JP7204878B2 - Automatic analyzer and automatic analysis method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer and an automatic analysis method for analyzing the amounts of components contained in samples such as blood and urine.

Biochemical tests, immunological tests, blood coagulation tests, and the like are available as specimen tests that handle specimens such as blood and urine collected from patients.

For example, in tests that analyze the components of blood and urine, biochemical tests that measure components such as sugars, lipids, proteins, and enzymes by reacting samples with reagents, and bacteria and viruses that are produced when they enter the body. An immunological test for measuring antibodies, hormones, tumor markers, etc. by antigen-antibody reaction is known.

In the biochemical test, samples and reagents are mixed and color changes due to chemical reactions are measured using a biochemical automatic analyzer that measures the color change by transmitted light.In the immunological test, a luminescent material is bound to the antigen contained in the sample. Antigen-antibody reaction is caused by adding the antibody, and after washing the unbound antibody, measurement is generally performed with an immunoassay device that measures the amount of light emitted by the bound antibody.

Also, among biochemical automatic analyzers, there is a method of detecting antibodies contained in a sample using a reagent in which antibodies are immobilized on latex particles. In blood coagulation tests, there are items that measure the time it takes for blood to clot, and items that measure molecular markers involved in blood coagulation reactions using transmitted light.

In order to carry out efficient analysis in an automatic analyzer, there is a function of sequentially switching to the next reagent container when the reagent runs out. Here, since most of the reagents mixed with the sample are composed of two types of reagents, the reagents are managed in pairs. However, the paired reagents do not necessarily disappear at the same timing due to molding errors in the reagent container, errors in the filling amount of the reagent, and the like. In addition, only one of the reagent pair may be consumed early, such as when the device has an emergency stop between aspirating the first and second reagents.

As a background art of this technical field, there is a technique such as Patent Document 1, for example. In Patent Document 1, "When measuring by reacting a plurality of types of reagents with a test sample, a first reagent bottle and a A system that calculates the number of remaining uses for each reagent pair, which is a combination of the second reagent bottles, and selects a reagent pair to be excluded from the reagent pairs used for reaction with the sample when the remaining number of uses is small. disclosed.

In addition, Patent Document 2 states, "After the detecting means detects the liquid surface, until the reagent probe stops in the reagent, the driving signal amount required by the driving means and the number of dispensing of the reagent are based on past data of a plurality of times. A determined relational expression is obtained, the current predicted reagent remaining amount is calculated based on the drive signal amount calculated from the relational expression, and the reagent remaining amount is calculated from the comparison between the current predicted reagent remaining amount and the previous predicted reagent remaining amount. is disclosed.

JP 2016-95147 A JP 2007-322241 A

However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the remaining reagent cannot be used up and the reagent is wasted. The number of remaining uses for each pair of bottles in Patent Document 1 is a theoretical value calculated by the calculation unit. If the calculated number of usable times is different from the predicted number, the amount of remaining unused reagent increases.

In addition, in Patent Document 2, management of each reagent pair is not assumed, and similarly to Patent Document 1, errors in molding reagent containers and reagent filling amounts are not taken into account. There remains a problem with the calculation accuracy of

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer and an automatic analysis method that can change the configuration of the reagent (bottle) pair according to the actual usage after determining the configuration of the reagent (bottle) pair. .

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an automatic analyzer equipped with a dispensing mechanism for dispensing a plurality of reagents, comprising: a reagent probe for dispensing a reagent filled in a reagent container; a liquid level detection means for detecting the liquid level of the reagent via the liquid level detection means; a calculation section for calculating the remaining amount of the reagent in the reagent container from the liquid level height of the reagent detected by the liquid level detection means; and a storage unit for storing the calculated data, wherein the calculation unit calculates the number of valid tests for each of the reagent containers based on the calculated remaining amount of each of the plurality of reagents, and Based on the number of valid tests, a reagent pair consisting of a combination of the plurality of reagents is registered in the storage unit . Calculate the actual consumption amount for each reagent from a predetermined number of tests, and divide by the liquid level height from the inner bottom of the reagent container for each reagent container to calculate the cross-sectional area for each reagent container, and calculate the calculated cross-sectional area. Based on the area, the number of valid tests for each reagent container is corrected, and the reagent pair is re-registered.

