EP-4737905-A1 - SPECIMEN PROCESSING DEVICE AND SPECIMEN PROCESSING METHOD

EP4737905A1EP 4737905 A1EP4737905 A1EP 4737905A1EP-4737905-A1

Abstract

The present invention includes: a plurality of specimen container holders 203 for holding one specimen container 201; a function module 3 for performing processing accompanying an analysis of a specimen; a conveyance unit 4 which is connected to the function module 3 and conveys the specimen container 201 held by the specimen container holders 203 to the function module 3; and a control unit 2 which, when it is determined that a plurality of specimen containers 201 having the same identification information are present when acquiring analysis request items of the specimen, assigns request items for each of the specimen containers 201, or a control unit 2 which, when it is determined that a plurality of specimen containers 201 having the same identification information are present, controls the conveyance of the specimen containers 201 having the same identification information on the basis of the conveyance status of the other specimen containers 201 having the same identification information.

Inventors

IKEGAMI TOMOKO
KAKUNO MASAHITO
UMEKI TARO

Assignees

HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240327

Claims (9)

A specimen processing device comprising: a plurality of specimen container holders each of which holds a single specimen container containing a specimen and having identification information assigned thereto; a processing module that performs pre-processing or post-processing associated with analysis of the specimen; a conveyance unit that is connected to the processing module and conveys the specimen container held in the specimen container holder to the processing module; and a control unit that allocates a request item to each specimen container when it is determined that there are a plurality of the specimen containers with the same identification information at the time of acquiring an analysis request item for the specimen.
The specimen processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays a setting screen for setting an analysis request item for each of the specimen containers with the same identification information when there are a plurality of specimen containers with the same identification information.
The specimen processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the analysis request item for each of the specimen containers, based on number information of the specimen containers having the same identification information.
The specimen processing device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit sets the analysis request item for each of the specimen containers, based on the number information notified from a host system.
The specimen processing device according to claim 1, wherein the specimen containers having the same identification information are identified based on the order in which the conveyance unit starts conveying the specimen containers.
The specimen processing device according to claim 1, wherein, when a dispensing process in the analysis request item set for each of the specimen containers is not completed, and there is a specimen container that has the same identification information and has not been conveyed, the control unit continues processing with the specimen container that has not been conveyed.
The specimen processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit accepts changes to the number of specimen containers, registered contents, and the analysis request item set for each of the specimen containers until the conveyance of the first specimen container is started.
A specimen processing device comprising: a plurality of specimen container holders each of which holds a single specimen container containing a specimen and having identification information assigned thereto; a processing module that performs pre-processing or post-processing associated with analysis of the specimen; a conveyance unit that is connected to the processing module and conveys the specimen container held in the specimen container holder to the processing module; and a control unit that controls, when there are a plurality of specimen containers having the same identification information, the conveyance of other specimen containers having the same identification information on the basis of the conveyance status of the specimen containers having the same identification information.
A specimen processing method comprising: when a plurality of specimen container holders each of which holds a single specimen container containing a specimen and having identification information assigned thereto are conveyed to a processing module that performs pre-processing or post-processing associated with analysis of the specimen, allocating a request item to each of the specimen containers when it is determined that there are a plurality of specimen containers with the same identification information at the time of acquiring an analysis request item for the specimen; and individually conveying the specimen containers with the same identification information to the processing module and performing the pre-processing or the post-processing.

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a specimen processing device and a specimen processing method for performing pre-processing of specimens such as blood and urine before transmitting the specimens to an automatic analysis device and for performing post-processing associated with analysis. Background Art It is described that, in order to collectively communicate, convey, and control a plurality of carriers, a management unit that holds the overall state of a specimen conveyance system and specimen information generates group information, which configures a batch to be simultaneously processed, on the basis of specimen attributes and request information. A unit comprising conveyance lines, junction lines, and processing sections controls the receipt of carriers at merging points on the basis of the group information, thereby enabling group management control of the carriers. Citation List Patent Literature PTL 1: JP2012-154758A Summary of Invention Technical Problem In recent years, in a clinical test at medical facilities, when the number of test items increases or the amount of blood required for analysis exceeds the capacity of a single specimen container due to blood collection tubes (hereinafter referred to as "specimen containers") used at the facility, a plurality of specimen containers may require the same processing. These are generally referred to as a plurality of specimens or a plurality of specimens with the same ID, and the same specimen identifier (barcode, RFID, or the like) may be attached to the specimen containers. In a specimen processing device, a carrier (hereinafter referred to as "holder") capable of loading a single specimen container containing a test sample, such as blood or body fluid, or a carrier capable of loading a plurality of specimen containers is used to convey the specimen container between function modules within the specimen processing device. In such a specimen processing device, information linked with a specimen ID is received from a host system on the basis of a specimen identifier (specimen ID) attached to the specimen container, and processing contents are determined from the information. Depending on a medical facility, a plurality of specimen containers with the same ID may be generated in accordance with test contents. In a specimen processing device of the related art, a plurality of specimens with the same identifier are loaded onto a carrier capable of loading a plurality of specimen containers, and then inserted and conveyed into the device to process the plurality of specimens with the same identifier. However, for example, when a single specimen container occupies a carrier in spite of being capable of loading a plurality of specimen containers, there is a concern of a shortage of carriers for the entire specimen processing device. In this case, since the specimen containers cannot be loaded, specimen processing has to be adjusted not to start until all specimen containers are collected, or wait until a carrier loaded with a specimen for which analysis has completed is discharged. Therefore, there is a possibility of delays in test results, and thus resolution of this issue is awaited. In a specimen processing device provided in PTL 1, for handling specimens from the same patient in the specimen processing device using a carrier loaded with a single specimen container, group information for executing the same processing is generated at the time of inserting the specimen container, and a plurality of specimens are handled by conveyance control based on the group information by using evacuation areas of carriers installed in function modules in the specimen processing device. On the other hand, for a plurality of specimen containers having the same specimen identifier, handling in a specimen processing device using a holder loaded with only a single specimen container has not been realized. This is because, in a specimen processing device, each specimen container is handled using a specimen identifier assigned to the specimen container as a primary key, and a control method for processing a plurality of specimen containers with duplicate primary keys has not been established. Unlike a carrier that is loaded with a plurality of specimen containers, in a specimen processing device using a holder loaded with a single specimen container, the holder and the specimen container are linked to each other in a one-to-one relationship. For this reason, in a specimen processing device including a plurality of function modules and managing complex conveyance paths, there is an advantage in that conveyance control of a single specimen container can be handled more flexibly. However, when specimen identifiers used for conveyance control are the same and the total amount is unknown, the conveyance control mechanism itself has to be changed. PTL 1 discloses that an area for evacuating specimen containers is provided for each carrier until all specimen containe