JP3078403B2 - Automatic chemical analyzer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer having a function of detecting, for example, an abnormality in a reaction tube.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in a medical institution or the like, an automatic chemical analyzer is used for an immunoassay or the like. This automatic chemical analyzer is provided with a large number of reaction tubes. In these reaction tubes, a sample and a chemical solution corresponding to the test item are dispensed, and a reaction solution is created in the reaction tubes.

[0003] Usually, this kind of automatic chemical analyzer is used for several years, during which it is used for various inspections. Generally, the reaction tube is not disposable, but is washed and used repeatedly after each test.

[0004] The reaction tube is cleaned at every inspection, but it is difficult to completely remove dirt by daily cleaning.
Then, as a result of using the reaction tube for a long period, an abnormality such as adhesion of dirt may occur in the reaction tube.

[0005] When an abnormality occurs in each reaction tube, the abnormality in the reaction tube affects the analysis result, and the analysis accuracy may be reduced. Therefore, in order for the user to always obtain a highly accurate analysis result, it is important to detect an abnormality in the reaction tube in advance. Conventionally, as a method for detecting an abnormality in a reaction tube, for example, the following method is known. Method (1): Analysis is performed using a sample whose measured value is known, and the user checks the fluctuation of the analyzed value. Then, a temporal abnormality in the entire reaction tube is detected.

Method (2): In an automatic chemical analyzer of the type which directly measures the color development in the reaction tube, all the reaction tubes are filled with ion-exchanged water and the like before the sample is analyzed. Metered. If the photometric value is not within the preset normal value range, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred. Then, the user is notified of the abnormal reaction tube.

[0007]

By the way, in the above method (1), if it is assumed that the time-dependent abnormality occurs substantially uniformly in each of the reaction tubes, the analysis is performed in some of the reaction tubes. Thereby, a temporal abnormality can be easily detected. But,
In order to reliably detect abnormalities that have occurred specifically in individual reaction tubes, it is necessary to analyze samples with known measurement values in all reaction tubes. It takes a long time. Therefore, this method is difficult to implement.

The method (2) cannot be realized in an automatic chemical analyzer of a type in which the photometry of the reaction tube cannot be performed directly. Furthermore, even in an automatic chemical analyzer of the type that can directly measure the reaction tube, what is actually detected is
That is, there is no abnormality in the photometry path of the reaction tube. Therefore, for example, an abnormality caused by the presence of a substance affecting the reaction other than on the photometric path in the relevant reaction tube, or a failure in dispensing the sample due to misalignment of the relevant reaction tube, etc. Unusual abnormalities in each reaction tube, such as abnormalities caused by the above, cannot be detected. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic chemical analyzer capable of detecting a specific abnormality of a reaction tube accurately and reliably.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic chemical analyzer having a plurality of reaction tubes into which a sample and a chemical solution corresponding to a test item are dispensed.
Accumulates the measurement data obtained for each reaction tube, extracts the measurement data of the specified test item for each reaction tube from the accumulated measurement data, statistically processes the measurement data, and calculates the statistical processing results of multiple reaction tubes. Is to output the comparison. By doing so, the present invention is to make it possible to detect specific abnormalities in the reaction tube accurately and reliably.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an automatic chemical analyzer (hereinafter, referred to as an analyzer) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The analyzer 1 includes a measurement unit 2, a measurement data transmission unit 3, a measurement data reception unit 4, a measurement data storage unit 5, a measurement data statistical processing unit 6, a processing result output unit 7, and a treatment information input unit 8. Have.

The measuring section 2 includes, for example, 72 reaction tubes 10 on a rotating disk 9 as schematically shown in FIG.
Are held, and the rotating disk 9 is rotated stepwise at predetermined angles. Although not shown, the measuring section 2 includes a sample dispensing section, a reagent dispensing section, and a photometric section, and dispenses a sample and a reagent into each reaction tube. And
The reaction result in each reaction tube is measured by a photometer.

As shown in FIG. 2, numbers 1 to 72 are set for the reaction tubes 10..., And it is detected which number of the obtained measurement value is the value of the reaction tube. Then, the analysis item, the reaction tube number, and the measurement value are transmitted from the measurement data transmission unit 3 to the measurement data reception unit 4. Here, hereinafter, the analysis item, the reaction tube number, and the measured value are collectively referred to as measurement data.

The received measurement data is sent to the measurement data storage unit 5. The measurement data storage unit 5 includes a recording medium 11, and the measurement data is stored in the recording medium 11. As the recording medium 11, various general recording means such as a hard disk and a floppy disk can be employed.

The measurement data statistical processing unit 6 includes a recording medium 11
For example, only the measurement data of the inspection item designated by the user is read from the measurement data recorded in the.
Further, the measurement data statistical processing section 6 performs statistical processing on each of the reaction tubes 10 based on the extracted measurement data as shown in the following (1) to (6) and FIG.