The present invention also provides an automatic analysis method for dispensing a plurality of reagents into a sample container, wherein the number of valid tests is calculated for each reagent container containing each of the plurality of reagents, and the calculated number of valid tests is calculated. based on, determines a reagent pair consisting of a combination of the plurality of reagents, after starting the analysis, after executing a predetermined number of tests, for each reagent from the dispensing amount of each of the plurality of reagents and the predetermined number of tests Calculate the actual consumption amount of each reagent container, divide it by the liquid level height from the inner bottom of the reagent container to calculate the cross-sectional area for each reagent container, and based on the calculated cross-sectional area, the reagent It is characterized by correcting the number of valid tests for each container and re-registering the reagent pair.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic analysis apparatus and an automatic analysis method that can change the configuration of the reagent (bottle) pair according to the actual usage after determining the configuration of the reagent (bottle) pair.

This makes it possible to use up the reagent to the end without wasting it.

Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of an automatic analyzer according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the reagent liquid level detection mechanism of the automatic analyzer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 shows a reagent container according to one embodiment of the invention; 4 is a flowchart showing an automatic analysis method (reagent pair registration method) in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of reagent pairs in Example 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of reagent pairs in Example 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of reagent pairs in Example 1; 4 is a flowchart showing an automatic analysis method (reagent pair re-registration method) in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of reagent pairs in Example 1; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modification related to calculation of an effective test for a reagent pair in Example 1; 10 is a flowchart showing an automatic analysis method (reagent pair re-registration method) in Example 2. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of reagent pairs in Example 2;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail using drawing. Throughout the drawings, constituent parts having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals in principle, and description thereof may be omitted.

≪Overall configuration of the device≫
First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the basic configuration of the automatic analyzer and the flow of analysis by it will be described. When the sample 2 filled in the sample container 1 is placed on the sample disk 3 , it is sucked by the sample dispensing mechanism 4 and discharged into the reaction container 5 .

The reaction container 5 containing the sample moves to the first reagent dispensing position by rotating the reaction disk 6, and the first reagent dispensing mechanism 7a transfers the first reagent 8a used for analysis to the first reagent container 9a. to the reaction vessel 5.

Subsequently, the mixture in the reaction vessel 5 is stirred by the first reagent stirring mechanism 10a. After a certain period of time has passed, the second reagent dispensing mechanism 7b dispenses the second reagent 8b to be used for analysis from the second reagent container 9b to the reaction container 5 . Subsequently, the mixture in the reaction vessel 5 is stirred by the second reagent stirring mechanism 10b.

Here, the reaction container 5 into which the second reagent 8b is dispensed is the same as the reaction container 5 containing the sample 2 and the first reagent 8a described above. The reaction vessel 5 is kept at a constant temperature, for example, 37° C., by a constant temperature bath circulating liquid 11 filled in the lower part of the reaction disk 6, thereby promoting the reaction and stabilizing the progress of the reaction.

A series of these operations are controlled by the control circuit 21 . The mixed liquid in the reaction container 5 passes through the absorption photometer 12 as the reaction disk 6 rotates, and the amount of transmitted light is measured through the transmitted light measuring circuit 22 . The transmitted light amount data obtained in this manner is sent to a PC (personal computer) 23, and the calculation unit in the PC 23 calculates the concentration of the target component in the sample and stores the data in the data storage unit. , the calculation result is displayed on the output unit 24 . After the reaction, the reaction vessel 5 is cleaned by the cleaning mechanism 13 and used repeatedly for the next reaction.

