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EP-4737906-A1 - LIQUID STIRRING METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS DEVICE, AND AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS DEVICE CAPABLE OF EXECUTING SAME

EP4737906A1EP 4737906 A1EP4737906 A1EP 4737906A1EP-4737906-A1

Abstract

To provide a discharge stirring method for sufficient stirring effects even in the case of the analysis item using the reagent liable to form aggregates, and an automatic analyzer implementing the method. A liquid stirring method for an automatic analyzer provided with a dispensing probe for aspirating and/or discharging a liquid, includes: a first aspiration step of aspirating a first liquid to be stirred by the dispensing probe; a second aspiration step of aspirating a second liquid to be stirred in a state where the first liquid to be stirred has been received in the dispensing probe; and a first stirring step of discharging the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into a container. In the liquid stirring method, in the second aspiration step, air is also aspirated during aspiration of the second liquid to be stirred, and in the first stirring step, the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred are discharged into the container from above a liquid level of the liquid received in the container.

Inventors

  • MATSUDA KYOHEI

Assignees

  • HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240619

Claims (10)

  1. A liquid stirring method for an automatic analyzer provided with a dispensing probe for aspirating and/or discharging a liquid, the method comprising: a first aspiration step of aspirating a first liquid to be stirred by the dispensing probe; a second aspiration step of aspirating a second liquid to be stirred in a state where the first liquid to be stirred has been received in the dispensing probe; and a first stirring step of discharging the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into a container, wherein: in the second aspiration step, air is also aspirated during aspiration of the second liquid to be stirred; and in the first stirring step, the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred are discharged into the container from above a liquid level of the liquid received in the container.
  2. The liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising, between the first aspiration step and the second aspiration step, a segmental air aspiration step of aspirating an air phase for suppressing mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred.
  3. The liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising: a re-aspiration step of re-aspirating a liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred by the dispensing probe so as to contain a bubble in the liquid mixture which has been discharged into the container in the first stirring step; and a second stirring step of discharging the liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into the container from above the liquid level of the liquid received in the container, the liquid mixture having been received in the dispensing probe.
  4. The liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to claim 3, wherein the second stirring step is not executed in accordance with an analysis item allocated to the liquid mixture.
  5. The liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to claim 3, wherein an aspiration amount of the liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred in the re-aspiration step is set to zero in accordance with an analysis item allocated to the liquid mixture.
  6. The liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to claim 4, wherein in the case where the second stirring step is not executed, the first stirring step is executed such that in the first aspiration step, the dispensing probe aspirates the second liquid to be stirred at a position under a liquid level of the second liquid to be stirred during aspiration of the second liquid to be stirred; and in the first stirring step, the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred are discharged into the container at a position under the liquid level of the liquid received in the container.
  7. A liquid stirring method for an automatic analyzer provided with a dispensing probe for aspirating and/or discharging a liquid, the method comprising: a first aspiration step of aspirating a first liquid to be stirred by the dispensing probe; a second aspiration step of aspirating a second liquid to be stirred in a state where the first liquid to be stirred has been received in the dispensing probe; and a first stirring step of discharging the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into a container; a re-aspiration step of re-aspirating a liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred by the dispensing probe, the liquid mixture having been received in the container; and a second stirring step of discharging the liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into the container, the liquid mixture having been received in the dispensing probe, wherein: a correlation among a total liquid amount of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred, a discharge amount of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred, which are discharged into the container simultaneously in the first stirring step, and a speed of discharging the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred is preliminarily stored in multiple patterns; and a pattern for a stirring operation is selected from the stored multiple patterns in accordance with an analysis item allocated to the first liquid to be stirred.
  8. The liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to claim 7, further comprising: a re-aspiration step of re-aspirating the liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred by the dispensing probe, the liquid mixture having been received in the container; and a second stirring step of discharging the liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into the container, the liquid mixture having been received in the dispensing probe, wherein: a correlation between a discharging amount of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred, which are discharged into the container simultaneously in the second stirring step, and a speed of discharging the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred is stored with a pattern in the first stirring step; and a pattern for the stirring operation is selected from the stored patterns in accordance with an analysis item allocated to the first liquid to be stirred.
  9. The liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein in the step of discharging the liquid mixture of the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into the container, the liquid mixture having been received in the dispensing probe, when discharging the liquid mixture into the container, a distance between the dispensing probe and a liquid level of the received liquid mixture is stored in the stored pattern.
  10. An automatic analyzer provided with a controller of controlling mechanisms including the dispensing probe so as to implement the liquid stirring method for the automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Description

