Abstract: An automatic analyzer with high processing capacity is capable of immediately measuring an emergency specimen rack. The automatic analyzer includes a conveying line for conveying a specimen rack, and an analysis unit which has a dispensing line in which a plurality of specimen racks are arranged for waiting until sample dispensing, and a sampling area for dispensing the sample to the analysis unit. A rack save area is provided in the dispensing line and at a position adjacent to the upstream side of the sampling area. When a specimen rack exists in the sampling area at the time of measuring an emergency specimen rack, a controller moves the specimen rack to the save area and positions the emergency specimen rack to be moved from a downstream side of the sampling area to the sampling area.

Abstract: There is provided a genetic test system provided with a dispensing means for dispensing a sample and a reagent to a reaction vessel and a vessel conveyance means for conveying the reaction vessel. The system further includes a plurality of nucleic acid amplification detection units, each including a temperature control means for accommodating a plurality of reaction vessels and performing temperature control for each accommodated position of the reaction vessel, a temperature monitoring means for monitoring a value of temperature to be controlled of the reaction vessel, and a light emission measurement means for measuring light emission of reaction liquid in the reaction vessel. At least one of the nucleic acid amplification detection units individually has a vessel conveyance means different from the above-mentioned vessel conveyance means.

Abstract: In an automatic analysis device, when an external force acts on a probe guard 26 in a horizontal direction, the probe guard 26 moves in a direction escaping from the external force around a center portion 47 of a test body container installing mechanism 1, and the probe guard 26 is separated from a fixed position. An outer circumferential wall 29 of the probe guard 26 invades a test body sampling mechanism track 28, and thus a risk that a sampling nozzle 23 of a test body sampling mechanism 5 invades the test body container installing mechanism 1 is avoided by the outer circumferential wall 29. When the probe guard 26 is separated from the fixed position, this is detected, and thus the operation of the test body sampling mechanism 5 and the test body container installing mechanism 1 is stopped.

Abstract: An object of the present invention relates to providing a nucleic acid analyzer capable of testing a plurality of test items in parallel, and of obtaining high efficiency of specimen processing even if the test item or a measuring object is changed. The present invention relates to an analyzer including a carousel rotatable about a rotation axis, a plurality of reaction containers held along a circumferential edge of the carousel, and at least one detector having a light source for irradiating the reaction container with excitation light and a detection element for detecting fluorescence from a reaction liquid in the reaction container. The detector is removable. By attaching a desired detector, it is possible to perform fluorescence measurement in response to the test item. According to the present invention, it is possible to test a plurality of test items in parallel, and even if the test item or the measuring object is changed, the high efficiency of specimen processing can be obtained.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic analysis device that combines a biochemical analysis unit and a blood coagulation analysis unit and has a high processing capacity while reducing device cost and life-cycle cost. An automatic analysis device is characterized in that when a synthetic-substrate item or latex-agglutination item from among synthetic-substrate, latex-agglutination, and clotting-time blood-coagulation-test items is made to be a first test item and the clotting-time item is made to be a second test item, if there is a measurement request for the first test item and second test item in the same specimen rack, a control unit determines the conveyance path of the specimen rack such that the first test item is measured using a biochemical analysis unit and the second test item is measured using a coagulation time analysis unit and controls a conveyance line.

Abstract: A genetic testing method and an apparatus therefor are provided, in which temperatures of a plurality of reaction tubes are independently controlled using a thermostat, a temperature detecting device, and a heating and cooling device provided on each of the reaction tubes, the reaction tubes each accommodate an amplification liquid and a component necessary for amplification, temperature is controlled at individual positions to hold the reaction tubes and at a predetermined temperature set at the individual positions according to an analysis and testing protocol predetermined at individual positions of the reaction tubes, a controlled temperature value is monitored in a reaction tube unit and a corrected value of controlled temperature is computed and stored on a reaction tube unit, a temperature of the reaction tube is controlled based on the computed value, and light emission of the amplification liquid accommodated in the reaction tube is measured.

