CN114008460A

CN114008460A - Sample analysis device and sample analysis method

Info

Publication number: CN114008460A
Application number: CN201980097765.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李鑫; 闫华文; 吕富尧; 柴亮; 李爱博
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd; Beijing Shen Mindray Medical Electronics Technology Research Institute Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd; Beijing Shen Mindray Medical Electronics Technology Research Institute Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-31
Filing date: 2019-12-31
Publication date: 2022-02-01
Also published as: WO2021134610A1

Abstract

A sample analysis apparatus and a sample analysis method, having one or more reagent dispensing units (60), the number of reagent dispensing units (60) being equal to the number of processing units (50); each reagent dispensing unit (60) comprises: a plurality of reagent needles (61), a guide assembly (62) for guiding the plurality of reagent needles (61) to move linearly, and a second drive assembly (63) for driving the plurality of reagent needles (61) to move linearly along the guide assembly (62); the guide unit (62) is disposed in a direction determined by the reagent sucking position and the index of the processing unit (50) corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit (60) so that the reagent needle (61) sucks the reagent from the reagent sucking position and discharges the reagent into the index reaction cuvette of the processing unit (50) corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit (60).

Description

Sample analysis device and sample analysis method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a sample analyzer and a sample analyzing method.

Background

A sample analyzer, such as a biochemical analyzer, an immunological analyzer, a blood coagulation analyzer, a cell analyzer, and the like, is an apparatus for analyzing and measuring a sample, and generally measures characteristics, chemical components, concentrations, and the like of the sample itself by adding a reagent to the sample and reacting the sample with the reagent in a predetermined manner.

The improvement of the testing speed of sample analysis devices is a goal sought by technicians; miniaturization of sample analysis devices is also one of the goals pursued by the skilled person; in order to increase the testing speed of the sample analyzer, it is thought to add related components, such as a plurality of sample application needles, etc., but the addition of the related components increases the volume of the apparatus, which is contrary to the miniaturization of the apparatus pursued by the skilled person. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve or balance the contradiction between the speed-up and the miniaturization of a sample analyzer.

Summary of The Invention

Technical problem

The present invention mainly provides a sample analyzer and a sample analyzing method, which will be described in detail below.

Solution to the problem

Technical solution

According to a first aspect, a sample analysis device comprises:

a housing;

a reaction cup loading part for supplying and carrying empty reaction cups;

the sample injection component is used for dispatching the sample rack bearing the sample to a sample suction position;

the sample dispensing component is used for sucking a sample from a sample sucking position and discharging the sample into a reaction cup positioned at a sample adding position;

a reagent carrier arranged in a disc-like configuration having a plurality of positions for carrying first reagent containers of a first reagent and a plurality of positions for carrying second reagent containers of a second reagent; the reagent carrying part comprises a first driving assembly for driving the reagent carrying part to rotate, and the first driving assembly drives the reagent carrying part to rotate and drives the first reagent container to rotate so as to rotate the first reagent container to the first reagent absorption position; the first driving assembly drives the reagent bearing part to rotate and drives the second reagent container to rotate so as to rotate the second reagent container to a second reagent sucking position;

the reaction part is used for bearing the reaction cup and incubating a sample in the reaction cup, and is provided with at least one in-incubation transposition of a position for placing the reaction cup;

the measuring component is used for carrying the reaction cup and detecting a sample in the reaction cup, and is provided with at least one measuring transfer position for placing the position of the reaction cup;

a first reagent dispensing component comprising: the reagent kit comprises a first beam and a first group of reagent needles, wherein the first group of reagent needles at least comprises a plurality of first reagent needles; the plurality of first reagent needles are arranged on the first cross beam and do linear motion along the long axis direction of the first cross beam so as to suck a first reagent from the first reagent sucking position and discharge the first reagent into a reaction cup positioned in transposition during incubation;

a second reagent dispensing component comprising: the second cross beam and a second group of reagent needles, the second group of reagent needles at least comprises a plurality of second reagent needles; the plurality of second reagent needles are arranged on the second cross beam and do linear motion along the long axis direction of the second cross beam so as to suck a second reagent from the second reagent sucking position and discharge the second reagent into a reaction cup positioned in transposition in the determination;

the scheduling component is used for scheduling the reaction cups; the scheduling unit schedules the cuvette to which the first reagent is added at the index during incubation to the reaction unit, and schedules the cuvette to which the second reagent is added at the index during measurement to the measurement unit.