Technical Field This invention relates to a liquid stirring method for an automatic analyzer and an automatic analyzer capable of implementing the method. Background Art In medical field, automatic analyzers are used to perform qualitative and quantitative analysis of any substance in a sample by mixing reagents containing enzymes or antibodies that react to specific biological components or chemical substances in blood, serum, urine, or other samples. In order to avoid an increase in size, small-sized automatic analyzers may use a discharge stirring method that uses a liquid dispensing mechanism to stir liquid, instead of providing a stirring mechanism that uses a dedicated stirring rod. This is a technique in which a liquid to be stirred is sequentially aspirated into a dispensing mechanism and then simultaneously discharged to stir the liquid. Since a stirring force is smaller than that achieved by using a stirring rod, various techniques have been proposed to improve the stirring force. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which, when aspirating a liquid to be stirred into a dispensing probe (pipette), instead of aspirating the entire amount of liquid, segmental air is introduced into the tip of pipette tip during aspirating, and then the aspirating and discharging of the liquid to be stirred is repeated to improve a stirring effect. Citation List Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-107089 Summary of Invention Technical Problem However, depending on analysis items, a stronger stirring capacity than that of the method of Patent Literature 1 may be required. For example, in analysis items using reagents that easily aggregate, there is a concern that accurate analysis results cannot be obtained unless aggregates are sufficiently finely divided by stirring. Although the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 can be expected to have a higher stirring effect than conventional dispensing stirring, by making the liquid contain bubbles and oscillating the bubbles in the liquid, the stirring effect may not be sufficient for the analysis items described above. An object of the present invention is to provide a discharge stirring method for sufficient stirring effects even in the case of the analysis item using the reagent liable to form aggregates, and an automatic analyzer implementing the method. Solution to Problem The present invention for achieving the above object is as follows. A liquid stirring method for an automatic analyzer and an automatic analyzer capable of implementing the method are provided. The liquid stirring method for an automatic analyzer is provided with a dispensing probe for aspirating and/or discharging a liquid, and the method includes: a first aspiration step of aspirating a first liquid to be stirred by the dispensing probe; a second aspiration step of aspirating a second liquid to be stirred in a state where the first liquid to be stirred has been received in the dispensing probe; and a first stirring step of discharging the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred into a container. In the second aspiration step, air is also aspirated during aspiration of the second liquid to be stirred, and in the first stirring step, the first liquid to be stirred and the second liquid to be stirred are discharged into the container from above a liquid level of the liquid received in the container. Advantageous Effects of Invention It is possible to provide a dispensing stirring method for sufficient stirring effects even in the case of the analysis item using the reagent liable to form aggregates, and an automatic analyzer implementing the method. Brief Description of Drawings [FIG. 1] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of an overall structure of an automatic analyzer.[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of a structure of a dispensing unit.[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart representing an operation flow for a user to select a stirring mode.[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 represents respective effects of the first mode and the second mode, and a correlation among those effects.[FIG. 5] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a double-stirring operation in the first mode.[FIG. 6] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a single-stirring operation in the second mode. Description of Embodiments Hereinbelow, preferred embodiments of an automatic analyzer according to the present invention will be described in accordance with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that in the following description and accompanying drawings, constituting elements having the same function configurations are indicated by the same reference numerals, and the overlapped description is thus omitted. It should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Embodiment An example of the overall structure of an automatic analyzer will be described with reference