Abstract: If an air bubble is entrained when a reagent is added to a sample, disturbance caused by this air bubble may prevent accurate optical measurement, thereby reducing accuracy for measuring blood clotting ability. The position to dispense the reagent depends on accuracy of stopping a reagent dispensing mechanism and dimensional errors of individual detectors, and thus conventional reagent discharging method may entrain an air bubble because a distance between a nozzle for dispensing the reagent and an inner wall of a reaction vessel is not constant and conditions for dispensing the reagent to the sample vary. In the present invention, an automatic analyzer with a nozzle for sucking and discharging the reagent for blood clotting reaction is provided with a dispensing mechanism that keeps a constant position for the nozzle to discharge the reagent by pressing the nozzle against the inner wall of the reaction vessel within the elastic range.

Abstract: An automatic analyzer with high processing capacity is capable of immediately measuring an emergency specimen rack. The automatic analyzer includes a conveying line for conveying a specimen rack, and an analysis unit which has a dispensing line in which a plurality of specimen racks are arranged for waiting until sample dispensing, and a sampling area for dispensing the sample to the analysis unit. A rack save area is provided in the dispensing line and at a position adjacent to the upstream side of the sampling area. When a specimen rack exists in the sampling area at the time of measuring an emergency specimen rack, a controller moves the specimen rack to the save area and positions the emergency specimen rack to be moved from a downstream side of the sampling area to the sampling area.

Abstract: According to a conventional technique, when a calibrated temperature measuring probe is used for correcting the temperature absolute values of individually temperature-controllable thermal control blocks, a temperature difference of a maximum of 0.5° C. remains between the thermal control blocks. According to the present invention, the melting temperature of a temperature calibration sample housed in a reaction vessel corresponding to each of the temperature control blocks is measured as a measured melting temperature. The measured melting temperature corresponding to each of the thermal control blocks and the reference melting temperature of the temperature calibration sample are compared, and the temperature absolute value of each of the thermal control blocks is corrected based on respective difference values.

Abstract: In an automatic analysis device, when an external force acts on a probe guard 26 in a horizontal direction, the probe guard 26 moves in a direction escaping from the external force around a center portion 47 of a test body container installing mechanism 1, and the probe guard 26 is separated from a fixed position. An outer circumferential wall 29 of the probe guard 26 invades a test body sampling mechanism track 28, and thus a risk that a sampling nozzle 23 of a test body sampling mechanism 5 invades the test body container installing mechanism 1 is avoided by the outer circumferential wall 29. When the probe guard 26 is separated from the fixed position, this is detected, and thus the operation of the test body sampling mechanism 5 and the test body container installing mechanism 1 is stopped.

Abstract: An object of the present invention relates to providing a nucleic acid analyzer capable of testing a plurality of test items in parallel, and of obtaining high efficiency of specimen processing even if the test item or a measuring object is changed. The present invention relates to an analyzer including a carousel rotatable about a rotation axis, a plurality of reaction containers held along a circumferential edge of the carousel, and at least one detector having a light source for irradiating the reaction container with excitation light and a detection element for detecting fluorescence from a reaction liquid in the reaction container. The detector is removable. By attaching a desired detector, it is possible to perform fluorescence measurement in response to the test item. According to the present invention, it is possible to test a plurality of test items in parallel, and even if the test item or the measuring object is changed, the high efficiency of specimen processing can be obtained.

Abstract: An object of the present invention relates to providing a nucleic acid analyzer capable of testing a plurality of test items in parallel, and of obtaining high efficiency of specimen processing even if the test item or a measuring object is changed. The present invention relates to an analyzer including a carousel rotatable about a rotation axis, a plurality of reaction containers held along a circumferential edge of the carousel, and at least one detector having a light source for irradiating the reaction container with excitation light and a detection element for detecting fluorescence from a reaction liquid in the reaction container. The detector is removable. By attaching a desired detector, it is possible to perform fluorescence measurement in response to the test item. According to the present invention, it is possible to test a plurality of test items in parallel, and even if the test item or the measuring object is changed, the high efficiency of specimen processing can be obtained.

Abstract: There is provided a genetic test system provided with a dispensing means for dispensing a sample and a reagent to a reaction vessel and a vessel conveyance means for conveying the reaction vessel. The system further includes a plurality of nucleic acid amplification detection units, each including a temperature control means for accommodating a plurality of reaction vessels and performing temperature control for each accommodated position of the reaction vessel, a temperature monitoring means for monitoring a value of temperature to be controlled of the reaction vessel, and a light emission measurement means for measuring light emission of reaction liquid in the reaction vessel. At least one of the nucleic acid amplification detection units individually has a vessel conveyance means different from the above-mentioned vessel conveyance means.

