometric vessel for a plurality of liquid samples. The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer that uses a reaction vessel to perform optical quantitative determination automatically and continuously using a direct photometry method, and particularly relates to an automatic clinical chemical analyzer.

(B) Conventional technology In conventional automatic chemical analyzers, such as automatic clinical chemistry analyzers, a fixed amount of a sample, such as a specimen, is dispensed into a reaction vessel that also serves as a measurement vessel on a reaction fin, and then the reaction vessel is For example, the turntable is moved and sent to the reagent dispensing process, where a certain amount of reagent is added, and then sent to the stirring process to stir the contents.Then, the reaction vessel is then sent to the photometry process. The sample is then directly irradiated with light, and the absorbance of the sample is measured to determine the concentration of the analysis item.

After photometry has been completed, the contents of the reaction container are suctioned out, washed, washed with water, and dried to return to its original clean state and used for circulation.

By the way, the specimen contains, for example, coagulated components such as fibrin in blood, or precipitated components such as uric acid and protein in urine, as well as residues of reaction products caused by added reagents. , these adhere to the walls of the reaction vessel. These deposits are removed by washing and water washing in the cleaning process.
Most of it is removed, but during repeated use over a long period of time, it sticks to the reaction vessel and obstructs the transmission of light, making it difficult to accurately determine the optical properties of the liquid sample contained in the reaction vessel. You can't go wrong by measuring.

Moreover, the types of specimens such as blood, plasma, urine, etc. that are added to the reaction vessels, and the types of added reagents, etc., are not always constant and differ for each reaction vessel. During repeated use, it becomes inconsistent for all reaction vessels lined up in the reaction line.

However, since it is difficult to identify a dirty reaction vessel, even if the measured value clearly differs from the expected value, it can also be attributed to the reaction vessel being contaminated. It was not possible to ask the specimen. Therefore, in such cases, it is necessary to constantly check the results of re-measurement, which is problematic because it requires a lot of effort and operation is complicated.

(C) Purpose The present invention solves problems caused by dirt in reaction vessels in conventional automatic chemical analyzers using direct photometry, and monitors dirt in reaction vessels to detect positive values due to dirt. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic chemical analyzer that operates in such a way that reaction vessels that cannot be measured are not used for measurements.

(D) Structure The present invention focuses on the fact that the problem with conventional automatic chemical analyzers is that they do not monitor the contamination of individual reaction vessels, and has The purpose is to control the optical properties of the container by, for example, stopping the operation of the sample dispensing device, reagent dispensing device, etc. when individual changes exceed a certain limit.

That is, the present invention provides an automatic chemical analyzer comprising a control data processing device, a reaction container moving device, a liquid sample dispensing device, a photometry device, and a reaction container cleaning device that are connected to the control data processing device. , a digital-to-analog converter whose input end is connected to the output end of the detection section of the photometric device; one of the input ends is connected to the output end of the digital-to-analog converter; and one of the output ends is connected to the control data processing device. An automatic chemical analyzer comprising a multiplexer and a monitor device whose input end is connected to another output end of the multiplexer and whose output end is connected to a control data processing device.

The present invention also provides a control data processing device, a reaction container moving device, a liquid sample dispensing device, a photometry device, a reaction container cleaning device, and a detection section output of the photometry device, which are connected to the control data processing device. a multiplexer, one of whose inputs is connected to the output of the digital-to-analog converter, and one of whose outputs is connected to a control data processing device; A guide member provided along the movement path of the reaction vessel in an automatic chemical analyzer comprising a monitor device connected to another output end of the multiplexer and one output end connected to a control data processing device; The special chemical analysis device is characterized by comprising a moving device for a photometric device movably engaged with the guide member, and a synchronization device connected to the moving device for the photometric device and the reaction vessel moving device.

The reaction container used in the present invention is a reaction container that also serves as a photometric container, and at least the wall surface of the optical path when transmitting or scattering light is made of a light-transmitting material and has an equal thickness, For example, a reaction tube that also serves as a photometric container used in a conventional direct photometric automatic analyzer can be used.

The photometry device in the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention is of a direct photometry type that directly irradiates light onto the reaction container and measures the light from the reaction container.For example, it is possible to check the analysis position and dirt on the reaction container. They are provided at three locations, that is, at the front and rear locations with the cleaning process in between. When photometry is performed at three locations in this way, two photometric devices may be separately fixed, but only at three locations. The photometric devices may be provided movably along the moving row of reaction vessels, that is, the reaction line, so that photometry can be performed by using two photometric devices.

To provide a photometric device movably along the reaction line,
A guide member is provided along the reaction line for guiding movement. For example, in the case of a turntable, an annular guide member is provided along the reaction fins, and the movable part of the photometric device is engaged with the guide member and connected to a drive source so as to be movable back and forth.

