Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitoshi Otake

Masaaki Hanawa

Isao Yamazaki

Hideyuki Yanami

Masaharu Nishida

Masaki Shiba

Kazuyuki Shimada

Satoshi Mitsuyama

Hitoshi Matsuo

Toshiro Nakano

A reagent container transfer mechanism transfers a reagent container selected from among reagent containers stored in a second reagent container storage section to a first reagent container storage section. A controller controls the reagent container transfer mechanism to transfer a reagent container from a second reagent container storage section to the first reagent container storage section on the basis of a predetermined priority condition. The predetermined priority condition is one of a reagent provided with an effective calibration curve result, a number of remaining tests, and an expiration date of a reagent.

Automatic analyzer

The invention provides a small-sized automatic analyzer being compact, enabling a large number of analysis items to be carried out, and having a high processing speed. The automatic analyzer is particularly suitably applied to a medical analyzer used for qualitative/quantitative analysis of living body samples, such as urine and blood. A plurality of sample dispensing mechanism s capable of being operated independently of each other are provided to suck a sample from any one of a plurality of sample suction positions and to discharge the sucked sample to any one of a plurality of positions on a reaction disk. The automatic analyzer having a high processing capability can be thus realized without increasing the system size.

Sample dispensing apparatus and automatic analyzer including the same

The automatic analyzer includes: a first reagent container storage section storing a plurality of reagent containers; a regent dispensing mechanism for dispensing a reagent from a reagent container stored in the first reagent container storage section; a second reagent container storage section storing a plurality of reagent containers; a reagent container transfer mechanism for transferring a reagent container selected from among reagent containers stored in the second reagent container storage section to the first reagent container storage section; and a controller configured to control the reagent container transfer mechanism to transfer a reagent container from the second reagent container storage section to the first reagent container storage section on the basis of a predetermined priority condition. The predetermined priority condition is one of a reagent provided with an effective calibration curve result, a number of remaining tests, and an expiration date of a reagent.

Reagent transfer device

An automatic analyzer is disclosed that includes a supplementary reagent storage section and reagent bottle transfer mechanism besides an analysis reagent storage section, and that, by managing information on reagents stored in these two reagent storage sections, is capable of automating reagent management such as reagent replacing work, thereby reducing the burden on an operator, minimizing the interruption of an analysis due to reagent registration and reagent replacement, mounting many reagents thereon, and achieving a high throughput.

In a bacteriological examination system, an expected range of drug sensitivity is calculated from the results of statistics of data acquired at past drug sensitivity tests. Testing panels accommodating drugs of different densities (ex. increasing by increments) covers the calculated expected range are selected for testing. An average-per-sample value of drug sensitivities of bacteria that reside in a hospital and an average-per-sample value of drug sensitivities of bacteria that reside in a limited region are preserved separately in a results-of-test database. A difference between statistical values of drug sensitivities of one bacterial species in a bacterial classification group residing in a hospital to an object drug and statistical values of drug sensitivities of the bacterial species residing in a limited region is calculated. The difference then is divided by the average-per-same value in the limited region. An average-per-bacterial species value is then obtained by averaging the difference-division values of the involved species to obtain a drug fastness index relative to the object drug.

Growing community of inventors

Hitachinaka, Japan

Hitoshi Otake