JPH0690210B2 - Automatic chemical analyzer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer for performing colorimetric analysis or electrolyte analysis of a sample collected from a living body.

(Prior Art) A sample of a serum collected from a living body, for example, a human body
There is known an automatic chemical analysis device which is used as a sample and is used for diagnosis by measuring the concentration or electrolytic mass of a specific component in a reaction solution obtained by reacting a desired reagent with the colorant method or the electrode method. FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of such an analyzer. For example, a large number of reaction vessels 2 held by a conveying means (not shown) are immersed in a circular thermostatic chamber 1 and sequentially conveyed in a predetermined cycle in the arrow direction. It is supposed to be done.
Around the constant temperature bath 1, a sample dispensing nozzle 3 for dispensing a sample into the reaction container 2, a reagent dispensing nozzle 4 for dispensing a reagent, and a stirring solution for reaction between the sample and the reagent An agitator 5 and a washing / drying nozzle 6 for washing and drying are provided. The light source 7a and detector
A photometric system 7 including 7b is provided, and the concentration of a specific component in the reaction liquid of the sample and the reagent dispensed in the reaction container 2 is optically measured and colorimetrically analyzed.

Further, an ion selective electrode (hereinafter simply referred to as an electrode) 8 for conducting an electrolyte analysis is provided at a predetermined position (immediately above position) around the constant temperature bath 1, and a reaction solution and a calibration solution are alternately provided from the reaction container 2 immediately below. It is adapted to suck and measure by the electrode method. FIG. 8 particularly shows an electrode measuring system for performing electrolyte analysis. The thermostat 1 immediately below the electrode 8 has a reaction container 2a filled with a reaction liquid containing a sample and a reaction container filled with a calibration liquid. 2b are transported as a pair intermittently every cycle. First, the electrode 8 descends into the reaction vessel 2a which has been conveyed directly below, sucks the reaction liquid by the suction pump 9 and then rises again to perform measurement, and subsequently, the reaction vessel 2b which has been conveyed directly below. The calibration solution inside is measured in the same manner, and the operation of alternately measuring the reaction solution and the calibration solution is repeated for the next pair of reaction vessels. By calibrating the electrode for each measurement in this way, it is possible to prevent a measurement error in the case of performing continuous measurement. The reaction vessel 2a, which is filled with the reaction solution among the paired reaction vessels, is commonly used for colorimetric analysis. FIG. 9 shows another example of the electrode measuring system.
In addition to a pair of reaction vessels 2a and 2b used for electrolyte analysis, a constant temperature vessel 1 is additionally provided with a reaction vessel 2c used for colorimetric analysis and a total of three reaction vessels are conveyed as a set.

In any case, in an automatic chemical analyzer having a colorimetric analysis function and an electrolyte analysis function, it is necessary to use at least two reaction vessels as a set in each cycle.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, in the conventional automatic chemical analyzer, since a reaction container for filling the calibration solution used for the electrolyte analysis is required,
There is a problem that the processing speed decreases. In other words, for colorimetric analysis, it is sufficient to have one reaction container for each cycle, but for electrolyte analysis, an additional reaction container for the calibration solution, which is not required for colorimetric analysis, is required. The speed will decrease.

The present invention has been made to address the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic chemical analyzer capable of improving processing speed and obtaining highly reliable measurement results.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an automatic chemical analyzer according to the present invention provides an electrolyte measurement electrode and a reaction solution or a calibration solution connected to the electrolyte measurement electrode, respectively. Having a liquid suction nozzle that sucks at a position and leads to the electrolyte measurement electrode, holds an electrolyte measurement system that measures the electrolytic mass of a reaction solution or a calibration solution, and holds a plurality of reaction vessels in which the reaction solutions are housed, A transport means for sequentially transporting these reaction containers along a predetermined path, and a position near the position on the predetermined path where the reaction liquid contained in the reaction container is sucked by the liquid suction nozzle. It is installed in a fixed position independent of the route,
A calibration liquid container holding a calibration liquid, a reaction container held by the transport means and a constant temperature bath for immersing the calibration liquid container in constant temperature water, and a light source for irradiating the reaction container with light at a predetermined position of the transport path. And a detector for detecting the transmitted light transmitted through the reaction container, and a colorimetric analysis system for performing a colorimetric analysis of the reaction solution.

(Operation) According to the invention of the above configuration, since the plurality of reaction vessels are provided so as to pass through the reaction solution suction position and the calibration solution container is provided near the reaction solution suction position, the calibration solution is provided between the reaction vessels. As compared with the case where each container is provided, the moving distance of the container becomes shorter, so that the electrolytic mass can be measured quickly and the processing speed can be improved. Further, since both the reaction container and the calibration liquid container are immersed in the constant temperature water in the constant temperature bath, the temperatures of the reaction liquid and the calibration liquid are constant, and highly reliable measurement results can be obtained.

Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic chemical analyzer according to the present invention. The constant temperature bath 1 includes a constant temperature water supply source 10 to a joint 11.
Constant temperature water is supplied via the to keep the reaction vessel 2 at a constant temperature. A colorimetric measurement system 12 for performing colorimetric analysis is provided at a predetermined position around the constant temperature bath 1, and a sample dispensing nozzle, a reagent dispensing nozzle, a stirrer, a photometric system, and a washing / drying system (all are detailed. (Not shown) and the like. Further, an electrode measuring system 13 for conducting an electrolyte analysis is provided at another predetermined position, and a calibration solution container immersed in an intermediate position of the electrode 8 and the reaction container 2 in the constant temperature tank 1 immediately below the electrode 8 is conveyed. 14
Etc. The electrode 8 has a suction pump 9
Is connected to the suction pump 9, and the atmosphere open box 15 is connected to the suction pump 9. Further, the calibration liquid container 14 is supplied with the calibration liquid from the calibration liquid source 18 by the supply pump 17 through the supply passage 16, and is calibrated by the discharge pump 20 from the calibration liquid container 14 through the discharge passage 19. The liquid is drained.

The electrode 8 has a nozzle 8a at its end and is configured to be vertically movable and swingable by a drive mechanism (not shown). As a result, the electrode 8 can suck the calibration liquid from the calibration liquid container 14 directly below, and the reaction liquid from the reaction container 2 that has been conveyed immediately below, so that the calibration liquid and the reaction liquid can be alternately measured. There is. The output of the electrode 8 is sent to the A / D converter 22 via the preamplifier 21, and is further sent to the arithmetic processing unit (not shown) in the subsequent stage.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration in the vicinity of the electrode measuring system 13, in which the reaction container 2 filled with the reaction liquid prepared by preliminarily dispensing the sample and the reagent in the constant temperature bath 1 is sequentially conveyed in a constant cycle. come. The electrode 8 moves up and down with respect to the reaction container 2 conveyed immediately below to suck the reaction liquid with the nozzle 8a for measurement, and then swings toward the calibration liquid container 14 to change its direction. Similarly, the vertical movement is performed to suck the calibration liquid and perform the measurement. Thereafter, the same processing is performed on the reaction container 2 and the calibration liquid container 14 which are newly conveyed in each cycle. The reaction container 2 is also commonly used for colorimetric analysis by a colorimetric measuring system, and colorimetric measurement is performed by a photometric system at a predetermined position.

As shown in FIG. 3, the calibration liquid container 14 has, for example, a pot shape, and the calibration liquid is supplied from the upper part thereof via the supply flow path 16 and the calibration liquid is discharged from the lower part thereof via the discharge flow path 19. Is configured to be. As a result, the calibration liquid remaining in the container 14 can be easily discharged, and the calibration liquid used before replacement of the calibration liquid does not remain, so that the influence thereof can be prevented. When connecting the flow paths 16 and 19 via the joint portion 23, the joint portion 23 is arranged higher than the water level of the constant temperature water. As a result, constant temperature water can be prevented from mixing into the calibration liquid when a leak occurs at the joint portion 23, so that the concentration of the calibration liquid is diluted and a measurement error does not occur.

As for the supply channel 16 connected to the calibration liquid container 14, the inner volume of the portion 16a immersed in the constant temperature water as shown in FIG.
It is configured so that it is larger than the supply amount of the calibration liquid for 4 times once. According to this, the channel portion 16a which is immersed
By the action, the temperature rise time of the calibration liquid supplied into the calibration liquid container 14 can be shortened, which can contribute to the improvement of the processing speed. In this case, the channel portion 16a is the support 2
By wrapping around 4, it can be placed stably,
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the flow path portion 16a may be formed in a circular shape and fixed to the inner wall of the constant temperature bath 1.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The reaction container 2 that holds the reaction solution, which is placed in the constant temperature tank 1 and in which the sample to be analyzed and the reagent are dispensed, is sequentially conveyed in a predetermined cycle, and the reaction solution is transferred at a predetermined position. Is subjected to colorimetric analysis by a colorimetric measuring system. On the other hand, the reaction liquid in the reaction container 2 conveyed immediately below the electrode 8 is
Electrolyte analysis is performed by an electrode measuring system according to. Then, the electrode 8 is turned to the adjacent calibration liquid container 14 and the electrolyte of the calibration liquid is analyzed in the same manner. Thereafter, each time a new reaction container 2 is transported, electrolyte analysis of the reaction solution and the calibration solution is alternately performed. In this case, the container filled with the calibration liquid is provided separately from the reaction container, and the calibration liquid container 14 for exclusively supplying the calibration liquid is used.

As a result, the reaction container 2 prepared in the constant temperature bath 1 can be used only for the reaction liquid to be analyzed. Therefore, the reaction container conventionally used for the calibration solution for electrolyte analysis can be used for the reaction solution. Therefore, for example, the two reaction vessels that were used for electrolyte analysis in pairs can be used for the reaction solution, so that the processing rate can be doubled. Also, when three pieces are used as one set, the processing speed can be similarly improved.

In this way, the calibration solution used for electrolyte analysis is always supplied to the calibration solution container 14 with a constant concentration. Therefore, by utilizing the property of this calibration liquid, it becomes possible to easily grasp the position of this defect generation source in the case where an analysis defect occurs in the measurement result, and at least there is a cause in the calibration liquid supply system. It is possible to understand whether there is a cause in the measurement system after the supply system. Therefore, it is possible to take efficient measures when repairing.