For example, by reciprocating the photometric device between multiple measurement positions,
When repeatedly performing absorbance photometry for analysis and absorbance photometry for checking contamination of reaction vessels, it is preferable to synchronize movement of the reaction vessel moving device and movement of the photometry device via a synchronization device.

As the position detecting section of such a synchronizer, any known position detecting device can be used as appropriate, but for example, one in which a combination of a light emitting diode and a 7-ototransistor is arranged in a slit member can also be used. In the case of a turntable, a slit member with a slit-shaped cutout is provided at a location corresponding to the position of the reaction vessel on the annular plate, and a position where a light emitting diode and a 7-ototransistor are combined is provided with this slit member in between. The detection device is finished in use. Therefore, for example, such a detection device may be provided in the reaction vessel moving device or its drive source, and also in the photometry device moving device or its drive source, so that the signals from the respective 7)) lungisters can be used as control data. It is possible to synchronize the signals by digitally inputting them to the processing device and comparing the respective signals.

However, in the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention, as described above, the photometry for analysis and the photometry for checking the contamination of the reaction container are not performed at separate positions, but the photometry position for analysis is also used. A photometric device may be provided for use. For example, after using a reaction vessel for -weeks or a month, use a liquid sample dispenser, for example, to dispense pure water all over the reaction vessels lined up in the reaction line to remove dirt from the reaction vessels. It is possible to perform photometry to check for contamination of the reaction vessel by photometry at the analysis position.

Regardless of which method is adopted, the contamination of the reaction vessel using a photometric device is checked multiple times for each reaction vessel and for each wavelength used.

In this way, the photometric signal from the detection section of the photometric device is converted into a digital signal by a digital converter, and divided into a photometric signal for determining the average value when clean and a photometric signal for checking dirt, via a multiplexer, and sent to separate channels. to a control data processing device or a monitoring device.

Also in the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention, the control data processing device drives the reaction container moving device and the liquid sample dispensing device based on programmed information, such as item selection information, and measures the absorbance for analysis from the photometer. The control data processing device in the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention has the function of converting it into a digital signal through an analog-to-digital converter and calculating and obtaining an analysis value corresponding to a predetermined sample number and analysis item. In addition, it has a function of averaging and storing the absorbance measured multiple times when the reaction container is clean. This averaging and memory recall is accomplished by providing an averaging circuit in the control data processing device.

In this way, a reference value indicating a certain allowable range is set based on the averaged data. This reference value is set for each reaction vessel and for each photometric wavelength, and is stored in a nonvolatile storage device such as a floppy disk, magnetic drum, or other capacity storage medium.

The monitor device is formed of a comparison circuit that compares the photometric signal sent via the multiplexer to confirm the contamination of the reaction vessel with a reference value signal sent via the average circuit. If the photometric value for contamination confirmation exceeds the standard value, that reaction container is judged to have contamination, and the signal is sent to the control data processing device, which controls the sample dispensing device and reagent dispensing device for that reaction container. The operation of the equipment, stirring device, etc. is stopped.

In addition, by combining with an appropriate alarm device, when an alarm for detection of a dirty reaction vessel is issued, the dirty reaction vessel may be converted to a clean reaction vessel, and the reaction vessels of the entire reaction line can be analyzed. Once this is completed, the reaction vessel may be replaced with a clean reaction vessel. The converted dirty reaction vessel is cleaned by a cleaning process such as ultrasonic cleaning, and is either reused or disposed of.

(E) Embodiment The attached drawing shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention. Hereinafter, one embodiment of the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention will be described with reference to this figure, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this example.

The automatic chemical analyzer 1 includes a drive source 2 and a turntable 4 rotated by a rotation shaft 3.
A support hole 6 and a bottom plate 7 for supporting the reaction container 5 are provided on the table surface. The reaction vessel 5 is detachably attached to the support hole 6. A slit plate 8 is provided protruding from the inside of the bottom plate 7, and a slot 7) 9 is provided on the slit plate 8 at a position corresponding to the reaction vessel 5. A position detector 10 having a light emitting diode on the upper side and seven Ototransistors on the lower side is fixed to the substrate 11, sandwiching the slit plate 8, and can detect the movement of each reaction vessel 5.

The output side of this 7 Ototofunsister is the digital input device 1.
2 via a signal line 13, and the digital input device 12 is connected to a position detection signal circuit 15 via a signal line 14.
is connected to.

The position detection signal circuit 15 is connected to a control data processing device 17 via a signal MA16.

