Abstract: Provided is a sample packing device for packing a sample with respect to a microchip for performing reaction of a micro component contained in the sample, the microchip at least including: a sample reservoir; a reaction reservoir; and a channel connected between the sample reservoir and the reaction reservoir, in which a package including a sample chamber packed in advance with the sample is mounted on the microchip so as to pack the sample in the sample chamber into the sample reservoir.

Abstract: Provided is a sample packing device for packing a sample with respect to a microchip for performing reaction of a micro component contained in the sample, the microchip at least including: a sample reservoir; a reaction reservoir; and a channel connected between the sample reservoir and the reaction reservoir, in which a package including a sample chamber packed in advance with the sample is mounted on the microchip so as to pack the sample in the sample chamber into the sample reservoir.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes: a positional displacement calculating section for calculating the magnitudes of positional displacements at multiple measuring points within a body tissue; a thickness variation calculating section for calculating thicknesses or thickness variations, each measured between two arbitrary points within the tissue set with respect to the measuring points, based on the magnitudes of positional displacements; and a maximum/minimum value calculating section for finding the maximum and minimum thicknesses or thickness variations during a maximum value finding period and a minimum value finding period. At least one of the greatest thickness difference, strain and elastic property is calculated based on a difference between the maximum and minimum thicknesses or thickness variations.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a transmitting section that generates a drive signal to drive a probe in order to transmit an ultrasonic wave toward a subject to be deformed periodically under stress. A receiving section receives an echo, produced when the ultrasonic wave is reflected from the subject, at the probe to generate a received echo signal. A computing section determines a thickness change waveform, representing a variation in distance between two arbitrary measuring points on the subject, based on the received echo signal. A reference waveform generating section outputs a reference waveform. The apparatus obtains a subject's internal information by comparing the thickness change waveform and the reference waveform to each other.

Abstract: For heating or cooling a sample contained in a vessel portion through a heat transfer member held in contact with the vessel portion, there is used the vessel portion, which has a part formed of an elastic member, expands and contracts for injection and discharge of the sample, is closed other than a connecting port with a channel connected to the vessel, and expands and contracts for injection and discharge of the sample. The vessel portion expands correspondingly to the injection when the sample is injected through an inflow path serving as the channel into the vessel portion contracting in a non-contacting state with the heat transfer member. A predetermined amount of sample is injected into the vessel portion so as to expand the vessel portion, and the vessel portion comes into contact with the heat transfer member. The vessel portion is heated or cooled through the heat transfer member.

Abstract: For heating or cooling a sample contained in a vessel portion through a heat transfer member held in contact with the vessel portion, there is used the vessel portion, which has a part formed of an elastic member, expands and contracts for injection and discharge of the sample, is closed other than a connecting port with a channel connected to the vessel, and expands and contracts for injection and discharge of the sample. The vessel portion expands correspondingly to the injection when the sample is injected through an inflow path serving as the channel into the vessel portion contracting in a non-contacting state with the heat transfer member. A predetermined amount of sample is injected into the vessel portion so as to expand the vessel portion, and the vessel portion comes into contact with the heat transfer member. The vessel portion is heated or cooled through the heat transfer member.

Abstract: There is provided by the present invention a novel micro passage chip having such a structure that a fluid can be transferred without using a physical or mechanical squeezing means that is applied from above the substrate of the micro passage chip.

Abstract: The micro-channel chip for electrophoresis of the present invention comprises a first substrate formed of a gas-permeable material and a second substrate formed of a gas-permeable or a gas-impermeable material, the first and the second substrate being glued together, the mating surface of either one of the first and second substrates having a sample-feeding channel having a port at both ends and an electrophoretic channel also having a port at both ends, the sample-feeding channel and the electrophoretic channel being allowed to communicate with each other via a narrower channel having a smaller cross-sectional area than those two channels. The micro-channel chip for electrophoresis of the present invention requires only one power source to perform electrophoresis and can use samples with minimum waste of their quantity.

Abstract: A technology for performing the filter processing of blood flow velocity data having aliasing by only common filter processing means and common addition and subtraction means and actualizing image display of smooth blood flow velocity is disclosed. According to this technology, when performing image display of the blood flow velocity of blood within a subject biological body using an ultrasonic wave Doppler method, the difference values of data D33 of an arbitrary focus point and data D32 and D34 of points spatially prior and subsequent to this focus point are calculated in the pre-processing unit (difference calculating unit) 41. Then, in the filtering unit 42, after filter processing is performed on these difference values, data D39 after filter processing and data D33 of the arbitrary focus point are added in the post-processing unit (addition processing unit) 43.

Abstract: The present invention aims at providing an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying a stable spatial distribution of elastic characteristics for each heart beat without depending on the measurement of blood pressure and the accuracy or stability of such measurement, where an ultrasonic wave transmitted from an ultrasonic probe 13 and reflected by biomedical tissue is input to a computing section 19 by way of a receiving section 15, a delay time control section 16, phase detection section 17 and filter section 18. In accordance with the phase detection signal acquired from the phase detection section 17, the computing section 19 computes a relative elastic characteristic which is an elastic characteristic normalized by an elastic characteristic of an arbitrary reference area in the biomedical tissue. A distribution of relative elastic characteristics computed by the computing section is displayed on a display section 21.

