Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Hitachi, Ltd.

Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.

Shigenori Watari

Katsuhiro Kambara

Hiroyasu Uchida

Hajime Katou

Yoichiro Suzuki

Tomonori Mimura

Takenori Okusa

Ryo Miyake

Miki Taki

Akira Inagaki

Takeshi Shibuya

Hajime Kato

Masato Ishizawa

Kenichi Nishigaki

Haruo Matsuoka

Hidetoshi Sugiyama

Katsuhiro Kanbara

Youichirou Suzuki

Masaaki Odakura

Chemical analysis apparatus for inserting a sample serving as an analyzable substance and a reagent into a reaction container and agitating by irradiating sound waves to the reaction container, the chemical analysis apparatus including: a piezoelectric element generating sound waves; and a driver for driving the piezoelectric element, and including: a wave form producing device for producing an oscillation waveform having a fundamental frequency of the sound waves to be irradiated; an auxiliary waveform producing device for producing an oscillation wave form having a frequency lower than that of the oscillation waveform; a multiplying circuit creating a multiplied waveform between the waveform and the wave form; and, a power amplifier for power-amplifying the multiplied waveform, wherein it is intermittently irradiated with the sound wave in the reaction container, and further, the wave form producing device has a function capable of frequency-modulation with a prescribed frequency width.

Chemical analysis apparatus and chemical analysis method

An automatic analyzer which assures uniformity in mixing effects regardless of sample quantity and test item and thus produces analysis results with high repeatability. The automatic analyzer includes a device for adding a conditioning liquid into a reaction chamber so that the quantity of liquid in the reaction chamber becomes a predetermined quantity prior to being mixed. The conditioning liquid may be a diluent or physiological saline as used for dilution of a sample or any other special liquid that adjusts the properties such as viscosity, surface tension, etc. of liquid to be mixed.

Automatic analyzer and the analyzing method using the same

A chemical analysis apparatus comprising reaction containers containing therein a substance to be analyzed; an agitating mechanism spaced from the substance to be analyzed and agitating said substance to be analyzed with a liquid in said reaction container; and, a measuring portion for measuring physical properties of the substance to be analyzed, said agitating mechanism having a sound supply portion supplying sound waves to the substance to be analyzed, wherein said sound supply portion comprises a mechanism changing, in time, intensity of ultrasonic waves to be irradiated so as to apply pulsation to a swirl flow in the reaction container.

An automatic analyzer is disclosed that has a structure capable of using reagent containers each having an ID, such as a barcode, attached either on the top surface or the undersurface thereof, or alternatively on each of them. This automatic analyzer, therefore, allows information about the reagent ID to be read or written at an arbitrary timing even if the mounting density of reagent containers of the automatic analyzer is increased, thereby improving the function and performance of the apparatus.

Automatic analyzer

Multiple piezoelectric elementsare arranged in a row along the top of liquid level in the reaction vessel. An ultrasonic reflecting materialis installed on the bottom of the portion of the heat insulating bathwhere heat insulating mediumis stored. A lateral ultrasonic waveis generated on the lower side is generated by actuation of the piezoelectric element. Waveis reflected by the ultrasonic reflecting material. As a lower ultrasonic waveadvances along the wall surface of the reaction vessel, it collides with the specimen liquid level, thereby causing a portion of the liquid level closer to the piezoelectric elementto be raised. When the lateral ultrasonic waveis applied to this portion, it reaches the inclined portion of the raised liquid level of the specimen. Swirling flow by agitationis produced by the acoustic radiation pressure of the ultrasonic wave. The specimen and reagent are mixed and agitated by this swirling flow.

Provided is a chemical analysis apparatus comprising a mechanism which can efficiently agitate a substance to be agitated so that a sample and a reagent are agitated and mixed together in a shorter time with a saved consumption power, incorporating a plurality of sound sources or reflecting plates, and a reaction container is located between one of the sound sources and another of the sound sources or one of the reflecting plates, whereby sound waves can be irradiated toward the reaction container in several directions in order to efficiently fluidize a solution in the reaction container.

A chemical analysis apparatus in which a sample to be analyzed and a reagent are placed into a reaction container, and sound waves are irradiated to said reaction container so as to agitate them, wherein said chemical analysis apparatus comprises a piezoelectric element producing said sound waves, and drivers for driving said piezoelectric element, said sound waves being intermittently irradiated into said reaction container.

In an automatic analyzer which includes a reaction container which contains reaction solution therein, a light source which emit light to be transmitted through the reaction solution, a spectral detector which measures the light transmitted through the reaction solution, a memory which stores light measurement data measured by the spectral detector and a CPU which calculates the light measurement data stored in the memory to obtain a light intensity, wherein the spectral detector measures the light over an entirety of an area from one end to the other end of the reaction container at a portion where the reaction solution reserves, the memory stores the light measurement data measured by the spectral detector, and light measurement data in an area where the reaction solution exists is obtained from the memory to calculate a light intensity.

In the automatic analyzer, the height of the test tubes is measured using the function of the optical information reader installed for discrimination of a sample. Various sensors installed so as to measure the height of the test tubes of the automatic analyzer can be omitted and decrease in cost, improvement of reliability, and improvement of maintenance capacity result.

Apparatus for automatically detecting size to be detected and automatic analyzer using the same

A sample, a reagent, etc. in a reaction containeris agitated with an ultrasonic wave generated from a piezoelectric transducer (). A power supply unit () applies, to the piezoelectric transducer, a voltage having been subjected to frequency modulation at frequencies over an optional frequency range. An analyzing section () measures a reaction product produced as an analysis target from the reagent, etc. and the sample under agitation, and then analyzes components of the sample. With such a construction, adjustment work needed in an agitating section can be simplified, and satisfactory analyzed results can be obtained regardless of differences in frequency characteristics of ultrasonic wave generators used for ultrasonic agitation.

In order to provide an automatic analyzer which ensures accurate absorbance measurement even when ultrasonic wave intensity for agitation of the sample and reagent or the like becomes excessive, multiple reaction vessels are placed as follows: As viewed from the top of the reaction disk , the reaction disk is divided into four parts, and the side wall of the reaction vessel does not intersect with two light beams which intersect with each other at right angles. Herein multiple reaction vessels are located at an inclined position approximately at an angle of about 45 deg. This layout allows the reaction vessel to have the surface exposed to ultrasonic wave intersecting to the applied ultrasonic wave appropriately at right angles, and absorbance measuring surface intersecting to the applied measurement wave appropriately at right angles. It is possible to configure that the surface exposed to ultrasonic wave and absorbance measuring surface are different surfaces to ensure that this absorbance measuring surface is not be exposed to ultrasonic wave.

Automatic analysis apparatus

Multiple piezoelectric elements are arranged in a row along the top of liquid level in a reaction vessel . An ultrasonic reflecting material is installed on the bottom of the portion of the heat insulating bath where heat insulating medium is stored. A lateral ultrasonic wave is generated on the lower side by actuation of the piezoelectric element . Wave is reflected by the ultrasonic reflecting material . As lower ultrasonic wave advances along the wall surface of the reaction vessel, it collides with the specimen liquid, thereby causing a portion of the liquid level closer to the piezoelectric element to be raised. When lateral ultrasonic wave is applied to this portion, it reaches the inclined portion of the raised liquid level of the specimen. Swirling flow by agitation is produced by acoustic radiation pressure of the ultrasonic wave. The specimen and reagent are mixed and agitated by this swirling flow.

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Hitachinaka, Japan

Shigenori Watari