Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Hajime Sakuma

Takayuki Aihara

Kazuo Hijikata

Yutaka Kato

Masaichi Kitajima

Hidehiko Yamamoto

Toshiyuki Sasaki

Katsumi Komatsu

A device for injecting a fixed quantity of sample liquid is provided with a unit for aspirating and injecting sample liquid. The sample aspirating and injection unit has a nozzle connecting portion. The liquid injection device is provided with an injection nozzle attached to and detachable from the nozzle connecting portion of the sample aspirating and injecting unit and electrodes are attached to the injection nozzle. Conductive members which are electrically connected to the electrodes of the injection nozzle are attached to the nozzle connecting portion of the sample aspirating and injecting unit, and a detecting unit which cooperates with the electrodes to detect the surface level of sample liquid is connected to the conductive members.

Device for aspirating a fixed quantity of liquid

A method of performing measurement of a hematocrit value and separate sampling of plasma and blood cells, simultaneously. A probe including a pair of detection electrodes each in the form of a suction nozzle, is lowered from a certain initial height into a sample vessel containing blood that has bveen separated into an upper plasma layer and a lower blood cell layer, while the probe travel distance is monitored. When the detection electrodes touch the surface of the plasma layer, the plasma is sampled into a corresponding sampling vessel through one of the electrode suction nozzles. The probe is then lowered further until the electrodes touch the surface of the blood cell layer, and the blood cells are sampled into a different sampling vessel through the other one of the suction nozzles. A total sample blood volume and the volume of the blood cells are calculated in accordance with the measured travel of the probe between the upper and lower layers, and a hematocrit value is determined from the calculated volumes.

Method of performing measurement of hematocrit value and separate

An automatic analyzing apparatus for analyzing agglutination patterns produced in response to an immunological agglutinating reaction is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a device for carrying a plurality of sample tubes which accommodate blood samples to be analyzed therein at a delivery position in order, a device for forming a plurality of diluent blood samples by diluting the blood samples in the tubes at the delivery position, and a device for transporting microplates having blood samples and reagents delivered in the reaction vessels along the line in a substantially stationary manner.

Automatic analyzing apparatus for analyzing agglutination patterns

A sample and a reagent are delivered into a reaction vessel having a plurality of inclined bottom surface portions, inclination angles of these portions being increased in a step-wise manner. The reaction vessel is kept still for such a time period that particles descend on the bottom surface portions to form particle patterns. The particle patterns thus formed on respective bottom surface portions are separately detected to produce agglutination and non-agglutination signals. The antigen-antibody reaction is judged in accordance with the agglutination and non-agglutination signals.

Reaction vessel for use in a method of judging immunological reactions

An apparatus for analyzing blood samples by detecting particle agglutination patterns formed on inclined bottom surfaces of reaction vessels formed in a microplate includes a diluted sample preparing section for delivering given amounts of blood cells and serum contained in a sample tube into diluting vessels mounted on a sample plate secured on a rotating endless belt and for discharging predetermined amount of a diluent into the diluting vessels to form diluted blood cell and serum samples, a diluted sample delivering section for delivering given amounts of the diluted blood cell and serum samples contained in the diluting vessels into an array of reaction vessels of the microplate in a selective manner according to test-items to be analyzed and a reagent delivering section for discharging given reagents into the reaction vessels. The microplate having the diluted blood cell and serum samples delivered therein is fed in a substantially stationary manner along a reaction line arranged in a vertical plane and in this reaction line the particle patterns formed on the reaction vessel bottoms are photoelectrically detected.

Analyzing apparatus and method for immunological agglutination reactions

A sample and a reagent are delivered into a reaction vessel having a plurality of inclined bottom surface portions, inclination angles of these portions being increased in a step-wise manner. The reaction vessel is kept still for such a time period that particles descend on the bottom surface portions to from particle patterns. The particle patterns thus formed on respective bottom surface portions are separately detected to produce agglutination and non-agglutination signals. The antigen-antibody reaction is judged in accordance with the agglutination and non-agglutination signals.

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Hachioji, Japan

Hajime Sakuma