On the other hand, the photometric device 18 is equipped with detectors 19 on both sides of the container 5 in the reaction line. The detection signal from the detector 19 is
The signal is sent to an intermediate circuit (not shown) of the photometric device 18. The output end of the middle circuit of this photometric device 18 is connected to the input side of an analog-to-digital converter 21 via a signal line 20.

The output side of the analog-to-digital converter 21 is connected via a signal line 22 to one of the input ends of a multiplexer 23 .

The - output end of the multiplexer 23 is connected to the input end of the control data processing device 1117 via the signal line 24.
The other output end of the multiplexer 23 is connected to one of the input ends of a monitor device 26 via a signal line 25. The output end of the monitor device 26 is connected to the input end of the control data processing device 17 via a signal line 26'.
The other - of the input terminals of the averaging circuit 27 outputs the signal [
It is connected via 28. The input terminal of the averaging circuit 27 is
It is connected to one of the outputs of the control data processing device 17 via the signal $27'. The control data processing device 17 includes:
Turntable drive source 2, photometer 1B drive source 29
and a positioning section (not shown) are connected to the control data processing device 17 via signal lines (stepping drive signal lines) 30, 31, 32, and 33, respectively.

Drive source 2 for the turntable 4 and drive source 2 for the photometer 18
9 through a signal line 34 for synchronization.

Since the automatic chemical analyzer 1 of the present invention is configured as described above, it can detect dirt in the reaction container 5 and prevent abnormal values from occurring due to dirt in the reaction container 5 during biochemical analysis or immunoassay. is prevented.

That is, the reaction vessel 5 is inserted into the support hole 6 of the turntable 4 of the automatic chemical analyzer 1 of the present invention over the entire reaction line.

Assuming that the position detected by the position detector 10 of the slit 9 of the slit plate 8 is the origin, the photometer 1 at the analysis position
The position of the detector 19 of 8 is automatically determined.

A driving device (not shown) for the liquid sample array 37 is driven by sending item selection information programmed into the control data processing device 17 via a stepping drive signal line (not shown).

In synchronization with this drive, stepping drive signals are sent via signal lines 30, 31, 33, 35, and 36 so that the turntable 4 and liquid sample dispensing device 38 operate. Therefore, the turntable 4 and the sample dispensing device 38 operate for 0.5 seconds once every 10 seconds, and the liquid sample is dispensed into the reaction container 5 of the turntable 4. As the turntable 4 rotates, the reaction vessels 5 are sequentially conveyed, and by the subsequent operation of the liquid sample dispensing device 38, a sample is dispensed and sent to an analysis position for photometry. Photometer 18
is set so that sufficient light metering can be performed while the turntable is stationary.
It reciprocates between the analysis position and the dirt confirmation position once every 10 seconds.

Photometric data at the analysis position is sent to an analog-to-digital converter via a signal line 20 and converted into a digital signal,
The data is sent to the control data processing device 17. On the other hand, the sample number at the analysis position changes as the turntable 4 moves, but it is confirmed by the number of slits 9 of the slit plate 8 passing through the position detector 10, and the analysis value is determined by the control data processing device 17 with the corresponding sample number. will be displayed together with.

On the other hand, in the final water washing process, pure water is dispensed into the reaction vessel 5 that has been cleaned in the washing process, and is sent to the stain measurement position.

After completing photometry at the analysis position, the photometer 18 is sent to the dirt measurement position, and measures the cleaning value of the reaction vessel 5 sent there. This clean value is treated as a blank value for the measured value at the previous analysis position, and the clean value is stored in the control data processing device 17 for each measurement wavelength and reaction vessel. In this manner, in the automatic chemical analyzer of this example, measurements for contamination confirmation are performed in addition to measurements for normal analysis.

The measurement for contamination confirmation is repeated several times per reaction vessel for each of a plurality of measurement wavelengths, and a reference value is calculated from the average value and stored in the control data processing device 17. This entire process is performed according to the program.

After one month of use, measurements are taken to confirm dirt according to the program. Also in this case, the sample numbers at the analysis position and the dirt confirmation position are determined based on the sample number at the position of the position detector 10.

The measured value at the dirt confirmation position is sent from the photometer 18 as a dirt confirmation signal to the input side of the analog-to-digital converter 21 via the signal line 20, converted into a digital signal, and sent from the output side to the signal line 22. via multiplexer 2
3 is sent to one of the input sides. In the multiplexer 23,
A signal for a blank value based on this contamination confirmation signal is sent from the output side to the control data processing device 17 via the signal line 2.
On the other hand, a dirt confirmation signal is sent via the signal line 25 to the monitor device 26 from its output side σr. When the dirt confirmation signal is sent to the monitor device 26,
The averaging circuit 27 takes out reference values for the corresponding reaction vessels and photometric wavelengths stored in the control data processing device 17 via a signal line 27' and sends them to the monitoring device. Monitor device 26 compares the reference value signal from the averaging circuit with the contamination confirmation signal from multiplexer 23 .