According to a second aspect, there is provided in an embodiment a sample analysis device comprising:

a reaction cup loading part for supplying and carrying empty reaction cups;

the reagent bearing part is used for rotating the reagent bearing part and rotating the reagent container to a reagent sucking position;

one or more processing units; the processing unit is used for receiving the reaction cup loaded with the sample and processing the sample in the reaction cup; wherein each processing unit is configured with a corresponding additive neutral position;

one or more reagent dispensing components, the number of which is equal to the number of processing units, and one reagent dispensing component corresponds to one processing unit; each reagent dispensing component comprises: the reagent needle assembly comprises a plurality of reagent needles, a guide assembly and a second driving assembly, wherein the guide assembly is used for guiding the reagent needles to do linear motion, and the second driving assembly is used for driving the reagent needles to do linear motion along the guide assembly; the guide assembly is arranged along the direction determined by the reagent sucking position and the reagent indexing in the reagent feeding of the processing unit corresponding to the reagent dispensing component, so that the reagent needle sucks the reagent from the reagent sucking position and discharges the reagent into a reaction cup indexed in the reagent feeding of the processing unit corresponding to the reagent dispensing component; and

and the scheduling component is used for scheduling the reaction cups which are positioned in the sample adding positions and finish sample adding to each processing unit according to the detection flow.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment provides a sample analysis method comprising the steps of:

a reaction cup loading step of controlling the supply of the reaction cup loading part and carrying an empty reaction cup;

a sample feeding step, wherein a sample feeding part is controlled to dispatch a sample rack bearing a sample to a sample sucking position;

a sample dispensing step of controlling a sample dispensing component to suck a sample from a sample sucking position and dispense the sample into a reaction cup;

a first reagent dispensing step of controlling the driving member to drive the reagent carrying member to rotate so that the reagent container carrying the first reagent is positioned at a first reagent suction position; controlling at least one of the two reagent needles of the first reagent dispensing unit to aspirate the first reagent in the reagent container through the first reagent aspirating position and to move linearly between the first reagent aspirating position and the index of the reagent in the reaction unit, thereby dispensing the first reagent into the reaction cup indexed in the reagent in the reaction unit;

an incubation step, controlling a scheduling component to schedule the reaction cup which completes the first reagent separate injection to the reaction component for incubation, and scheduling the reaction cup which completes the incubation to the test reagent adding of the determination component for transposition;

a second reagent dispensing step of controlling the rotation of the reagent carrying member so that the reagent container carrying the second reagent is positioned at a second reagent aspirating position; controlling at least one of the two reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit to aspirate the second reagent in the reagent container through the second reagent aspiration site and to perform a linear motion between the second reagent aspiration site and the index in the reagent of the measurement unit, thereby dispensing the second reagent into the cuvette indexed in the reagent of the measurement unit;

and a measurement and recovery step of controlling the scheduling unit to schedule the cuvette into which the second reagent has been dispensed to the measurement unit to perform item detection, and to schedule the cuvette after the detection to the discard recovery device.

