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US-12618754-B2 - Oil removal method, oil remover, transporter, and testing system

US12618754B2US 12618754 B2US12618754 B2US 12618754B2US-12618754-B2

Abstract

An oil removal method is disclosed that removes an oil for an oil immersion object lens adhering to a smear surface of a smear of a sample. The method may include removing the oil by moving at least one of a first holder holding the smear to be subjected to oil removal or a second holder holding an oil absorption member that absorbs the oil from a separated state where a contact surface of the oil absorption member and the smear surface are positioned away from each other to a contacting state where the smear surface and the contact surface are in contact with each other, and moving at least one of the first holder or the second holder from the contacting state to the separated state after removing the oil.

Inventors

  • Naoshi TAKARA
  • Mitsuo Yamasaki

Assignees

  • SYSMEX CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20231102
Priority Date
20221107

Claims (16)

  1. 1 . A testing system comprising: a smear preparing device configured to prepare a smear being a glass slide with a sample smeared thereon; a smear imaging device configured to supply an oil onto the smear prepared by the smear preparing device and image the smear with an oil immersion object lens; and an oil remover configured to remove, after imaging by the smear imaging device, the oil for the oil immersion object lens adhering to the smear prepared by the smear preparing device, wherein the oil remover comprises: a first holder that holds the smear to be subjected to oil removal; a second holder that holds one or more oil absorption members which absorbs the oil; a movement mechanism that is configured to move at least one of the first holder and the second holder so as to shift from a separated state where a contact surface of at least one of the one or more oil absorption members and the smear are positioned away from each other to a contacting state where the smear and the contact surface are in contact with each other; and a controller that is configured to control the movement mechanism, wherein the second holder holds the one or more oil absorption members comprising plural oil absorption members, and the controller is configured to control the movement mechanism to bring the smear into contact with two or more of the plural oil absorption members.
  2. 2 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the movement mechanism is configured to bring the smear and the contact surface into contact with each other from a state where the smear and the contact surface face each other in a normal direction to the smear.
  3. 3 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plural oil absorption members comprises an elastically deformable porous member, and the movement mechanism is configured to move the at least one of the first holder and the second holder to compress at least one of the plural oil absorption members with the smear in the contacting state.
  4. 4 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the second holder holds the plural oil absorption members comprising a first oil absorption member, a second oil absorption member, and a third oil absorption member, and the controller is configured, for each of smears in a first group, to control the movement mechanism to bring the smear into contact with the first oil absorption member and then into contact with the second oil absorption member, and the controller is configured, for each of smears in a second group after the first group, the smear into contact with the second oil absorption member and then into contact with the third oil absorption member.
  5. 5 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the movement mechanism so as to bring the smear into contact with an oil absorption member of the plural oil absorption members a first number of times and then bring the smear into contact with another one of the plural oil absorption members a second number of times greater than the first number of times.
  6. 6 . The testing system according to claim 1 , further comprising a controller that is configured to control, when the smear is in contact with the contact surface, the movement mechanism to maintain relative positions of the first holder and the second holder to such an extent that the smear and the contact surface do not slide with respect to each other.
  7. 7 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the contact surface of each of the plural oil absorption members is formed to be smaller than the smear, and the oil remover further comprises a controller that is configured to control the movement mechanism to bring the smear and the contact surface into contact with each other such that the contact surface is fitted inward of an outer peripheral edge of the smear.
  8. 8 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plural oil absorption members comprises a porous member with a continuous pore structure.
  9. 9 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the first holder between a first position at which the smear to be subjected to oil removal is received by the first holder and a second position at which the smear after the oil removal is removed from the first holder, and the second holder holds the plural oil absorption members in an area between the first position and the second position.
  10. 10 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the movement mechanism comprises a pivotal driver that is configured to pivot the first holder between plural angular positions including a first angular position in which the smear faces a vertical direction and a second angular position in which the smear faces a horizontal direction.
  11. 11 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured, when it is determined that a count of the oil removal by the plural oil absorption members reaches a predetermined threshold value, to display a guidance screen that prompts to replace the plural oil absorption members.
  12. 12 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to display a setting screen to select one of a first mode for executing an oil removal process and a second mode for not executing the oil removal process, the controller is configured, when it is determined that the first mode is selected, to execute the oil remove process by controlling the movement mechanism, and the control is configured, when it is determined that the second mode is selected, not to execute the oil removal process.
  13. 13 . The testing system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a container transport path configured to transport a container in which a plurality of smears are storable; and a smear transfer device that is configured to pick up the smear from the first holder after the oil is removed by the oil remover, and store the picked-up smear into the container.
  14. 14 . The testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to display on a display a setting screen to select one of a first mode for executing an oil removal process and a second mode for not executing the oil removal process, the controller is configured, when it is determined that the first mode is selected, to execute the oil remove process by controlling the movement mechanism of the oil remover, and the controller is configured, when it is determined that the second mode is selected, not to execute the oil removal process.
