JP3914838B2 - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that measures the concentration and the like of a target component in a sample by irradiating measurement light onto a reaction vessel containing a mixed solution of the reagent and the sample, and can particularly improve measurement accuracy. The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an automatic analyzer, a sample and a reagent are dispensed into a reaction container, the sample and the reagent are reacted, and then the reaction of the reaction solution in the reaction container is measured by irradiating the reaction container with measurement light.
[0003]
In general, the reaction liquid is stirred to cause the reaction in the reaction vessel to uniformly occur and to accelerate the reaction. As a stirring method, a mechanical stirring method in which a spatula or a screw is rotated in a reaction solution is currently mainstream, but so-called carry-over occurs in which different samples and reagents are mixed through the spatula and the screw. There has been proposed a method (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-146986) that irradiates the reaction vessel with a sound wave so as to avoid physical contact with the liquid to be stirred.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In any of the stirring methods, bubbles near the liquid level generated when the sample and reagent are dispensed into the reaction vessel are trapped in the reaction solution during the stirring, and in the region where the inner wall of the reaction vessel intersects the measurement light. May adhere. Bubbles adhering to the intersecting region between the inner wall of the reaction vessel and the measurement light may block the measurement light or diffusely reflect and interfere with normal measurement. In the future, the amount of reagents and samples used for measurement will be reduced, but in this case, the adhesion of bubbles may be a problem.
[0005]
The present invention provides an automatic analyzer capable of obtaining a more reliable measurement result by removing bubbles adhering to the intersecting region between the inner wall of the reaction vessel and the measurement light from the measurement light path in the automatic analyzer. The purpose is to do.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The object is to provide an automatic analysis comprising a reaction vessel for reacting a reagent and a sample, and a measuring means for optically measuring the reaction of the reaction solution in the reaction vessel by irradiating the reaction vessel with light. In the apparatus, this is achieved by providing a sound wave irradiation mechanism for irradiating a sound wave to a portion including an intersecting region between the inner wall of the reaction vessel and the measurement light of the measurement means.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
[0008]
The automatic analyzer shown in FIG. 1 includes a sample disk 102 that houses a plurality of sample containers 101 containing samples, and a reagent disk that contains a plurality of reagent bottles 103 containing reagents for mixing and reacting with the sample. 104, a reaction disk 107 to which a plurality of reaction vessel holders 106 holding reaction vessels 105, which are places where the sample and the reagent are reacted, and a reaction solution in the reaction vessel 105 in order to promote the reaction between the sample and the reagents. A reaction tank 108 for controlling the temperature of the sample container 101 to a constant temperature, a sample dispensing mechanism 109 for supplying the sample in the sample container 101 to the reaction container 105, a reagent dispensing mechanism 110 for supplying the reagent in the reagent bottle 103 to the reaction container 105, A stirring mechanism 111 that stirs and mixes the sample and reagent supplied to the reaction vessel 105, and bubbles attached to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 are removed. The bubble removal mechanism 112, the photometric mechanism 113 that measures the reaction of the reaction liquid by irradiating the reaction liquid in the reaction container 105 with light and measuring the characteristics of the light, the cleaning mechanism 114 that cleans the reaction container 105, and the analysis item And a display unit 115 for displaying various screens such as analysis results, an input unit 116 for inputting various information such as analysis items, various information such as analysis items, and a sequence (program) for controlling each mechanism. Storage unit 117, and a control unit 118 that controls each component according to the sequence stored in storage unit 117.
[0009]
Next, the analysis operation of the automatic analyzer will be described below.
