JP-7857147-B2 - Automated analyzer and automated analysis method

Inventors

• ワン シンミン

Assignees

• キヤノンメディカルシステムズ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220420

Priority Date

20210813

Claims (13)

1. A storage section for housing a container for holding the sample to be analyzed, A transfer unit for transferring the container from the storage unit, A measuring unit that pours the sample into the container transferred from the transfer unit and measures the liquid inside the container, A static electricity removal unit is provided in at least one of the storage unit and the transport unit to remove static electricity from the container, Equipped with, The static electricity removal unit is A rotating shaft made of metal, An automated analyzer equipped with the following features.
2. The static electricity removal unit is Brush provided on the aforementioned rotating shaft, Equipped with, The rotating shaft is provided such that the container passes through the brush. The automated analyzer according to claim 1 .
3. The static electricity removal unit is A rotating shaft drive unit drives the rotating shaft so that the rotating shaft rotates when the container passes the brush. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1 , further comprising:
4. A storage section for housing a container for holding the sample to be analyzed, A transfer unit for transferring the container from the storage unit, A measuring unit that pours the sample into the container transferred from the transfer unit and measures the liquid inside the container, A static electricity removal unit is provided in at least one of the storage unit and the transport unit to remove static electricity from the container, Equipped with, The transfer unit is In a transport path for transporting the container to the measuring unit, a container orientation changing unit is provided to change the orientation of the container so that the opening of the container faces downwards. A clamping unit is provided at the end of the transport path, which clamps the container with its opening facing downwards, inverts the container so that its opening faces upwards, and then sends it to the measuring unit. Equipped with, The container direction changing unit constitutes the static electricity removal unit by being grounded . Automatic analyzer.
5. The transfer unit is A container arrangement mechanism that arranges the containers in a predetermined orientation and sequentially sends them to the container orientation changing unit. Equipped with, The container orientation changing unit sequentially changes the orientation of the containers delivered by the container placement mechanism along the transport path so that the opening of the container faces downwards. The automated analyzer according to claim 4 .
6. The container placement mechanism forms a path on which the container can spirally ascend around an axis, and after the container is spirally ascended along the path, it is sent to the container direction changing unit in the predetermined position. The automated analyzer according to claim 5 .
7. The container direction changing unit is In the aforementioned transport path, multiple guide rails, It has, The container direction changing unit moves the container along the plurality of guide rails in a predetermined position by simultaneously bringing the container into contact with the plurality of guide rails. The automated analyzer according to claim 5 .
8. The plurality of guide rails include a guide rail that abuts against the opening of the container, and at least two guide rails that sandwich the top of the container. The automated analyzer according to claim 7 .
9. A storage section for housing a container for holding the sample to be analyzed, A transfer unit for transferring the container from the storage unit, A measuring unit that pours the sample into the container transferred from the transfer unit and measures the liquid inside the container, A static electricity removal unit is provided in at least one of the storage unit and the transport unit to remove static electricity from the container, Equipped with, The static electricity removal unit is A cleaning unit for cleaning the aforementioned container, An automated analyzer having the following features.
10. The cleaning unit is A blowpipe for introducing air into the container and a suction pipe for drawing air from the container, It has, The length of the suction tube extending into the container is shorter than the length of the blowpipe extending into the container. The automated analyzer according to claim 9 .
11. The cleaning unit is A clamping mechanism for holding the aforementioned container, A vibration mechanism for vibrating the aforementioned container, An automatic analyzer according to claim 9 , having the following features.
12. The static electricity removal unit is A dust collection unit is provided below at least a portion of the path through which the container is transported, An electrostatic attraction unit that uses static electricity to attract dust to the dust collection section, An automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1, 4, or 9, comprising:
13. A storage step involves storing a container for the sample to be analyzed in the storage section, A transfer step of transferring the container from the storage unit by the transfer unit, A measurement step comprising: pouring the sample into the container transferred from the transfer unit and measuring the liquid in the container; In at least one of the storage step and the transfer step, an electrostatic discharge step is performed using a rotating shaft made of metal to remove static electricity from the container, An automated analysis method that includes this.