Here, the reagent containers 9a and 9b are installed in the first reagent storage 14a and the second reagent storage 14b, respectively. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the first reagent dispensing mechanism 7a and the second reagent dispensing mechanism 7b are connected to the controller (control circuit 21) via the liquid level detection circuit 26, and the liquid level detection circuit Based on the information from 26, the remaining amount of the reagent is managed, and the remaining amount of the reagent is displayed on the reagent management screen of the output unit 24. FIG.

Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which the reagent dispensing mechanism and the reagent (storage) storage are configured separately, this configuration is not necessarily required. For example, a single reagent dispensing mechanism may dispense a plurality of reagents, or a single reagent storage may store multiple types of reagents.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 6B, remaining amount management of the reagent in the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 shows a reagent container 9 used in the present invention and a structure for detecting the liquid level of the reagent. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the automatic analysis method (reagent pair registration method) of this embodiment.

Reagents are recognized in the reagent containers 9a and 9b installed in the first reagent storage 14a and the second reagent storage 14b in FIG. Here, reagent recognition and remaining amount registration are described as separate operations, but they can be performed together (simultaneously).

As a method of recognizing the reagent, for example, there is a method of reading the individual identifier 16 attached to the reagent container 9 shown in FIG. 3 by reading units 15a and 15b. Examples of the individual identifier 16 include barcodes and RFIDs, but are not limited to these.

For reagent containers 9 that do not have individual identifiers 16, there is also a method of manually inputting from the operation unit.

According to the instruction from the input unit 25, the first reagent storage 14a and the second reagent storage 14b rotate. As a result, the reagent information attached to the individual identifier 16 is read each time the reagent containers 9a and 9b move and pass in front of the first reading section 15a and the second reading section 15b.

Reagent information indicates, for example, some or all of test item name, bottle code, reagent type, reagent container size, reagent expiration date, lot, sequence number, calibration curve information, and the like. If the individual identifiers 16 are not attached to the reagent containers 9a and 9b, the positions of the first reagent storage 14a and the second reagent storage 14b are specified from the input unit 25, and the reagent information is entered to obtain the reagent. can also be recognized.

Next, remaining amount registration is performed. The reagent dispensing mechanism 7 is connected to the liquid surface detection circuit 26, and upon receiving an instruction to register the remaining amount of reagent from the input unit 25, the control circuit 21 controls the operation of the reagent probe 17 (FIG. 2). Information on the capacitance when the tip of the reagent probe 17 reaches the reagent liquid surface is processed by the liquid level detection circuit 26, and the operating unit and data storage unit in the PC 23 detect the reagent liquid from the amount of descent of the reagent probe 17. Calculate and store the surface height.

In addition, the PC 23 calculates the number of effective tests for each reagent container from the reagent liquid level and the cross-sectional area information of the reagent container 9, stores it in the data storage unit, and outputs the number of effective tests to the output unit 24 (see FIG. 4). step S401). Here, the calculation of the reagent liquid level was explained using a method of detecting changes in capacitance, but there are other methods, such as a method of detecting the pressure in the pipe to which the probe is connected, an optical method, etc. may be

Next, when a plurality of reagent containers are installed for the same item and the same reagent type, the priority of each reagent type is determined (step S402 in FIG. 4). Note that the reagent type is a classification of reagents such as diluent, first reagent, and second reagent.

Subsequently, according to the process of step S403 in FIG. 4, reagent pairs are registered in descending order of priority. The order of priority can be determined by the earliest reagent opening date (the date and time when the reagent was first installed in the device), the earliest reagent expiration date, the lowest reagent remaining amount, the lowest position in the reagent storage, and so on. It is not limited to this.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a reagent pair configured using two types of reagents. Here, two reagent containers capable of 400-test analysis are installed in the first reagent storage 14a, and five reagent containers capable of 130-test analysis are installed in the second reagent storage 14b. An example is shown in which positions 1 to 2 in the reagent storage 14a and five second reagents are installed in positions 1 to 5 in the second reagent storage 14b. Here, the priority is determined on the assumption that the priority is in ascending order of positions.