Advantageous effects of the invention

Brief description of the drawings

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a sample analyzer according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to another embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to still another embodiment;

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are schematic structural views of reagent carrying parts of two embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of a reagent carrying member according to another embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a reagent dispensing component according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a reagent dispensing member according to another embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the structure of a reagent dispensing member according to still another embodiment;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of a reagent dispensing member according to still another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to still another embodiment;

fig. 12(a) is a schematic structural view of a transfer member of an embodiment, fig. 12(b) is a schematic structural view of a first transfer member of an embodiment, fig. 12(c) is a schematic structural view of a second transfer member of an embodiment, and fig. 12(d) is a schematic structural view of a third transfer member of an embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a cup grasper according to an embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural view of a sample analysis device according to yet another embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural view of a sample analysis device according to yet another embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a schematic structural view of a cleaning member according to an embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a schematic flow chart of a sample analysis method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the timing of the operation of two reagent needles of the same set according to one embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the timing operation of two reagent needles of the same set in accordance with still another embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a timing diagram of the timing of the operation of two reagent needles of the same set in accordance with yet another embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the timing operation of two reagent needles of the same set in accordance with yet another embodiment;

FIG. 22 illustrates a method of using the sample analysis device of an embodiment.

Examples of the invention

Modes for carrying out the invention

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Wherein like elements in different embodiments are numbered with like associated elements. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that some of the features may be omitted or replaced with other elements, materials, methods in different instances. In some instances, certain operations related to the present invention have not been shown or described in the specification in order to avoid obscuring the present invention from the excessive description, and it is not necessary for those skilled in the art to describe these operations in detail, so that they can be fully understood from the description in the specification and the general knowledge in the art.

Furthermore, the features, operations, or characteristics described in the specification may be combined in any suitable manner to form various embodiments. Also, the various steps or actions in the method descriptions may be transposed or transposed in order, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the various sequences in the specification and drawings are for the purpose of describing certain embodiments only and are not intended to imply a required sequence unless otherwise indicated where such sequence must be followed.

The numbering of the components as such, e.g., "first", "second", etc., is used herein only to distinguish the objects as described, and does not have any sequential or technical meaning. The term "connected" and "coupled" as used herein includes both direct and indirect connections (couplings), unless otherwise specified.

The structure of the sample analyzer according to some embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

A sample analysis device is an instrument for analyzing and measuring a sample. The flow of the test performed by the sample analyzer will be described by way of example with reference to a blood coagulation analyzer. The test procedure for coagulation analyzers is generally as follows: sample adding of a sample and reagent adding are completed in the reaction cup to prepare a reaction liquid, the reaction liquid is uniformly mixed and incubated, the reaction cup is placed in a measuring part, the measuring part can irradiate multi-wavelength light to the reaction liquid in the reaction cup, and a coagulation reaction curve of the reaction liquid along with time change is obtained through analysis of a coagulation method, an immunoturbidimetry method, a chromogenic substrate method and the like, so that the coagulation time of the reaction liquid or other coagulation related performance parameters are further calculated. In order to obtain a coagulation reaction curve in which a reaction solution changes with time in a blood coagulation analyzer, time boundary conditions such as the addition time of a sample and a reagent, incubation time, and the like in a test flow need to be strictly set and controlled in order to obtain an accurate measurement result.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a sample analysis device according to some embodiments of the present invention. The sample analysis apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention may include a housing 1, a cuvette loading unit 10, a sample unit 20, a sample dispensing unit 30, a reagent carrying unit 40, one or more reagent dispensing units 60, one or more processing units 50, and a scheduling unit 70. It should be noted that fig. 1 shows an example having two reagent dispensing units 60 and two processing units 50, but those skilled in the art will understand that this is only for illustration and is not intended to limit the number of reagent dispensing units 60 and processing units 50 to two. The following provides a detailed description of the various components of the sample analyzer.

The casing 1 is an instrument housing of the sample analysis apparatus, and may have, for example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped or square box shape, and its function may be to house some components in the sample analysis apparatus. For example, in some embodiments, the housing 1 includes a first side 1a along a first direction and a second side 1b along a second direction.

Reference herein to a first direction and a second direction, in some embodiments, may be perpendicular, e.g., the first direction is the Y-direction in the figure and the second direction is the X-direction in the figure.