Abstract: A subject-side apparatus 10A is provided with a cine memory 15 for sequentially storing an ultrasonic signal that is received by an ultrasonic wave transmission/reception portion 12 per each frame. Every time after freezing when moving a pointer for designating a frame to be reproduced in a hospital-side apparatus 20A, a communication line interface 14 of the subject-side apparatus reproduces a frame that is required to be retransmitted by a console 24 of the hospital-side apparatus from the cine memory, and retransmits it to a communication line interface 21 of the hospital-side apparatus via a communication line 30. Then, an ultrasonic image of the retransmitted frame is displayed on a monitor 23. When an examiner performs a diagnosis with respect to a subject in a remote location via the communication line, an ultrasonic image can be displayed with sufficiently suppressed degradation of an image quality compared with an image quality of an original image, even at a low data rate of the communication line.

Abstract: Provided is a sample packing device for packing a sample with respect to a microchip for performing reaction of a micro component contained in the sample, the microchip at least including: a sample reservoir; a reaction reservoir; and a channel connected between the sample reservoir and the reaction reservoir, in which a package including a sample chamber packed in advance with the sample is mounted on the microchip so as to pack the sample in the sample chamber into the sample reservoir.

Abstract: A channel control mechanism for a microchip has a laminated structure formed of members including elastic members, and includes: a sample reservoir for packing a sample therein; a reaction reservoir in which mixture and reaction of the sample are performed; and a channel formed in a middle layer of the laminated structure, for bringing the sample reservoir and the reaction reservoir into communication with each other. The channel control mechanism performs the reaction and analysis in such a manner that the sample is delivered into the reaction reservoir through the channel. A shutter channel (pressurizing channel) is provided in a layer different from a layer in which the channel is formed so that the pressurizing channel partially overlaps the channel. The channel is closed through applying a pressurized medium to the shutter channel (pressurizing channel), and the channel is opened through releasing a pressure of the pressurized medium.

Abstract: A sample processing device for a microchip, including: a sample vessel for packing a sample therein; and a reaction vessel which is continuous with the sample vessel through a channel, and to which the sample is sequentially delivered to be packed and mixed therein, in which the sample is repeatedly delivered between the sample vessel and the reaction vessel through the channel so that the sample is stirred and mixed.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes: a transmitting section 102 driving an ultrasonic probe; a receiving section 103 receiving an ultrasonic echo, produced by getting an ultrasonic wave reflected by a subject, at the probe to generate a received signal; a tissue tracking section 105 for tracking the motion of each tissue of the subject based on the received signal and outputting location tracking information; a radius and wall thickness calculating section calculating the radius and wall thickness of the blood vessel; a tissue attribute value calculating section 108 calculating radial and circumferential elasticities of the vascular wall of the vessel based on information about the blood pressure of the subject provided externally, the tracking information, and the radius and wall thickness of the vessel; and a display section 107 presenting the radial and circumferential elasticities.

Abstract: For heating or cooling a sample contained in a vessel portion through a heat transfer member held in contact with the vessel portion, there is used the vessel portion, which has a part formed of an elastic member, expands and contracts for injection and discharge of the sample, is closed other than a connecting port with a channel connected to the vessel, and expands and contracts for injection and discharge of the sample. The vessel portion expands correspondingly to the injection when the sample is injected through an inflow path serving as the channel into the vessel portion contracting in a non-contacting state with the heat transfer member. A predetermined amount of sample is injected into the vessel portion so as to expand the vessel portion, and the vessel portion comes into contact with the heat transfer member. The vessel portion is heated or cooled through the heat transfer member.

Abstract: A micro-channel chip comprising a first substrate and a second substrate bonded together, characterized in that at least one patch of a non-adhesive thin-film layer for generating a micro-channel is formed on the mating surface of at least one of the two substrates, a port that is open to the atmosphere is provided in the first substrate, and at least one end portion of the non-adhesive thin-film layer is communicably connected to the port, further characterized in that an underplate made of a material that is difficult to deform by itself is provided on the underside of the second substrate, the underplate has a recess at the interface with the second substrate that extends from a position that is short of the center of the port toward the non-adhesive thin-film layer, and the width of the recess is greater than that of the non-adhesive thin-film layer.

Abstract: Compressed gas is supplied from above to a specimen vessel having an open top. Transfer channels to reaction vessels are provided under a microchip and transfer channels extending from the reaction vessels are provided on the microchip. Transfer element is provided outside the microchip so as to supply the compressed gas from a member (cover) holding the microchip.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a transmission unit that transmits at least one ultrasonic pulse from a surface of a skin of a subject toward a blood vessel (21) thereof, a reception unit (3) that receives an ultrasonic echo reflected by the blood vessel and converts the same into an electric signal to obtain a signal of the ultrasonic echo along a depth direction from the surface of the skin, a movement detection unit (5) that analyzes a phase of the ultrasonic echo signal in a direction traversing the blood vessel so as to calculate a movement amount in each of a plurality of parts included in a blood vessel wall constituting the blood vessel and a vicinity of the blood vessel wall, and a boundary detection unit (7) that detects a boundary position between the blood vessel wall and a blood flow region (22) in a lumen of the blood vessel through which blood flows based on a variation in the calculated movement amount in each part.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes: a transmitting section that generates a drive signal to drive a probe in order to transmit an ultrasonic wave toward a subject to be deformed periodically under stress; a receiving section for receiving an echo, produced when the ultrasonic wave is reflected from the subject, at the probe to generate a received echo signal; a computing section for figuring out a thickness change waveform, representing a variation in distance between two arbitrary measuring points on the subject, based on the received echo signal; and a reference waveform generating section for outputting a reference waveform. The apparatus obtains subject's internal information by comparing the thickness change waveform and the reference waveform to each other.