Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Toshihide Fujiwara

Nobutaka Kaneko

Shinichi Kamachi

Ryo Fujimori

Hideo Suzuki

Hideaki Ida

To facilitate fractionation of an electrophoretogram, the disclosed process differentiates signals representing the electrophoretogram so as to obtain the differential of the first order and to generate a first series of pulses representing changes of sign of the differential of the first order. The process differentiates again the differential of the first order so as to obtain the differential of the second order and generates a second series of pulses representing changes of sign of the differential of the second order. Output pulses are generated by logically processing the first and second series of pulses, whereby the electrophoretogram is fractionated on the basis of the timing of the output pulses.

Process of fractionating electrophoretogram signals

A fractionating method in electrophoresis wherein, in order to make it possible to automatically and accurately fractionate a pattern obtained by the electrophoresis of a sample to be measured, respective peak tops or minimum points of the pattern obtained by electrophoresizing the sample to be measured are made to correspond to respective peak tops or minimum points to be obtained by electrophoresizing a normal sample by making the basic positions coincide with each other and the minimum points in the sample to be measured located in the positions nearest to the minimum points on the normal sample are made boundary points or the boundary points are determined on the basis of the ratios of the lengths from the basic position to the respective peak tops or minimum points in the sample to be meaured nearest to the values of the above mentioned ratios in the normal sample.

Fractionating method in electrophoreses

A method for determining boundary points on electrophoretic patterns whereby boundary points can be easily and accurately added onto or erased from fractionated patterns or analogue patterns by utilizing a densitometer for obtaining fractionated patterns of serums formed by an electrophoresis, a computer for making necessary operations and data treatments, an input terminal device for putting boundary point position informations or the like into the computer and an output terminal device which can record and digitally type analogue patterns with the output of the computer and means for working the method. Any input error by the input terminal device can be corrected.

Method for determining boundary points on electrophoretic patterns and

A sample centering system comprising a photometric system for colorimetrically measuring samples applied onto a carrier shifted in a definite direction, a detection system arranged at a definite interval apart from said photometric system, a sample detection signal generating means for generating a signal on the basis of the output from said detection system, and a shifting timer which is operated on the basis of said sample detection signal or at a definite time after shifting of said carrier is started, said sample centering system being so adapted as to stop said carrier when said shifting timer is turned off after a definite time, thereby making it possible to stop said carrier always at a time when a sample is located on the optical axis of said photometric system regardless of sample conditions.

Sample centering system

A sample detector is comprised of a first group of optical fibers having exit end surfaces arranged in the direction perpendicular to the shifting direction of the carrier, a second group of optical fibers having entrance end surfaces arranged opposite said exit end surfaces of the first group of optical fibers, a plural number of light emitting diodes arranged in the vicinity of the entrance end surfaces of the first group of optical fibers, a single photo detector element arranged in the vicinity of the exit end surfaces of the second group of optical fibers and a preamplifier connected to the output side of said photo detector element. Said sample detector is adapted in such a manner that the light emitting diodes are caused to glow consecutively, the light, having passed through the first group of optical fibers the carrier and the second group of optical fibers, is received by said photo-detector element, subjected to photoelectric conversion and amplified by said preamplifier. The presence of samples on the carrier is detected based on the outputs thus obtained.

Sample detector

A method for detecting samples by comparing outputs corresponding to a carrier portion free from sample with those corresponding to a carrier portion onto which a sample is applied while detecting said outputs with a plural number of sample detectors arranged in the direction perpendicular to the shifting direction of a carrier, selecting a sample detector showing the highest output reduction ratio as the one to be utilized for sample detection and detecting the end edge of a sample as a time at which output of said sample detector changes from a level darker than a preset value to another level brighter than said preset value.

Method for detecting samples

A method for determining boundary points on electrophoretic densitograms comprising a bounding point judging step for locating boundary points on electrophoretic densitograms, a normal fraction judging step for judging whether or not the boundary points located by said boundary point judging step are normal, and a standard position computing step for determining standard positions on the basis of data having been judged as normal by said normal fraction judging step, said method being so adapted as to determine boundary points taking reference to the standard positions located by said standard position computing step by utilizing unknown samples for locating the standard positions and perform data processing without using standard samples.

Method for determining boundary points on electrophoretic densitograms

A sample tray feeding apparatus comprising a sample tray accommodating container having an opening for inserting sample trays and another opening at the lower end thereof, and a sample tray feeding mechanism for shifting said sample trays from said opening located at the lower end, said sample tray feeding apparatus being so adapted as to accommodate a large number of sample trays in said accommodating container in piled up condition and feed said sample trays consecutively from the lower ones to a sample adhering position through the opening located at the lower end by operating said sample tray feeding mechanism.

Sample tray feeding apparatus for use with an automated analyzer

A method for determining boundary points in electrophoresis comprising a step to determine points on the abscissa corresponding to peak tops on a densitogram traced on the basis of electrophoresis of a standard sample as standard positions, a step to locate positions corresponding to said standard positions on a densitogram traced on the basis of electrophoresis of an unknown sample, a step to determine the point corresponding to the lowest concentration among points having minimum values between each pair of neighboring standard positions as the normal boundary point and a step to calculate an integral or a value proportional to the integral of each fraction delimited by the boundary points thus determined.

Method for determining boundary points in electrophoresis

A device for automatically changing the polarity of a direct current supply source for use in a cataphoresis apparatus comprises a switch for changing the polarity of migration current, a device for generating a functional signal in response to a detection of the finish or the beginning of the migration current, a signal processing device connected to the functional signal generator for processing the functional signal to drive the polarity change switch and a polarity changing device connected between the signal processing device and the polarity change switch for instructing polarity change of the migration current to the polarity change switch and for memorizing the changed polarity of the migration current in spite of switching on or off of a power supply source. The polarity changing device always changes the polarity of the migration current to a polarity opposite to the just before polarity every detection of the finishing or the beginning of the migration current.

Automatic polarity changing device

A coloring-decoloring apparatus for electrophoretic system comprising a bonding drum, a support plate, two rollers arranged in contact with the outer circumference of said bonding drum and a liqued trough. Said coloring-decoloring apparatus functions to color and decolor a sample carrier with coloring or decoloring liquid agent while holding said sample carrier onto said bonding drum with said two rollers and rotating said drum, and has a circumferential section which is lower in curvature than the imaginary circular circumference of said bonding drum and serves to prevent said sample carrier from being deformed or torn due to contraction even when said sample carrier is dried while being held onto said bonding drum.

Coloring-decoloring apparatus for electrophoretic systems

A device for moistening a blood serum bearing film before it is wetted with a buffer solution comprises a conveyor roller assembly including a first roller having its surface layer formed of sponge and partly maintained in immersion in a buffer solution and a second roller disposed above and in abutting relationship with the first roller, wetting means for passing a blood serum bearing film between the rollers to supply a buffer solution thereto from the surface layer, and a vapor ejection tube disposed adjacent to the both rollers for spraying a vapor to the film before it is wetted.

Growing community of inventors

Fuchu, Japan

Toshihide Fujiwara