The cuvette loader 10 is used to supply and carry empty cuvettes. In the working process of the sample analysis device, the empty reaction cups are required to be continuously used to finish individual test items, and the sample analysis device adds samples and reagents into the empty reaction cups to prepare, incubate and measure reaction liquid so as to obtain the test results of the items. The cuvette loading unit 10 can load an empty cuvette to a predetermined position, and the sample dispensing mechanism sucks a sample from the sample unit 20 and discharges the sample into the empty cuvette at the predetermined position.

The sample part 20 is used to supply a sample rack carrying samples to be tested. In some embodiments, the sample part 20 may be disposed within the housing 1. There are a variety of ways to implement the sample block 20.

In one implementation of the sample part 20, the sample part 20 may be a sample injection part 21, and the sample injection part 21 is used for dispatching a sample rack carrying a sample to a sample sucking position. Fig. 2 is an example, the sample introduction part 21 may include a loading area 21a, a sample introduction channel 21b and an unloading area 21c, wherein the sample introduction channel 21b may be provided with a sample suction position 21 d. In the figure, the X direction and the Y direction are perpendicular, the X1 direction and the X2 direction are opposite directions, and the Y1 direction and the Y2 direction are also opposite directions. The user can place the sample rack carrying the sample to be tested in the loading area 21a, the loading area 21a moves the sample rack in the direction of Y1 in the figure to enter the sample inlet channel 21b, the sample rack can move in the direction of X1 in the sample inlet channel 21b and pass through the sample sucking position, the sample on the sample rack can be sucked by the sample dispensing component 30 when passing through the sample sucking position, and then the sample rack enters the unloading area 21c from the sample inlet channel 21b in the direction of Y2, and the user can take out the sample rack from the unloading area 21 c. The sample introduction part 21 is suitable for a large batch of sample test occasions, the sample introduction part 21 can be arranged independently of the sample analysis device, and when the sample analysis device needs to be connected into a test system in a production line form, the sample introduction part 21 can be directly detached.

In another implementation of the sample part 20, the sample part 20 may be a sample placing area 22, and the sample placing area 22 is used for placing a sample rack carrying a sample to be tested. Fig. 3 is an example. The sample placement area 22 may have a plurality of lanes 22a, each lane 22a may hold a sample rack, and a user may push the sample rack into the lane 22a in the direction Y1 in the figure; the sample dispensing unit 30 can sequentially aspirate the samples on the sample racks in the respective channels 22 a; after the samples on the sample rack are all sucked, the user can pull the sample rack out of the passage 22a in the direction Y2 in the figure. The sample placement area 22 does not need to schedule the sample rack, and therefore, the occupied volume is small, which is favorable for reducing the size of the sample analysis apparatus, and is very favorable for the miniaturization design of the sample analysis apparatus.

The sample dispensing unit 30 is used to aspirate a sample from a sample aspirating position and discharge the aspirated sample into a reaction cuvette at a sample application position. In some embodiments, the sample dispensing member 30 may be disposed within the housing 1. In some embodiments, the sample dispensing mechanism 30 may include a sample needle that is driven by a two-dimensional or three-dimensional drive mechanism to move in two-dimensional or three-dimensional directions. In some embodiments, the sample needle may be one or more. In order to simplify the movement locus and reduce the size and dimension of the sample analyzer, the sample suction position and the predetermined position to which the cuvette loading member 10 loads the empty cuvette may be designed to be in a straight line, for example, a straight line along the first direction, so that the sample needle only needs to reciprocate between the sample suction position and the predetermined position in the first direction, which not only increases the movement speed of the sample needle, but also is beneficial to reducing the size of the sample analyzer, and is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the sample analyzer.

The reagent carrying part 40 is for carrying a reagent, for example the reagent carrying part 40 may have a plurality of positions for carrying reagent containers, which are then for carrying a reagent. Generally, the reagent carrying member 40 may provide a function of cooling or the like to the carried reagent, thereby ensuring the activity of the reagent. In some embodiments, the reagent carrying part 40 may be disposed within the cabinet 1. In some embodiments, the reagent carrier 40 is configured in a disc-shaped structure having a plurality of positions for carrying reagent containers, and the reagent carrier 40 can rotate and drive the reagent containers carried by the reagent carrier to move, so as to rotate the reagent containers to the reagent aspirating position, so that the reagent dispensing component 60 can aspirate the reagent — for example, the reagent carrier 40 includes a first driving component for driving the reagent carrier 40 to rotate, so as to rotate the reagent containers to the reagent aspirating position. The reagent bearing member 40 provided in a disk-like structure will be described in detail below.