In FIG. 5, the first reagent placed at position 1 in the first reagent storage 14a is paired with the second reagents placed at positions 1 to 4 in the second reagent storage 14b. At this time, in S501 to S503, the number of effective tests for each reagent pair is calculated as 130 tests. Since the remaining amount of the first reagent after being consumed in S501 to S503 is 10 tests, the number of valid tests for the reagent pair is 10 (S504).

In this case, the second reagent installed at position 4 in the second reagent storage 14b has a remaining amount of 120 tests after being consumed in S504, and the reagent installed at position 2 in the first reagent storage 14a is 120 tests. and form a pair (S505). Furthermore, the reagent installed at position 5 in the second reagent storage 14b is paired with the reagent at position 2 in the first reagent storage 14a as in S506.

Here, if there is an error in the pre-registered cross-sectional area information of the reagent container due to a molding error of the reagent container, the number of valid tests for each reagent container registered at the time of reagent registration may be changed from the actual number of tests that can be analyzed. It may deviate from the number of tests. Regarding the reagent container 9 in FIG. 3, the number of effective tests for each reagent container is expressed by the formula (1) using the cross-sectional area 18 and the height 19 from the inner bottom of the reagent container to the liquid surface.

For example, the cross-sectional area of the reagent container for the first reagent is 10% smaller than the pre-registered cross-sectional area information, and the cross-sectional area of the second reagent for the reagent container is as per the pre-registered cross-sectional area information. In this case, there is a discrepancy between the number of valid tests at the time of reagent remaining amount registration and the actual number of measurable tests. Remaining amount management of the reagent in this case will be described with reference to FIG. 6A. Regarding the first reagent, when the reagent pair is registered, the pre-registered cross-sectional area is 10% larger than the actual cross-sectional area, so the number of predicted valid tests is apparently overestimated.

Here, when the liquid level height is measured each time the measurement is performed and the number of effective tests is updated, the number of effective tests decreases by 10% more than the number of initially predicted tests, and 130 tests are actually performed. The decrease in the apparent number of tests is 143 tests (S601-S602).

On the other hand, the second reagent is consumed as expected for the number of tests at the time of registration of the remaining reagent amount. In this case, the number of valid tests for the reagent placed at position 1 in the first reagent storage 14a becomes zero before the reagent placed at position 3 in the second reagent storage 14b is used up. In this case, the remaining reagent at position 3 in the second reagent storage 14b forms a new pair with the reagent installed at position 2 in the first reagent storage 14a (S604), and the position in the first reagent storage 14a The reagents 4 and 5 are also paired with the reagent at position 2 in the first reagent storage 14a (S605, S606).

FIG. 6B schematically shows this. Although the pairs shown in S611 to S616 were configured when the reagent remaining amount was registered, as a result of reflecting the actual analysis state, the pair of S614 no longer exists, and the pair of S617 is registered instead.

By the way, in an analyzer, a calibration curve is created by measuring a standard sample of known concentration (hereinafter also referred to as calibration), and the concentration is calculated by comparing the measurement result of an unknown concentration sample with the calibration curve. . This requires a calibration curve for each reagent pair. In addition, it is necessary to measure quality control samples to confirm that there are no problems with the condition of the device and reagents before measuring test specimens.

Therefore, in the automatic analyzer according to the present invention, it is checked in advance whether the calibration curve is registered for each reagent pair and whether the quality control sample is measured (S404 in FIG. 4), and if there is no measurement result, recommends (performs) measurement (S405 in FIG. 4).

Note that it is not always necessary to create a calibration curve for each reagent pair. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, when calibration is performed with the pair of S501, the calibration result of S501 can be applied before using the pairs of S502 to S505.