Abstract: According to a conventional technique, when a calibrated temperature measuring probe is used for correcting the temperature absolute values of individually temperature-controllable thermal control blocks, a temperature difference of a maximum of 0.5° C. remains between the thermal control blocks. According to the present invention, the melting temperature of a temperature calibration sample housed in a reaction vessel corresponding to each of the temperature control blocks is measured as a measured melting temperature. The measured melting temperature corresponding to each of the thermal control blocks and the reference melting temperature of the temperature calibration sample are compared, and the temperature absolute value of each of the thermal control blocks is corrected based on respective difference values.

Abstract: This invention relates to a nucleic acid analyzer comprising: reaction containers capable of containing nucleic-acid-containing samples and reagents; an incubation mechanism capable of controlling temperatures of reaction containers set at different levels; an analysis mechanism for analyzing the samples contained in the reaction containers; and a transport mechanism for transporting a reaction container. In accordance with the assay technique to be performed on a nucleic-acid-containing sample, the transport mechanism transports a reaction container to a given incubation mechanism in a given order. The reaction container subjected to the process of sample preparation is transported to the analysis mechanism at a given time and the sample is analyzed.

Abstract: A genetic testing method and an apparatus therefor are provided, in which temperatures of a plurality of reaction tubes are independently controlled using a thermostat, a temperature detecting device, and a heating and cooling device provided on each of the reaction tubes, the reaction tubes each accommodate an amplification liquid and a component necessary for amplification, temperature is controlled at individual positions to hold the reaction tubes and at a predetermined temperature set at the individual positions according to an analysis and testing protocol predetermined at individual positions of the reaction tubes, a controlled temperature value is monitored in a reaction tube unit and a corrected value of controlled temperature is computed and stored on a reaction tube unit, a temperature of the reaction tube is controlled based on the computed value, and light emission of the amplification liquid accommodated in the reaction tube is measured.

Abstract: A device for detecting nucleic acid amplification in a sample, comprising: a loading unit (thermoregulation unit) which is provided with a plurality of holes for loading reaction containers and capable of arbitrarily controlling a measurement unit for measuring samples in the containers that are loaded in the holes. The loading unit and the measurement unit, which are placed opposite to each other, can be operated independently from each other. In a transfer operation, the operation speeds of the thermoregulation unit and measurement unit are controlled so that the sum of these speeds amounts to an arbitrary constant value.

Abstract: Provided is a device that can process a plurality of nucleic acid detection protocols in parallel, and in which any nucleic acid detection protocol of a new sample can be additively performed even when other nucleic acid detection protocols are being run. The nucleic acid detection device of the present invention includes: a thermostat bath (19) that has a vessel-accommodating hole for accommodating a reaction vessel; a detector (12a) that detects fluorescence from the reaction vessel (11a); a gate (16) provided at a portion where the vessel is loaded into the vessel-accommodating hole; and a grip unit (16) that loads the vessel into the vessel-accommodating hole.

Abstract: A nucleic acid amplifier comprises a holder 3 which is provided with a plurality of temperature control blocks 10 each designed to hold at least one reaction vessel 105 storing a reaction solution. The temperature of the reaction solution in each reaction vessel 105 is controlled individually by using temperature control devices 14 and 15 arranged in each of the temperature control blocks 10. The temperature that is set in each temperature control block 10 and the timing for temperature changes are controlled independently of the temperatures of other temperature control blocks 10. This configuration makes it possible to provide a nucleic acid amplifier and a nucleic acid inspection device (employing the nucleic acid amplifier) capable of processing multiple types of samples differing in the protocol in parallel (parallel processing) and starting a process for a different sample even when there is a process in execution.

Abstract: Pressure fluctuations are sampled at fixed time intervals and subjected to arithmetic processing, using as a trigger the event (or a sign temporally close to that event) of the reverse motor rotation for the backlash correction, thereby discriminating normal suction from suction of sample liquid with undesirable air bubbles.