Referring to fig. 4(a), in some embodiments, the reagent carrying member 40 is configured in a disc-shaped structure, and has a plurality of positions for placing the reagent cups 41, each reagent cup 41 includes one or more cavities for containing reagents required by the project test, and one reagent is placed in one cavity; the reagent carrying part 40 comprises a first driving assembly for driving the reagent carrying part 40 to rotate, and the first driving assembly drives the reagent carrying part 40 to rotate so as to rotate the cavity of the reagent cup 41 containing the reagent required by the project to the corresponding reagent sucking position. In one example, the reagent cups 41 each include at least a first cavity 41a for carrying a first reagent and a second cavity 41b for carrying a second reagent, for example, the reagent cup 41 includes at least a first cavity 41a for carrying the mixed reagent R1 and a second cavity 41b for carrying the trigger reagent R2; the reagent bearing part 40 comprises a first reagent absorption position and a second reagent absorption position different from the first reagent absorption position, and the first driving component drives the reagent bearing part 40 to rotate and drives the reagent union cup 41 to rotate so as to rotate the first cavity 41a of the reagent union cup 41 to the first reagent absorption position; the first driving assembly drives the reagent carrying part 40 to rotate and drives the reagent combination cup 41 to rotate, so as to rotate the second cavity 41b to the second reagent sucking position.

Referring to fig. 4(b), in some embodiments, the reagent carrier 40 is configured as a disk-shaped structure having a plurality of positions for carrying first reagent containers 42 of the first reagent and a plurality of positions for carrying second reagent containers 43 of the second reagent. The reagent carrying part 40 comprises a first driving component for driving the reagent carrying part to rotate, and the first driving component drives the reagent carrying part 40 to rotate and drives the first reagent container 42 to rotate so as to rotate the first reagent container 42 to the first reagent absorption position; the first driving assembly drives the reagent carrying part 40 to rotate and drives the second reagent container 43 to rotate, so as to rotate the second reagent container 43 to the second reagent sucking position. In one example, the reagent carrying member 40 may include a plurality of independently rotatable tracks. For example, the reagent carrying part 40 may comprise two tracks-an inner and an outer track, on which a plurality of first reagent containers 42 may be located and, correspondingly, a plurality of second reagent containers 43 may be located, the inner and outer tracks being independently rotated by the first drive assembly.

Two kinds of reagent holding members 40 are described above, for example, FIG. 4(a) shows an example of a reagent cup 41, fig. 4(b) is an example in which the reagent carrying member 40 is implemented by a plurality of independently rotatable tracks, and those skilled in the art will understand that the two ways may be combined, the reagent carrying member 40 is implemented by a plurality of independently rotatable tracks, and at least one or each of the tracks has a plurality of positions for placing the reagent cups 41, for example, as shown in fig. 5, the reagent carrying member 40 may include two tracks, an inner track and an outer track, the outer track may have a plurality of positions for placing the reagent cups 41, and correspondingly, the inner track may have a plurality of positions for placing the reagent cups 41, and the inner track and the outer track are driven to rotate independently by the first driving assembly.

This is some of the description of the reagent carrying member 40. The reagent carrying component 40 may rotate and dispatch the corresponding reagent required by the test item to the reagent sucking position corresponding to the reagent dispensing component 60 by rotating during the working cycle, for example, dispatching the first reagent to the first reagent sucking position and dispatching the second reagent to the second reagent sucking position.

The processing unit 50 is configured to receive a cuvette carrying a sample and process the sample in the cuvette. The sample herein refers to a reaction solution composed of a sample and a reagent. There may be one or more processing units 50.