Description

Embodiments disclosed herein and in the drawings relate to automated analyzers and automated analyzers. Automated analyzers that analyze test samples (biological samples such as blood) collected from subjects (hereinafter referred to as "samples") generally require the prior preparation of empty reaction vessels. After providing these reaction vessels to a work area such as a reaction disk, various analyses, such as blood coagulation analysis, are performed by injecting a liquid mixture of the sample and reagents, or the sample itself, into the reaction vessel. Therefore, an automated analyzer comprises a cuvette transporter and an analyzer having a reaction disk, etc. The cuvette transporter transports the cuvettes, which are reaction vessels used for sample analysis, to the reaction disk within the analyzer. The analyzer performs various analyses of the sample by injecting the sample and reagents into the transported cuvette, or by injecting the sample into the transported cuvette and measuring the liquid within the cuvette. Taking blood coagulation analysis as an example, Figure 16 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a conventional automated analyzer. The automated analyzer comprises a cuvette transporter 100' and an analyzer having a reaction disk 60'. The cuvette transporter 100' transports the cuvettes 1' to the reaction disk 60'. As shown in Figure 16, the cuvette transporter 100' transports the cuvettes 1', which are containers with one end open, to the reaction disk 60'. Generally, as shown in the areas enclosed by the dotted lines in Figure 16, it comprises a storage unit 10', a placement unit 20', and a transport unit 30', respectively enclosed by dotted lines. After the cuvettes 1' are placed into the storage unit 10', they are fed into the placement unit 20' via the separator 40'. The placement unit 20' uses the placement device 50' to arrange the cuvettes 1', which were transported by the storage unit 10', in the same orientation in order to place them in the downstream transport unit 30'. The cuvettes 1' arranged in the placement unit 20' are transported to the reaction disc 60' by the rails 30A' of the transport unit 30', where the sample is injected into the cuvettes 1' for analysis. This structure allows for the automatic arrangement of cuvettes 1', which are haphazardly placed in the storage unit 10', and their transport to the reaction disc 60'. However, cuvette 1' is made of a material that easily generates dust, such as plastic. For example, in an automated analyzer having the cuvette transport device 100' described above, before the cuvettes 1' enter the reaction disc 60', they are placed haphazardly in the storage unit 10' and then transported one by one to the reaction disc 60' by the cuvette transport device 100'. During this process, mutual friction exists between the cuvettes 1', between the cuvettes 1' and the storage unit 10', and between the cuvettes 1' and the placement unit 20'. Therefore, for example, a plastic cuvette 1' is prone to generating dust, and if dust enters the cuvette 1, it can mix with the injected sample, affecting the analysis results of the analyzer and ultimately impacting the evaluation results. Therefore, dust generation can reduce the accuracy of the analysis. Removing dust from the cuvette is extremely important. Furthermore, the separator 40' moves vertically, dividing the cuvettes 1' into smaller portions and supplying them to the placement unit 20'. Specifically, the top of the separator 40' is provided with a slope that faces the placement unit 20'. When the separator 40' lowers, some of the cuvettes 1' fall onto the slope of the separator 40', and when the separator 40' rises, the cuvettes 1' slide down from the slope into the placement unit 20'. In this process, the cuvettes 1' that are not in the separator 40' slide back down into the storage unit 10'. At this time, the cuvettes 1' collide with various parts of the storage unit 10' multiple times, making dust generation more likely. Furthermore, the placement unit 50' also places the cuvettes 1' by moving vertically. During this process, the cuvettes 1' slide haphazardly into the placement unit 50'. For example, when the placement unit 50' lowers, some of the cuvettes 1' fall into it, and when the placement unit 50' rises, the cuvettes 1' that do not fit into the placement unit 50' slide back into the placement unit 20'. During this process, the cuvettes 1' collide with various parts of the placement unit 20' multiple times, making dust generation more likely. As described above, the cuvette conveying device 100' shown in Figure 16 is prone to generating dust, which may reduce the analytical accuracy of the automated analyzer due to dust generation. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-18968 Figure 1 is an overall schematic diagram showing the configuration of the automated analyzer according to the first embodiment.Figure 2A is an overhead view showing an example of