JP2000065842A - Medical specimen test preprocessing automatic system and its operation method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To avoid human error, which has been conventionally delegated to the operator's responsibility in anticipation of the work specified by the operator, the system is responsible for preventing the sample from being processed poorly. Needs to be supplemented as a system function. The system includes a database of system configuration information, a database of drop-in information of each sample processing unit in a rack, a database of drop-in information of each sample processing unit of a sample, and a database of sample processing result information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical sample test automation system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the medical field, the introduction of various automated devices has led to a reduction in labor for medical services. In examination work, automated examination equipment is widely used in order for doctors to quickly and accurately grasp the condition of inpatients and outpatients.

Many blood and urine tests require pretreatment such as centrifugation, dispensing, opening and closing as a pre-stage of the testing process. The work accounts for a large proportion of the entire inspection work time.

[0004] Here, the centrifugal treatment is a treatment for separating serum components from blood into test samples. The dispensing process is a process in which a required amount of a test sample is separated according to a test item and transferred to another container. The opening process is a process of opening the stopper of the test tube, and the closing process is a process of closing the stopper on the test tube of the sample to be stored or the like. By automating these pre-processing operations that have conventionally relied on human hands, it is possible to improve the processing efficiency of inspection work while ensuring the accuracy of the processing.

[0005] A medical automation system is required to have not only high processing capability but also high reliability. In order to increase the reliability of the automation system, it is essential to improve the operation rate by reducing the failure of the system itself and to enhance the functions to avoid processing failures that can occur due to human error by the operator. .

In a conventional system, it is general that a transport processing unit for transporting a sample between independent processing apparatuses is connected to construct a system according to specifications of each user. The sample that has entered the test tube is placed on a rack that is a support for the test tube, is input from the input portion of the system, and is processed through each processing device.

In a conventional system in which redundancy is allowed in a system, a plurality of sample inlets are provided, a rack is determined for each type of sample to be input, and an input position is specified. When introducing an unprocessed sample into the system again, there is no operational problem if the operation flow of the operator is clarified for each possible case. In other words, reliability was ensured by fixing the inlet and defining the work flow of the operator. But,
The operation flow of the user is complicated because it is branched into a plurality of cases for each case.

In order to reduce the space and cost of the system, it is necessary to reduce the number of redundant input ports, and instead, establish a system operation method in which any unprocessed sample can be received from the same input port. Becomes an issue.
Since the number of the input ports is one, the work flow of the operator regarding the input of the sample is unified. On the other hand, the function of avoiding human error, which was previously entrusted to the operator with the responsibility of the operator to perform the work as prescribed by the operator, is now handled by the system and supplemented as a system function to prevent the sample from being processed badly. There is a need.

[0009]

In the conventional system, a rack can be inserted from a predetermined input port. This is based on a system design that attempts to eliminate human error by defining the work flow of the operator.

When any rack can be loaded from one loading slot, it is essential to provide a function for detecting a human error on the system side. That is, it is necessary to construct a highly reliable system for preventing a sample processing error.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and an operation method capable of solving the above-mentioned problems in a medical sample test preprocessing automation system.

[0012]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above-mentioned problems, a first means of the present invention is to carry out pre-test processing such as centrifugal processing, opening processing, dispensing processing, plugging processing, specimen classification processing and the like. An automated medical sample test preprocessing automation system,
A transport rack capable of supporting a plurality of sample test tubes, a sample processing unit, a rack transport unit serving as a transport route of the rack between each sample processing unit, an information control unit for managing sample processing information and rack transport processing information, In a medical sample pre-processing automation system including an input / output unit for an operator and a communication unit, a database of system configuration information which is configuration information of the sample processing unit, and a database of drop-in information for each sample processing unit in the rack And a database of stop-by information of each sample processing means of the sample and a database of the processing result information of the sample.

[0013] A second means of the present invention is the medical sample test preprocessing automation system according to claim 1, wherein the database of the system configuration information, the database of drop-in information to each sample processing means of the rack, and the sample. A database of drop-in information for each sample processing means and a database of processing result information of the sample, detecting inconsistency between sample drop-in information of a sample on a rack to be put into the system and drop-in information of the rack. The present invention relates to a medical sample test preprocessing automation system and a method of operating the same.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the system for automating medical sample test pre-processing according to claim 2, when it is determined that a sample having stop-by information different from stop-by information of the rack is loaded on the rack, This is a system for displaying, on the operator input / output means, an identification number of a sample, position information on the rack, drop-in information of the rack, and information on a proper rack on which a different sample is placed.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an example of a system configuration of a sample test preprocessing automation system according to the present invention. The sample is usually put in a test tube, placed on a rack 80 which is a test tube support on which a fixed number of samples are placed, and loaded from the rack loading section 21 of the loading section 11. The transport between the processing units is performed in rack units using the transport line 18 connecting the processing units as a route.

In the blood test, if necessary, the sample is subjected to a centrifugal treatment in the centrifugal processing section 12 in order to separate the serum from the blood. The centrifugal processing unit includes a centrifugal buffer 12a and a centrifuge 12b. The centrifuge 12b includes a plurality of buckets 31 that hold the racks around a centrifugal axis so that a plurality of racks can be centrifugally processed at the same time. The sample that has been subjected to the centrifugal processing can be opened by the opening processing section 13. The opened sample is subjected to a dispensing process for dividing the sample for each test item by the dispensing processing unit 14. In the dispensing section 14, for example, an amount of serum required for the test is collected from the sample, and the serum is distributed to a dedicated cup or a test tube for each automatic analyzer.