(1) Measured values obtained by performing a predetermined number of tests (in this case, 20 times) on each of the reaction tubes 10 are arranged in time series, and among these measured values, a value within a specified normal value range is obtained. Is obtained. Then, the lowest value among the measured values within the normal value range is obtained. (2) For each reaction tube 10..., The minimum value range, average value, variation width, and standard deviation for every 20 tests are obtained. (3) A correlation coefficient between the number X of accumulated tests for every 20 tests and the minimum value Y for every 20 tests is obtained. (4) The ratio of the number of tests exceeding a specified abnormal high value (frequency of occurrence of abnormal high values) to the total number of tests is calculated. (5) The ratio of the number of tests exceeding the specified abnormal low value (frequency of occurrence of abnormal low value) to the total number of tests is calculated. (6) The results of each of the above statistical processes are summarized in a graph. The determination result output unit 7 outputs the above determination result to an output display unit such as the CRT 12 or the printer 13 and displays it to the user.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show display examples. For example, in the graph of FIG. 4, the horizontal axis indicates the reaction tube number, and the vertical axis indicates the average value, the range, the standard deviation, and the correlation coefficient, respectively. In the graph of FIG. 5, the reaction tube number is set on the horizontal axis, and the abnormal high value occurrence frequency and the abnormal low value occurrence frequency are each set on the vertical axis.

In the graph of FIG. 6, the result of the statistical processing on the reaction tubes (No. 1 and No. 5) designated by the user is displayed. The cumulative number of tests for every 20 tests is set on the horizontal axis, and the minimum value for every 20 tests is set on the vertical axis.

These outputs are shown to the user, and the user identifies the reaction tube in which the specific abnormality has occurred based on the results of the statistical processing. Then, a treatment such as washing or replacement is performed on the reaction tube, and the number of the reaction tube subjected to the treatment is input to the treatment information input unit 8. The input information is recorded on the recording medium 11 and is referred to at the time of the determination by the measurement data determination unit 6.

That is, in the analyzer 1 as described above, measurement data obtained at each inspection is accumulated for a long period of time. Further, after measurement data of inspections performed a predetermined number of times (20 times in this embodiment), these measurement data are extracted according to the inspection item, and statistical processing is performed on the extracted measurement data. Then, the statistical processing result of each reaction tube is output and displayed so that the user can easily compare it with other reaction tubes. Therefore, the user can be clearly notified of the comparison of the reaction tubes 10..., And it is possible to detect a specific abnormality of the reaction tubes accurately and reliably.

That is, when an automatic scientific analyzer is used, the same test item is always analyzed several times in each reaction tube in a long period. However, since the analysis is not always performed using the same sample every time, it is not possible to exactly compare, for example, simply taking the average value of the measured values of the same items for individual reaction tubes.

However, as in this embodiment, focusing on a certain test item, accumulating the measured value of the corresponding item in each reaction tube, performing statistical processing on the accumulated measured value, and measuring based on the difference between samples. Eliminating the difference between the values allows for an accurate comparison.

In addition, a user is notified of a specific abnormality of a reaction tube reliably and easily in a conventional manner, which has conventionally relied on the user's sensory judgment or insufficient automatic judgment by checking a limited function. Can be. As a result, the user can take appropriate measures, and it is possible to prevent abnormalities in the analysis data.

In this embodiment, the user detects an abnormality on the basis of the output statistical processing result. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to automatically detect an abnormality and notify the user of the detected abnormality using an alarm or the like. In the case of an automatic chemical analyzer of a type in which a reaction tube is automatically loaded, it is also possible to automatically input information when the reaction tube is replaced.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an automatic chemical analyzer having a plurality of reaction tubes into which a sample and a chemical solution corresponding to a test item are dispensed, measurement data obtained for each reaction tube is obtained. It accumulates, extracts measurement value data of a predetermined test item for each reaction tube from the accumulated measurement data, statistically processes the measurement data, and outputs and displays a comparison of statistical processing results of a plurality of reaction tubes. Therefore, the present invention has an effect that a specific abnormality of the reaction tube can be detected accurately and reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an automatic chemical analyzer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a measurement unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing by a measurement data statistical processing unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an output example of a processing result of a measurement data statistical processing unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another output example of the processing result of the measurement data statistical processing unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another output example of the processing result of the measurement data statistical processing unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic chemical analyzer, 2 ... Measurement part, 3 ... Measurement data transmission part, 4 ... Measurement data reception part, 5 ... Measurement data storage part,
6 ... Measurement data statistical processing unit, 7 ... Processing result output unit, 8 ...
Treatment information input unit, 10 ... reaction tube.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic chemical analyzer having a plurality of reaction tubes into which a sample and a chemical solution corresponding to a test item are dispensed, accumulating measurement data obtained for each of the reaction tubes, and accumulating the measurement data. Extract the measurement data of a predetermined test item for each reaction tube from the above, statistically process the measurement data,
An automatic chemical analyzer that outputs and displays a comparison of the statistical processing results of the plurality of reaction tubes.