[0010]
First, a sample is dispensed into the reaction vessel 105 by the sample dispensing mechanism 109 at a position where the sample dispensing mechanism 109 is installed. The reaction container 105 into which the sample has been dispensed is transferred to a position where the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 is installed by driving the reaction disk 107, where the reagent dispensing mechanism 110 dispenses the reagent. Next, the reaction vessel 105 is moved to a position where the stirring mechanism 111 is installed by driving the reaction disk 107, and the sample and the reagent dispensed into the reaction vessel 105 are stirred by the stirring mechanism 111. The stirring mechanism may be a mechanism for inserting a spatula into a reaction vessel and rotating it, a method of irradiating a sound wave and stirring with the sound pressure, or any other stirring mechanism. Thereafter, the reaction vessel 105 is moved to a position where the bubble removal mechanism 112 is installed by driving the reaction disk 107, and the measurement light irradiated to the reaction vessel 105 from the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 and the photometric mechanism 113 by the bubble removal mechanism 112. Bubbles adhering to the intersecting area with the are removed. After the bubble removal is completed, the reaction vessel 105 is transferred to the position of the photometric mechanism 113, and the reaction of the reaction liquid in the reaction vessel 105 is measured by the photometric mechanism 113. After completion of the measurement, the reaction vessel 105 is transferred to the position where the cleaning mechanism 114 is installed by driving the reaction disk 107 and is cleaned by the cleaning mechanism 114. A series of analysis operations are controlled and executed by the control unit 118 according to the sequence stored in the storage unit 117. Such a series of analysis operations is performed on each reaction vessel 105, and analysis is performed by the automatic analyzer according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0011]
Next, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 which is a longitudinal sectional view of the bubble removing mechanism 112. The bubble removing mechanism 112 shown in FIG. 2 includes a piezoelectric element 201 that serves as a sound source and a piezoelectric element driver 202. The piezoelectric element driver 202 is connected to the control unit 118. The sound wave 203 generated by the piezoelectric element 201 by driving the piezoelectric element driver 202 is transmitted to the constant temperature water 204 filling the reaction tank 108 and reaches the reaction vessel 105. In the present embodiment, the sound wave 203 transmits the constant temperature water 204, but another medium that transmits the sound wave 203 can be used instead of the constant temperature water 204. The bubbles 205 attached to the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 are separated from the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 in the traveling direction of the sound wave 203 mainly due to the action of acoustic radiation pressure of the sound wave. The bubbles 206 separated from the reaction vessel 105 move upward in the gravitational direction due to the buoyancy generated by the difference between the specific gravity of the bubbles 206 and the specific gravity of the reaction solution 207, and the bubbles attached to the inner wall of the reaction vessel are removed by irradiation with sound waves. Is done.
[0012]
The sound wave 203 is applied to a portion including an intersecting region between the measurement light 208 of the reaction vessel 105 and the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105. In order to remove bubbles located on the boundary between the region where the measurement light 208 does not intersect, such as the bubble 209, and the intersecting region, it is effective to irradiate the region 203 to 1 mm wider than the intersecting region. is there. Of course, the bubbles can be removed even if a sound wave is irradiated to a wider area.
[0013]
In FIG. 2, the sound wave 203 and the measurement light 208 are drawn so as to overlap, and this is for showing the positional relationship between the position where the sound wave 203 is irradiated and the position where the measurement light 208 is irradiated. On the automatic analyzer, the measurement light 208 is irradiated when the reaction vessel 105 reaches the position of the photometric mechanism 113 in FIG. 1, and the sound wave 203 comes to the position of the bubble removal mechanism 112 in the reaction vessel 105 in FIG. Sometimes irradiated.
[0014]
The irradiation time of the sound wave 203 varies depending on the waveform of the voltage applied to the piezoelectric element 201 to generate the sound wave 203, the distance from the piezoelectric element 201 to the reaction vessel 105, and the like. For example, from the piezoelectric element 201 to the reaction vessel 105 When the voltage applied to the piezoelectric element 201 is on a step wave, the bubbles can be removed by irradiating the sound wave 203 for 10 to 100 ms.
[0015]
Also, parameters such as the intensity of the sound wave 203 to be irradiated and the irradiation time vary depending on the viscosity of the reaction liquid 207 and the wettability between the reaction liquid 207 and the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105. For each type of reaction solution 207, the intensity and irradiation time of the sound wave 203 necessary for removing bubbles are stored in the storage unit 117 as parameters, and the intensity and irradiation time of the sound wave are adjusted according to the type of the reaction solution 207. To do.
[0016]
Of course, parameters such as the intensity of the sound wave 203 and the irradiation time are not adjusted in accordance with the type of the reaction liquid 207, but the parameters of the sound wave 203 for the reaction liquid 207 where bubbles are most difficult to be removed are the parameters for all the reaction liquids 207. Bubbles can be removed even when used in Also in this case, parameters such as the intensity of the sound wave 203 and the irradiation time for the reaction liquid 207 where bubbles are most difficult to remove must be stored in the storage unit 117 in advance.
[0017]
A second embodiment is shown in FIG. The second embodiment includes a reflector 301 that reflects at least a part of sound waves. By reflecting the sound wave 303 using the reflection plate 301, the sound waves 302 and 303 are irradiated to the plurality of inner walls of the reaction container 105 from different directions, and bubbles attached to the plurality of inner walls of the reaction container 105 are removed. A plurality of electrodes 305 are formed on the surface of the piezoelectric element 304, and the irradiation position of the sound wave is determined by the position of the electrode 305 to which a voltage is applied. A portion corresponding to the electrode 305 to which a voltage is applied on the piezoelectric element 304 is vibrated, and sound waves 302 and 303 are generated. The selection of the electrode to which the voltage is applied is performed, for example, using a relay 306 installed between the piezoelectric element driver 202 and the electrode 305.