When the contamination confirmation signal value exceeds the reference value signal value, the difference, that is, the contamination detection signal, is sent from the monitor device 26 to the control data processing device 17 via the signal line 26'. If the standard value is set within the safe range, the analysis value that detects the dirt will be valid and will not become an abnormal value. However, the liquid sample dispensing device 38 does not dispense the sample into the reaction vessel 5 in which contamination has been detected; in other words, the contaminated reaction vessel is sent to the next process as an empty one, thereby avoiding the occurrence of abnormal values. be done. In this way, when the proportion of reaction vessels in which contamination was detected among the reaction vessels lined up in the reaction line reaches a certain value, all the reaction vessels in the reaction fins are replaced with clean ones.
The used and dirty reaction vessel 5 is sent to a cleaning process (not shown) using ultrasonic cleaning or the like.

(F) Effect The present invention provides a monitor device as described above, and furthermore includes an average value calculation circuit, a reference value storage device, and an average circuit in the control data processing device. Since the average value can be calculated and stored for each reaction vessel number and wavelength used, appropriate standard values can be determined based on this average value for each reaction vessel and wavelength used. It becomes easy to calculate and set. Therefore, it is recommended to set the program in the control data processing device to set the contamination confirmation mode to the abnormal value occurrence danger period based on experience, for example, after one month of use. In general, the measuring device is sent to the analysis position and the contamination confirmation position, and the light is measured at each location.The absorbance is then compared with the reference value set for each reaction vessel and each wavelength used to detect contamination. can be easily done.

Therefore, by setting the reference value sufficiently within the safe range, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of abnormal values due to contamination of the reaction vessel, resulting in more accurate analytical values and higher measurement accuracy. Reliable values are obtained.

Moreover, since the monitoring device can easily detect the presence of a dirty reaction vessel by comparing it with a reference value automatically called up by the averaging circuit from the control data processing device, the conversion of the reaction vessel is facilitated. Furthermore, if the reference value is set within a washable range, the reaction container can be cleaned before it gets too dirty, making it easier to clean the reaction container by washing it. It can be used for a long time and is economical.

As described above, the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention can monitor the contamination of the reaction container sequentially or as needed without stopping the operation of the device, so that various types of contamination caused by the contamination of the reaction This system has many advantages over conventional equipment, as it can avoid problems such as this, and its impact is significant.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figure is a partially blocked schematic diagram for explaining one embodiment of the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention. Regarding the symbols in the figure, 1 is an automatic chemical analyzer, 2 is a driving source, 3 is a rotating shaft, 4 is a turntable, 5 is a reaction vessel, 6 is a support hole, 7 is a bottom plate, 8 is a slit plate, 9 is a slit, 10 is a position detector, 11 is a substrate, 12 is a digital input device, 13, 14° 16. 20, 22, 24, 25,
26', 27'. 2B, 34, 35 and 36 are signal lines, 15 is a position detection signal circuit, 17 is a control data processing device, 18 is a photometric device,
21 is an analog-to-digital converter, 23 is a multiplexer 1, 26 is a monitor device, 27 is an averaging circuit, 29 is a drive source for the photometer 18, 30° 31, 32 and 33 are stepping drive signal lines, 37 is a liquid sample column, 38 is a liquid sample dispensing device. agent

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an automatic chemical analyzer comprising a control data processing device, a reaction container moving device, a liquid sample dispensing device, a photometry device, and a reaction container cleaning device that are connected to the control data processing device, photometry is performed. a digital-to-analog converter whose input terminal is connected to the detection section output terminal of the device; and a multiplexer whose one input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the digital-to-analog converter and one of its output terminals is connected to a control data processing device. , a monitor device whose input end is connected to another output end of the multiplexer, and whose output end is connected to a control data processing device. (2) A control data processing device, a reaction vessel moving device, a liquid sample dispensing device, a photometry device, and a reaction container cleaning device that are connected to the control data processing device, and the output end of the detection section of the photometry device. a digital-to-analog converter, one of whose inputs is connected to an output of the digital-to-analog converter, and a multiplexer, one of whose inputs is connected to an output of the digital-to-analog converter, and one of whose outputs is connected to a control data processing device; An automatic chemical analyzer comprising a monitor device connected to another output end and one of the output ends connected to a control data processing device, a guide member provided along a movement path of a reaction container and the guide. An automatic chemical analysis apparatus comprising: a moving device for a photometric device movably engaged with a member; and a synchronization device connected to the moving device for the photometric device and the reaction vessel moving device.