  15. 15 . A testing system comprising: a smear preparing device configured to prepare a smear being a glass slide with a sample smeared thereon; a smear imaging device configured to supply an oil onto the smear prepared by the smear preparing device and image the smear with an oil immersion object lens; and an oil remover configured to remove, after imaging by the smear imaging device, the oil for the oil immersion object lens adhering to the smear prepared by the smear preparing device, wherein the oil remover comprises: a first holder that holds the smear to be subjected to oil removal; a second holder that holds one or more oil absorption members which absorbs the oil; and a movement mechanism that is configured to move at least one of the first holder and the second holder so as to shift from a separated state where a contact surface of at least one of the one or more oil absorption members and the smear are positioned away from each other to a contacting state where the smear and the contact surface are in contact with each other, wherein the second holder comprises a holding tool that is detachably attached to the second holder, and the one or more oil absorption members are attached to the holding tool.
  16. 16 . A testing system comprising: a smear preparing device configured to prepare a smear being a glass slide with a sample smeared thereon; a smear imaging device configured to supply an oil onto the smear prepared by the smear preparing device and image the smear with an oil immersion object lens; and an oil remover configured to remove, after imaging by the smear imaging device, the oil for the oil immersion object lens adhering to the smear prepared by the smear preparing device, wherein the oil remover comprises: a first holder that holds the smear to be subjected to oil removal; a second holder that holds one or more oil absorption members which absorbs the oil; and a movement mechanism that is configured to move at least one of the first holder and the second holder so as to shift from a separated state where a contact surface of at least one of the one or more oil absorption members and the smear are positioned away from each other to a contacting state where the smear and the contact surface are in contact with each other, wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the first holder between a first position at which the smear to be subjected to oil removal is received by the first holder and a second position at which the smear after the oil removal is removed from the first holder, and the second holder holds the one or more oil absorption members in an area between the first position and the second position, the movement mechanism comprises: a pivotal driver configured to bring the smear and the contact surface into and out of contact with each other by pivoting the first holder about a rotation shaft lying in a horizontal plane while supporting an end portion of the first holder, and a horizontal driver configured to move the first holder between the first position and the second position by moving the first holder in a horizontal direction.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-178459, filed on Nov. 7, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND The disclosure relates to an oil removal method and an oil remover for removing an oil for an oil immersion object lens adhering to a smear of a sample, and to a transporter and a testing system. Tests have been performed in which a smear is prepared by smearing a sample such as blood or a body fluid on a glass slide, and the prepared smear is imaged with a microscope to observe the cells in the sample. When the microscopic image is captured, an oil immersion object lens is used which is an object lens with an immersion oil (oil) filled in the gap between the lens and the smear surface of the smear to make the numerical aperture higher than that without the oil and thereby make the observed image clearer. Thus, after the image capturing using the oil immersion object lens, the smear has the oil adhering to the smear surface. The smear after the capturing of the microscopic image is, for example, subjected to examination with a microscope (microscopic examination) by a laboratory technician, a doctor, or the like to directly observe the preparation or stored for later microscopic examination. Microscopic examination and storage of a smear require an operation of removing the oil adhering to the smear. Touching the smear for the oil removal operation may result in the oil adhering to and soiling the operator's hand. Heretofore, xylene has been used to clean smears in order to remove the residual oil as much as possible while also preventing damaging of the smears and attachment of dust. However, since xylene is a deleterious substance, an oil removal method that uses no deleterious substance has been desired from the viewpoint of reducing the environmental burden. Published Japanese Translation of PCT International Application No. 2012-507054 (Patent Document 1) discloses an analyzer that includes a robot having a handling apparatus which grasps a slide with a biological sample and being movable along x, y, and z axes, and an optical system having a camera, an intermediate optical system, and a front optical system, and that obtains a microscopic image of the biological sample. In the analyzer, an oil pack containing an optical oil is provided, and a drop of the oil is applied to each slide. Patent Document 1 discloses that a squeegee or sponge may be provided in order to remove the oil from the slide after the analysis. Patent Document 1 suggests a configuration to remove the oil with a squeegee or sponge but does not disclose a specific configuration to achieve oil removal suitable for microscopic examination and storage. An object of the present disclosure is to provide an oil removal method, oil remover, transporter, and testing system that are suitable for microscopic examination and storage. SUMMARY Such as is illustrated in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, an oil removal method according to one or more embodiments is a method of removing an oil 3 for an oil immersion object lens adhering to a smear surface 1a of a smear 1 of a sample, including: removing the oil by moving at least one of a first holder 10 holding the smear 1 to be subjected to oil removal or a second holder 20 holding an oil absorption member 4 that absorbs the oil 3 from a separated state where a contact surface CS of the oil absorption member 4 and the smear surface 1a are positioned away from each other to a contacting state where the smear surface 1a and the contact surface CS are in contact with each other, to thereby remove the oil 3; and moving at least one of the first holder 10 or the second holder 20 from the contacting state to the separated state after removing the oil 3. In this manner, it may be possible to bring the oil 3 adhering to the smear surface 1a into contact with the oil absorption member 4 by shifting from the separated state where the contact surface CS of the oil absorption member 4 and the smear surface 1a are positioned away from each other to the contacting state where the smear surface 1a and the contact surface CS are in contact with each other. The absorption of the oil 3 by the oil absorption member 4 enables the oil 3 to move into the oil absorption member 4. Thus, the oil 3 may be effectively removed from the smear surface 1a. Hence, the oil removal method of the present disclosure may perform oil removal suitable for microscopic examination and storage of the smear 1. Such as is illustrated in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, an oil remover 100 according to one or more embodiments is an apparatus for removing the oil 3 for an oil immersion object lens adhering to a smear surface 1a of the smear 1 of a sample that may include: the first holder 10 that holds the smear 1 to be subjected to oil removal; the second holder 20 that holds the oil absorption member 4 that absorbs the oil 3; and a movement