By the way, as described above, if there is a discrepancy between the number of effective tests and the number of actual measurable tests for the remaining amount of reagents, and the configuration of reagent pairs changes during continuous analysis, reagent pairs that are not actually used The calibration curve and the quality control sample are measured at the same time, and reagents are wasted.

7 and 8, the flow of this embodiment for appropriately correcting the number of remaining tests of reagents and re-registering reagent pairs will be described.

First, after a reagent pair is registered by registering the remaining amount of the reagent (S701 in FIG. 7), when a measurement instruction is received from the input unit 25, various mechanisms are controlled by the control circuit 21, and the above-described <<overall configuration of the apparatus>> is performed. analysis operation is started (S702 in FIG. 7).

After that, each time the reagent is aspirated, the first reagent dispensing mechanism 7a and the second reagent dispensing mechanism 7b adjust the liquid level of the reagent from the inner bottom of the reagent container (reference numeral 19 in FIG. 3) and the actual number of analyses. is stored in the storage unit of the PC 23 and the remaining amount of the reagent is displayed on the reagent management screen of the output unit 24 .

After that, calculate the deviation rate (error rate of the number of measurements) between the number of valid reagent tests at the time of reagent registration and the actual number of aspirations, correct the number of valid tests, and re-register reagent pairs in order of priority (Fig. 7) S703-S705). The error rate of the number of measurements is calculated by formula (2).

Here, in S801 of FIG. 8, it is assumed that 143 tests have decreased in the data storage section of the PC 23 when 130 tests were actually analyzed. In this case, if the error rate of the number of measurements is calculated by the following equation (2), the error rate of the number of measurements can be calculated as 10%.

Next, the number of valid tests stored in the storage unit of the PC 23 is corrected by the equation (3) using the error rate calculated by the equation (2), and is reflected in the subsequent remaining amount management (from S802 in FIG. 8). S805).

Desirably, after the reagent pair is re-registered, it is displayed on the output unit 24 . In particular, if the configuration of the reagent pair differs from the configuration of the remaining amount of reagent registration, it notifies that the reagent pair has been updated (S706), and recommends (executes) calibration and control measurement as necessary. ) (S707).

As described above, the automatic analyzer of this embodiment includes the reagent dispensing mechanism 7 for dispensing a plurality of reagents, the reagent probe 17 for dispensing the reagent filled in the reagent container 9, and the reagent Liquid level detection means (liquid level detection circuit 26) for detecting the liquid level of the reagent via the probe 17, and the liquid level inside the reagent container 9 from the liquid level height of the reagent detected by the liquid level detection means (liquid level detection circuit 26). and a storage unit for storing the data calculated by the calculation unit. The calculation unit calculates the reagent container 9 Based on the calculated number of effective tests, a reagent pair consisting of a combination of a plurality of reagents is registered in the storage unit. Correct the number of valid tests for each and re-register the reagent pair.

Further, the cross-sectional area 18 for each reagent container 9 is calculated based on the usage status of a plurality of reagents, the number of effective tests for each reagent container 9 is corrected based on the calculated cross-sectional area 18, and the reagent pair is re-registered. do.

Also, the deviation rate between the number of valid tests at the time of reagent pair registration and the actual reagent consumption amount is calculated as an error rate, and the number of valid tests is corrected based on the error rate.

In this example, when the second reagent runs out and the next pair is started, the method of calculating the error rate of the number of measurements and changing the reagent pair was described. and the timing of performing the correction are not necessarily limited to the above contents.

In addition, as the error rate of the number of measurements, in equation (2), the number of tests actually measured when the first reagent container 9a is used up and the decrease in the number of effective tests stored in the PC 23 calculated when registering the remaining amount of reagent. was compared, but it is also possible to divide it for each number of times of analysis.

That is, ideally, one test reagent is consumed for each dispensing, but it is not necessarily reduced by one test due to height fluctuations due to liquid level detection due to errors in the cross-sectional area 18 and fluctuations in the liquid level. Not exclusively. Therefore, the error rate may be calculated by counting the increase and decrease in the number of valid tests and the number of times, and considering that the same number of errors can occur (FIG. 9).