[0018]
When irradiating sound waves to a plurality of opposing inner walls of the reaction vessel 105 in order to remove bubbles adhering to the plurality of walls of the reaction vessel 105, the distance between the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 and the opposite inner wall is the acoustic radiation pressure. When the bubble is short relative to the horizontal movement distance, the bubble once separated may reach the opposing inner wall and reattach (reattach) to the intersecting region between the opposing inner wall and the measuring light. When the sound waves 302 and 303 are irradiated at the same time, it is possible to prevent the bubbles from reattaching to the opposing inner walls. However, the bubbles 307 receive a force for separating from the inner walls from the sound waves 302, and at the same time, the sound waves applied to the opposing inner walls. Since a force pressing from 303 to the inner wall is received, it does not deviate from the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105. As shown in FIG. 3B, by shifting the timing of irradiating the sound waves 302 and 303, the bubble 307 is separated from the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 by the sound wave 302 and moves toward the opposite inner wall of the reaction vessel. Before reaching the opposing inner wall of the container, a force in the direction opposite to the traveling direction acts by the sound wave 303 and does not reattach to the opposing inner wall. Further, the bubbles 308 adhering to the opposite inner walls are also removed by the sound wave 303. The number of times of alternately irradiating differs depending on the intensity of the radiated sound wave and the distance between the inner walls facing each other. For example, when the distance between the inner walls facing each other is about 5 mm, Immediately after irradiating for -100 ms, the sound wave 303 is irradiated once to the opposing inner wall of the reaction vessel for 10 to 100 ms, thereby preventing reattachment of bubbles to the opposing inner wall.
[0019]
In the second embodiment, the piezoelectric element 304 and the reflection plate 301 are integrated with a housing 309 and are detachably attached to the reaction vessel 108. When it is necessary to adjust the positional relationship between the reaction vessel 105 and the piezoelectric element 304 or the reflecting plate 301 due to dimensional tolerances of components at the time of assembly, the piezoelectric element 304 is moved by moving the housing 309 to an integrated structure. The position of the reflector 301 can be adjusted at the same time, and the adjustment time can be shortened.
[0020]
In the second embodiment, sound waves are applied to the plurality of inner walls of the reaction vessel 105 using the reflection plate 301 and the piezoelectric elements 304 having the plurality of electrodes 305, but a plurality of reaction vessels are used without using the reflection plate 301. A plurality of reaction vessels 105 can also be installed by arranging piezoelectric elements in the direction or arranging a plurality of piezoelectric elements instead of the piezoelectric elements 304 having a plurality of electrodes 305 and reflecting sound waves radiated from them by the reflector 301. Can irradiate the inner wall of the sound wave.
[0021]
In the second embodiment, sound waves are emitted from two directions. Of course, if the number of reflectors, piezoelectric elements, and electrodes is increased, sound waves can be emitted from three or more directions.
[0022]
FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment. The third embodiment has a configuration in which sound waves 404 are irradiated from below the reaction vessel 105. For example, the piezoelectric element 405 is provided below the reaction vessel. In addition to the acoustic wave 402 that is emitted to diverge the bubble 401 from the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105, the acoustic wave 404 is emitted from the lower side to the bubble 403 that is separated from the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105, so An upward force in the direction of gravity is applied to the bubble 403 so that the bubble 403 can move faster above the measurement light 208.
[0023]
FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment. The fourth embodiment has a configuration in which the sound wave 501 is irradiated obliquely upward with respect to the intersection region between the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 and the measurement light 208. Although the vector component of the force that moves the bubbles upward is reduced compared to the third embodiment of FIG. 4, the acoustic radiation pressure that causes the bubbles to be separated from the inner wall of the reaction vessel with one piezoelectric element and the acoustic that causes the separated bubbles to move upward Radiation pressure can be obtained.
[0024]
When the sound wave 501 irradiates the sound wave 501 in a direction in which the portion where the sound wave 501 and the inner wall facing the reaction container 105 intersect does not overlap the intersecting region between the measurement light 208 and the inner wall facing the reaction container 105, the irradiated sound wave 501 is relatively Since the bubbles adhering to the inner wall of the reaction container 105 are not pressed against the inner wall, the sound waves 502 can be irradiated simultaneously with the sound waves 501 to the opposing inner walls of the reaction container 105.
[0025]
Further, when the amount of the reaction solution 207 is small, the distance between the measurement light 208 and the bottom of the reaction container 105 becomes shorter than the size of the bubbles, and the distance between the measurement light 208 and the inner wall of the reaction container 105 is reduced. In addition, bubbles 503 attached to both the inner wall and the bottom of the reaction vessel 105 may be generated. By having a configuration in which the sound wave 501 is irradiated obliquely upward in the direction of gravity in a region including both the bottom and the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105, the bubbles 503 can be separated from both the bottom and the inner wall of the reaction vessel 105 and removed. .