Referring to fig. 6, in some embodiments, at least one of the processing units 50 is a reaction component 51 for incubating a sample, and the reaction component 51 is used for carrying a reaction cup and incubating the sample in the reaction cup. In some embodiments, the reaction member 51 has a rectangular shape with a plurality of reaction cup placement positions. In general, the reaction component 51 can heat the reaction solution or sample in the reaction cup in each reaction cup placement position to incubate the sample, for example, the sample in the reaction cup is heated and maintained at 37 ± 0.5 ℃, and the specific heating time and heating temperature can be determined by the heating parameters corresponding to different test items. In some embodiments, the reaction member 51 has a length direction arranged in a first direction, for example, in a Y direction in the figure.

In some embodiments, at least one of the processing units 50 is a measuring unit 52 for measuring a sample, and the measuring unit 52 is used for carrying a reaction cup and detecting the sample in the reaction cup; in some embodiments, the measurement member 52 has a rectangular shape with a plurality of reaction cup placement positions. In general, the measuring unit 52 may be provided with one detecting unit (not shown) for each cuvette placement position, each detecting unit being for detecting a sample in a cuvette in the corresponding cuvette placement position. In some embodiments, the length direction of the measurement member 52 is arranged in a second direction different from the first direction, for example, in the X direction in the figure.

In some embodiments, the reaction part 51 and the assay part 52 are arranged in an adjacent manner around the reagent carrying part 40. In some specific embodiments, the reaction member 51 and the measurement member 52 are disposed along the first side 1a and the second side 1b, respectively, and surround the reagent bearing member 40 in an adjacent manner.

The rectangular reaction member 51 and the rectangular measurement member 52 are respectively disposed along the first side 1a and the second side 1b and adjacently surround the reagent holding member 40, so that the space can be saved, the size of the sample analyzer can be reduced, and the interaction of the reagent holding member 40 with the reaction member 51 and the measurement member 52 by the reagent dispensing member 60 can be facilitated.

In some embodiments, the sample part 20, such as the sample introduction part 21, the reaction cup loading part 10, the reaction part 51, and the assay part 52, is disposed around the reagent carrying part 40. The reagent bearing part 40 is used as the center, the scheduling track of the whole detection flow of the reaction cup is designed around the reagent bearing part 40, the design is novel, and the space is saved.

Each processing unit 50 may be configured with a corresponding index of action, e.g. the reaction part 51 is configured with at least one index 51a for placing a cuvette, the number of index 51a in the index may be one or more; when the position of the middle-of-incubation index 51a for placing the cuvette is set to 1, the middle-of-incubation index 51a may be set to a position-adjustable manner so that the cuvette placed on the middle-of-incubation index 51a can be positionally corresponding to each reagent needle in the first reagent dispensing unit (the first reagent dispensing unit corresponds to the reaction unit, and reagents are added to the cuvette in the reaction unit) to receive the reagent dispensed by each reagent needle. In some embodiments, the in-incubation index 51a is disposed between the reagent bearing component 40 and the reaction component 51. The measuring part 52 is provided with at least one measuring transfer site 52a for placing a cuvette, and the number of the measuring transfer sites 52a may be one or more; in some embodiments, the assay transfer site 52a is disposed between the reagent carrying member 40 and the assay member 52. When the position of the index 52a for placing the cuvette in the measurement is set to 1, the index 52a may be set to a position-adjustable manner so that the cuvette placed on the index 52a can be positionally-associated with each of the reagent needles in the second reagent dispensing unit (the second reagent dispensing unit is associated with the measurement unit, and reagent is added to the cuvette in the measurement unit) to receive the reagent dispensed from each of the reagent needles.

In fig. 6 is shown that the number of the translocation 51a in the incubation is one, and each translocation 51a in the incubation has two placement positions of the cuvette, for example, a first position and a second position for placing the cuvette; the number of the index 52a in the measurement is one, and each index 52a in the measurement has two placement positions for the cuvettes, for example, a third position and a fourth position for placing the cuvettes.