In order to quickly change the reagent pair, after consuming reagents for the preset number of tests, the error rate of the number of measurements is calculated from the actual number of measurements and the decrease number of effective tests stored in the PC 23. can be calculated. If the number of tests at this time is reduced, the timing of updating the reagent pair can be shortened.

However, in reality, it is possible to calculate the fluctuation of the liquid level detection height with a more accurate error rate by performing the calculation when a certain number of tests are consumed. Therefore, if the number of tests up to the calculation of the effective test correction can be input from the input unit 25, the user can correct the effective test at any timing.

There are also methods such as automatically checking the remaining amount of reagents and correcting the number of valid tests when the operation starts, and correcting the number of valid tests when the user registers the remaining amount of reagents at any time. There is a way.

When the configuration of the reagent pair is changed due to the re-registration of the reagent pair, the change may be notified by the output unit 24 or a notification means (not shown).

As described above, according to this embodiment, after determining the configuration of the reagent (bottle) pairs, it is possible to change the configuration of the reagent (bottle) pairs in accordance with the actual usage conditions, thereby wasting the reagents. It is possible to use up to the end without any problems.

Another embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The basic flow of calculating the number of effective tests for each reagent container and correcting the number of tests reflecting the usage status by analysis is the same as in Example 1 (FIG. 4), so detailed description is omitted. only explain.

In Example 1, the reagent liquid level is detected each time the reagent probe 17 contacts the reagent liquid surface during analysis, and the number of valid tests is updated to calculate the error rate of the number of valid reagent tests, and the reagent pair However, in Example 2, an error in the cross-sectional area of the reagent container is corrected.

For example, if the number of tests actually used is smaller than the number of valid tests at the time of reagent pair registration, it is predicted that the cross-sectional area of the reagent container will differ from the registered cross-sectional area. The cross-sectional area can be calculated from equation (4) using the liquid level of the reagent from the inner bottom of the reagent container (reference numeral 19 in FIG. 3) and the actual number of analysis tests.

In this case, at the stage of analyzing 130 tests of the bottle in S801 of FIG. The cross-sectional area of the reagent container is calculated by dividing by the height 19 from the top to the liquid surface, and stored as cross-sectional area information in the data storage unit in the PC 23 (S1001 in FIG. 10). Using this cross-sectional area information, the number of valid tests is corrected, and the reagent pairs are re-registered in order of priority (S1002-S1003 in FIG. 10).

Next, with reference to FIG. 11, another embodiment of the method for correcting the number of valid tests will be described. The general flow of remaining amount management of the reagent is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The difference is that in Example 1, the liquid level of the reagent was measured each time measurement (analysis) was performed, and the number of valid tests was updated. is not measured.

In other words, after registering the remaining amount of the reagent, the number of valid tests is calculated and the reagent pair is configured. Decrease. In that case, no discrepancy occurs between the actual number of analysis tests and the number of valid tests stored in the PC 23 .

However, if the apparatus is suddenly stopped due to a power failure or the like after the first reagent is dispensed and before the second reagent is dispensed, only the number of valid tests for the first reagent decreases. For example, after registering the remaining amount of the reagent, after registering the reagent pair as shown in FIG. FIG. 11 schematically shows the reagent remaining amount when the apparatus is stopped.

Since 30 tests have been dispensed for the reagent at position 1 in the first reagent storage 14a in S1101, the number of valid tests is 370 tests. However, since the second reagent has not yet been dispensed, the number of valid tests for the reagent at position 1 in the second reagent storage 14b constituting the pair remains unchanged at 130 tests. After that, if the analysis is restarted, the reagent in position 1 in the first reagent storage 14a will run out before the reagent in position 3 in the second reagent storage 14b is used up, and the first reagent will not be used up, leaving 20 tests left over. put away.