[0026]
FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, the same housing 603 includes a sound wave generation mechanism that generates a sound wave 601 that is irradiated to stir the reaction solution 207 and a sound wave generation mechanism that generates a sound wave 602 that is irradiated to remove bubbles. . By integrating the sound generation mechanism for stirring and the sound generation mechanism for removing bubbles, stirring of the reaction liquid 207 and subsequent bubble removal can be performed at the same location. By performing stirring and bubble removal at the same location, it is not necessary to transfer the reaction vessel 105 from the position where stirring is performed to the position where bubbles are removed, and the time required for the analysis operation can be shortened. Can be increased.
[0027]
In addition, a reflecting plate that reflects at least a part of the sound wave 601 used for stirring and a reflecting plate that reflects at least a part of the sound wave 602 used for bubble removal have an integrated structure (such as 604). By doing so, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Note that, in order to irradiate the sound wave, after the sound wave 602 for stirring is irradiated, the sound wave 602 for removing bubbles is irradiated. Although the sound wave 602 is composed of a plurality of sound waves, irradiation is performed at different timings as in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, it is possible to realize an automatic analyzer capable of removing bubbles adhering to the reaction vessel by the bubble removing mechanism of the present invention and obtaining a highly reliable measurement result.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an automatic analyzer to which a bubble removing mechanism according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view around a bubble removing mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view around a bubble removing mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view around a bubble removal mechanism according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view around a bubble removing mechanism according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view around a bubble removing mechanism according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Sample container, 102 ... Sample disk, 103 ... Reagent bottle, 104 ... Reagent disk, 105 ... Reaction container, 106 ... Reaction container holder, 107 ... Reaction disk, 108 ... Reaction tank, 109 ... Sample dispensing mechanism, 110 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism, 111 ... stirring mechanism, 112 ... bubble removing mechanism, 113 ... photometric mechanism, 114 ... cleaning mechanism, 115 ... display unit, 116 ... input unit, 117 ... storage unit, 118 ... control unit, 201, 304, 405: Piezoelectric element 202: Piezoelectric element driver 203, 302, 303, 402, 404, 501, 502, 601, 602 ... Sound wave, 204: Constant temperature water, 205, 206, 209, 307, 308, 401, 403, 503 ... Air bubbles, 207 ... Reaction liquid, 208 ... Measuring light, 301, 604 ... Reflector, 305 ... Electrode, 306 ... Relay, 309, 60 ... housing.

Claims (8)

A reaction vessel for mixing the reagent and the sample;
In an automatic analyzer equipped with a measuring means for optically measuring the reaction of the mixed liquid in the reaction container by irradiating the reaction container with light,
A first sound wave irradiation mechanism for irradiating a sound wave to a portion including an intersecting region between the wall constituting the reaction container and the measurement light of the measurement unit;
A sound wave reflecting plate for reflecting at least a part of the sound wave irradiated from the first sound wave irradiation mechanism and irradiating the reaction container with the sound wave from a direction different from the sound wave irradiation direction of the first sound wave irradiation mechanism. A second sound wave irradiation mechanism provided;
With
And a control mechanism for controlling the first sound wave irradiation mechanism and the second sound wave irradiation mechanism so that sound waves are emitted from the second sound wave irradiation mechanism after the sound waves are emitted from the first sound wave irradiation mechanism. An automatic analyzer characterized by that. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the first sound wave irradiation mechanism and the sound wave reflection plate have an integral structure. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
Furthermore, the second sound wave irradiation mechanism emits sound waves from below the reaction vessel toward the reaction vessel. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2, wherein the second sound wave irradiation mechanism emits a sound wave having a vector component upward in the direction of gravity in the traveling direction of the sound wave. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that stirring of a mixed solution of a reagent and a sample in the reaction vessel is performed by a stirring mechanism using sound waves. The automatic analyzer according to claim 5, wherein
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the sound wave irradiation mechanism and the stirring mechanism are integrated. In the automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A stirring mechanism for stirring the mixed solution in the reaction vessel;
A mechanism for moving the positions of the plurality of reaction vessels;
With
Furthermore, the position of the reaction vessel in which the stirring mechanism agitates the mixed solution in the reaction vessel,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that a position of a reaction vessel to which the sound wave irradiation mechanism emits sound waves is different. In the automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A stirring mechanism for stirring the mixed solution in the reaction vessel;
A mechanism for moving the positions of the plurality of reaction vessels;
With
Furthermore, the position of the reaction vessel in which the stirring mechanism agitates the mixed solution in the reaction vessel,
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the positions of reaction vessels to which the sound wave irradiation mechanism emits sound waves are the same.

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