The dispensed sample is called a child sample, while the original sample is called a parent sample. The test tubes are plugged when the parent and child specimens are stored for storage or when transported to another remote analyzer.
In the plugging section 15, the test tube is plugged.

It is the classification processing section 16 that classifies the test tubes of the child samples for each destination, and when the preprocessing system is directly connected to the automatic analyzer, the test tubes are passed through the outlet section 17 to be applied to the analyzer.

The present system has an information control unit 50 for controlling the entire system. The information control unit 50 controls transport between samples or racks, requests processing information of samples, and processes results.
7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sample test system is connected to a host computer 110 in the hospital by a communication line, and obtains sample processing information through the information control unit 50 and transmits processing result information to a host computer at a higher level. are doing. The sample test pre-processing system 130 is
With 0, communication with the information control unit 50 is enabled.

The sample is placed on a rack and is loaded from a loading section of the system. The loading unit 21 reads the sample identification number and the rack identification number of the sample on the loaded rack, and correlates which sample is on which rack.
An identification number such as a barcode is attached to the sample test tube and the rack as an identification number.

The barcodes of the sample and the rack are read by the barcode reader 70. First, if there is an error in reading the barcode and an error in the information when the rack or sample is loaded, the barcode is stored in the default buffer 23. It is popped out. If the barcodes of the sample and the rack are normally read, the sample is input to the system and the processing is continued. As an embodiment of the present system, FIG. 3 shows an example in which five specimens 150 with a specimen barcode 151 are placed on a rack 160 with a maximum number of five specimens to which a rack barcode 161 is pasted.

FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the barcode reader and the system database. Based on the sample ID and the rack ID read by the barcode reader 170, the sample drop-in information database 190 and the rack drop-in database 192 can be respectively searched and compared by the arithmetic processing unit.

FIG. 5 shows a flow of receiving a rack in the loading section. In (1) and (2), the sample ID and the rack I
If D cannot be read normally for any reason, an alarm is issued as ID reading failure, and the rack is discharged to the default unit 23 in the input unit. If the sample ID can be read normally, the database 190 of the sample drop-in information is searched from the sample ID to check whether the sample ID is registered in the database, and at the same time, the sample drop-in information is acquired. If at least one sample is not registered in the database, an alarm indicating an abnormal result of the collation is generated (7), and the rack is discharged to the default unit 23.

Next, the rack stop information is acquired from the database 192 using the rack ID as a clue, and is compared with the drop information of the sample on the rack. If even one sample has the drop-in information different from the drop-in information of the rack, the rack is discharged to the default unit. When the sample and the rack stop by, the database 193 is referred to, and if all the samples have been processed, the sample is sent to the default unit.

FIG. 6 shows an operation screen according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the screen of FIG. 6 named “sample input information screen”, regarding racks and samples detected by the system input unit, rack ID 210 which is a rack identifier for a rack in which sample processing information is different from rack drop-in information,
In addition, a sample ID 212 as a sample identifier and a rack input time 211, a symbol 213 indicating a nonconforming sample, and a display field 214 indicating a range of rack numbers on which the nonconforming sample is to be placed are displayed. Note that it is desirable to display a display 220 that prompts the user to replace the non-conforming sample. The user can follow the history while scrolling the screen with the scroll bar 215.

[0027]

As described above, when the sample placed on the rack is different from the drop-in information of the rack, it can be detected, so that it is possible to prevent a sample processing error due to the operator placing the sample incorrectly. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system for automating sample test preprocessing according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the sample test system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram in which a sample is supported on a rack shown as the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a barcode reader and a system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a rack receiving flow which is an operation mode of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation screen in an operation mode according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

20: input / output unit, 22: storage buffer, 31: centrifuge bucket, 41, 42: communication line.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuya Fukugaki 882 Ma, Ishiki, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture Inside the Measurement Instruments Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichi Takahashi 882, Oji-shi, Oita, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki F-term (reference) 2G058 BA06 CB11 CB15 CF16 GC02 GC05 GC06 GE02

Claims (3)

[Claims] An automated medical sample test preprocessing system that automates test preprocessing such as centrifugation, opening, dispensing, plugging, sample sorting, etc., and is capable of supporting a plurality of sample test tubes. Rack, sample processing means, rack transport means serving as a transport route of the rack between the sample processing means, information control means for managing sample processing information and rack transport processing information, operator input / output means, and communication means In the automated system for medical sample test pre-processing comprising: a database of system configuration information that is the configuration information of the sample processing means, a database of drop-in information to each sample processing means of the rack, and a sample processing means of each sample An automated system for medical specimen test pre-processing, comprising a database of drop-in information and a database of specimen processing result information. 2. The system for automating medical sample test preprocessing according to claim 1, wherein a database of the system configuration information;
And a database of drop-in information to each sample processing means of the rack, a database of drop-in information to each sample processing means of the sample, and a database of processing result information of the sample, and a sample on the rack to be put into the system. An automatic system for pre-processing a medical sample test, characterized by detecting a mismatch between sample drop-in information and rack drop-in information. 3. The system for automating medical sample test preprocessing according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined that a sample having stop information different from the stop information of the rack is loaded on the rack,
A system for automating pretreatment of medical specimen tests, characterized in that the identification number of the specimen, position information on the rack, drop-in information of the rack, and information on an appropriate rack on which the different specimen is to be loaded are displayed on the operator input / output means.