In order to use up this efficiently, the processing of S1104 as assumed is not performed, and instead the processing of S1107 is added to reconfigure the reagent pair.

In other words, by automatically re-registering the reagent pair before restarting measurement after stopping the instrument, even if only one of the reagents that make up the pair is consumed, the reagent By re-registering the pair, the reagent can be used up efficiently.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. For example, the above embodiments have been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. In addition, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 sample container 2 sample 3 sample disk 4 sample dispensing mechanism 5 reaction container 6 reaction disk 7 reagent dispensing mechanism 7a first reagent dispensing mechanism 7b second reagent dispensing mechanism 8a second First reagent 8b Second reagent 9 Reagent container 9a First reagent container 9b Second reagent container 10a First reagent stirring mechanism 10b Second reagent stirring mechanism 11 Constant temperature bath circulating liquid 12 Absorption photometer 13 Cleaning mechanism 14a First reagent storage 14b Second reagent storage 15a First reading unit 15b Second reading unit 16 Individual identifier 17 Reagent probe 18 Cross-sectional area (of reagent container 9) 19 Inner bottom of reagent container to the liquid surface 21... Control circuit 22... Transmitted light measurement circuit 23... PC (personal computer)
24... Output section 25... Input section 26... Liquid level detection circuit

Claims (8)

An automatic analyzer equipped with a dispensing mechanism for dispensing a plurality of reagents,
a reagent probe for dispensing a reagent filled in a reagent container;
liquid level detection means for detecting the liquid level of the reagent via the reagent probe;
a calculation unit that calculates the remaining amount of the reagent in the reagent container from the liquid level of the reagent detected by the liquid level detection means;
and a storage unit that stores the data calculated by the calculation unit,
the calculating unit calculates the number of valid tests for each of the reagent containers based on the calculated reagent remaining amount of each of the plurality of reagents;
registering a reagent pair consisting of a combination of the plurality of reagents in the storage unit based on the calculated number of valid tests;
After the start of analysis and execution of a predetermined number of tests, the actual consumption amount of each reagent is calculated from the dispensing amount of each of the plurality of reagents and the predetermined number of tests. Calculate the cross-sectional area for each reagent container by dividing by the liquid level height of
An automatic analyzer, wherein the number of valid tests for each reagent container is corrected based on the calculated cross-sectional area, and the reagent pairs are re-registered. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An automatic analyzer, wherein after starting analysis, the number of valid tests for each reagent container is corrected according to the number of times of analysis reduced by software counting, and the reagent pairs are re-registered. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An automatic analyzer, comprising an input unit capable of inputting the number of analyzes until the number of valid tests is corrected. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that, when the configuration of a reagent pair is changed due to re-registration of the reagent pair, the change is reported. An automatic analysis method for dispensing a plurality of reagents into a sample container,
calculating the number of valid tests for each reagent container containing each of the plurality of reagents;
determining a reagent pair consisting of a combination of the plurality of reagents based on the calculated number of valid tests;
After the start of analysis and execution of a predetermined number of tests, the actual consumption amount of each reagent is calculated from the dispensing amount of each of the plurality of reagents and the predetermined number of tests. Calculate the cross-sectional area for each reagent container by dividing by the liquid level height of
An automatic analysis method, wherein the number of valid tests for each reagent container is corrected based on the calculated cross-sectional area, and the reagent pair is re-registered. The automatic analysis method according to claim 5 ,
An automatic analysis method, comprising: correcting the effective number of tests for each reagent container according to the number of times of analysis decreased by software counting after the start of analysis, and re-registering the reagent pairs. The automatic analysis method according to claim 5 ,
An automatic analysis method characterized by presetting the number of times of analysis until the number of valid tests is corrected. The automatic analysis method according to claim 5 ,
An automatic analysis method, characterized in that, when the configuration of a reagent pair is changed due to re-registration of the reagent pair, the change is notified.

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