Specifically, first, the calibration liquid is continuously supplied to the electrodes to regard the calibration liquid as the reaction liquid, and the measurement is repeated according to the actual measurement cycle. For example, the reproducibility of the measurement result is confirmed by obtaining the statistical value of SD, CD, etc. by performing the measurement of the calibration solution 20 times continuously. If the measurement result obtained by this is within the range of the permissible value set by the user in advance, it can be considered that there is no cause of failure in the supply system. That is, the fact that the result of repeated measurement of the calibration liquid is within the allowable value range means that there is no problem in the supply system before the electrode 8. Therefore, if an analysis failure occurs, this cause is It can be judged that it is in the system.
If the measurement result of the calibration solution is out of the allowable range, it is unknown whether the cause is the supply system or the measurement system. It is necessary to confirm.

When it is determined that the measurement system has a cause, it is sufficient to sequentially check the quality of the operation of each step constituting the measurement system. Therefore, when the analysis failure is dealt with and the repair is performed, the position of the failure generation source can be grasped in a short time, so that an efficient countermeasure can be taken.

FIG. 6 shows the steps in the case of taking the countermeasures against defects as described above. The measurement system is roughly divided into the step A in which the measurement of the calibration liquid is repeated and the preset tolerance based on the measurement result. Can be divided into Step B for making a pass / fail judgment. The allowable value can be arbitrarily set by the user. Such a step of countermeasures against defects is installed in the device as a program for maintenance by a service person in advance, and by starting this program, the calibration liquid is automatically measured and the measurement result is displayed on the device. By reading it, it becomes possible to automatically determine the quality of the measurement system.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of reaction vessels are provided so as to pass through the reaction solution suction position, and a calibration solution vessel is provided near the reaction solution suction position, so that the movement distance of the vessels is reduced. The temperature of the reaction solution and the calibration solution was kept constant by making both the reaction vessel and the calibration solution container soaked in the constant temperature water in the constant temperature bath. It is possible to provide an automatic chemical analyzer that can obtain highly reliable measurement results.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the main part of the device of this embodiment,
3 to 5 are layout diagrams showing the layout of the calibration solution container used in the apparatus of this embodiment in constant temperature water, and FIG. 6 is an automatic chemical analyzer of another invention to which the principle of the present invention is applied. FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining the function of FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a conventional example,
FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are configuration diagrams showing a main part of a conventional example. 1 ... Constant temperature bath, 2 ... Reaction container, 8 ... Electrode (ion selective electrode), 12 ... Colorimetric measurement system, 13 ... Electrode measurement system, 14 ... Calibration solution container, 16, 16a ... Supply Channel, 23 ... Joint section.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-56-57949 (JP, A) JP-A-54-130993 (JP, A) JP-A-54-43794 (JP, A) JP-A-54- 39193 (JP, A) JP 50-75488 (JP, A) JP 60-73359 (JP, A) JP 58-30651 (JP, A)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An electrolyte of a reaction solution or a calibration solution, comprising an electrolyte measurement electrode and a liquid suction nozzle which is connected to the electrolyte measurement electrode and sucks a reaction solution or a calibration solution at a predetermined position to guide the solution or calibration solution to the electrolyte measurement electrode. An electrolyte measuring system for measuring the amount and a plurality of reaction vessels each containing a reaction solution are held,
A transport means for sequentially transporting these reaction vessels along a predetermined path, and a location near the position on the predetermined path where the reaction liquid contained in the reaction vessel is sucked by the liquid suction nozzle. A calibration solution container, which is provided at a fixed position independent of the path, holds a calibration solution, a reaction vessel held by the transfer means and a constant temperature bath for immersing the calibration solution container in constant temperature water, and a predetermined transfer path. A light source for irradiating the reaction container with light at a position and a detector for detecting transmitted light transmitted through the reaction container, and a colorimetric analysis system for performing a colorimetric analysis of the reaction solution, Automatic chemical analyzer. 2. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the calibration solution container includes a supply channel for supplying the calibration solution from the upper part and a discharge channel for discharging the calibration solution from the lower part. 3. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 2, wherein the supply channel is connected to the calibration liquid container via a joint portion, and the joint portion is arranged outside constant temperature water. 4. The automatic supply system according to claim 2, wherein a part of the supply passage is immersed in constant temperature water, and an inner volume of the immersed portion is larger than a single supply amount of the calibration liquid. Chemical analyzer. 5. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 4, further comprising a support for fixing the portion of the supply flow path immersed in the constant temperature water in the constant temperature water. 6. The electrolyte measuring system is controlled so that only the calibration solution is continuously supplied to the electrolyte measuring electrode, and the calibration solution is repeatedly measured according to an actual measurement cycle, and the electrolyte is controlled based on the measurement result. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising control means for judging whether the operation of the measurement system is good or bad. 7. The automatic chemical analyzer according to claim 6, wherein the control means judges the quality by referring to a preset allowable value.