The reagent dispensing unit 60 suctions a reagent from a reagent suction site and discharges the reagent into a reaction cuvette at a reagent addition site. For example, the reagent dispensing component 60 can aspirate a first reagent from a first reagent aspirating site mentioned herein and discharge the first reagent into a reaction cup; the reagent dispensing component 60 is capable of aspirating a second reagent from the second reagent site mentioned herein and discharging the second reagent into the reaction cup. In some embodiments, the reagent dispensing member 60 may be disposed within the housing 1.

The reagent dispensing unit 60 may be implemented by a reagent needle. Thus, in some embodiments, the reagent dispensing component 60 includes a reagent needle for aspirating reagent from the reagent carrying component 40 and discharging it into the reaction cuvette.

In view of the number of the reagent needles, in some embodiments, the reagent dispensing unit 60 may have a plurality of reagent needles, each of which is provided so as to be movable independently of each other. The reagent needle may be specifically configured such that: each processing unit 50 is configured with a set of reagent needles; the reagent needles are used for sucking the reagent from the reagent bearing member 40 and discharging the reagent into the reaction cups of the corresponding processing units 50, and each set of the reagent needles includes at least two reagent needles. For example, a set of reagent needles may be provided for the reaction unit 51 and a set of reagent needles may be provided for the measurement unit 52. In some specific embodiments, the reaction component 51 may be configured with a first set of reagent needles, the first set of reagent needles being arranged in a linear motion between a reagent aspirating position and an incubation index 51a, the first set of reagent needles being configured to aspirate reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharge the reagent into a reaction cup located at the incubation index 51a, the first set of reagent needles comprising at least one reagent needle; similarly, the measurement unit 52 may be provided with a second group of reagent needles provided in a linear motion between a reagent aspirating position for aspirating a reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharging the reagent into a cuvette positioned at the measurement indexing position 52a, the second group of reagent needles including at least one reagent needle.

In view of the number of reagent dispensing units 60, in some embodiments, the number of reagent dispensing units 60 is equal to the number of processing units 50, and one reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponds to one processing unit 50. Fig. 1 to 3 above are all such examples. Specifically, there may be two reagent dispensing units 60, one of the reagent dispensing units 60 may correspond to the reaction unit 51, and the other reagent dispensing unit 60 may correspond to the measurement unit 52. Each processing unit 50 is provided with one reagent dispensing component 60, and the action of the reagent adding flow of the detection item is decomposed, namely, each reagent dispensing component 60 only needs to add corresponding reagent to the reaction cup of the corresponding processing unit 50, so that the sample adding of the corresponding reagent of the detection item is finished separately, and the efficiency is improved.

Next, a specific configuration of the reagent dispensing unit 60 will be described.

Referring to fig. 7, each of the reagent dispensing units 60 includes a plurality of reagent needles 61, a guide assembly 62 for guiding the plurality of reagent needles 61 to move linearly, and a second driving assembly 63 for driving the plurality of reagent needles 61 to move linearly along the guide assembly 62. The guide unit 62 is provided in a direction determined by the reagent aspirating position and the index of the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60, so that the reagent needle 61 aspirates the reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharges the reagent into the cuvette indexed by the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60. For example, the left reagent dispensing unit 60 in FIG. 7, the guide member 62 is disposed in the direction determined by the reagent aspirating position and the incubation index 51a of the reaction unit 51, so that the reagent needle 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 aspirates the reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharges the reagent into the cuvette positioned at the incubation index 51 a; the right-hand reagent dispensing unit 60 in fig. 7 is provided with a guide unit 62 in a direction determined by the reagent aspirating position and the measurement transfer position 52a of the measurement unit 52, so that the reagent needle 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 aspirates a reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharges the reagent into the cuvette positioned at the measurement transfer position 52 a. In some embodiments, the number of the second driving assemblies 53 of each reagent dispensing unit 60 is equal to the number of the reagent needles 61, and the independent driving force output ends of the second driving assemblies 53 respectively act on the reagent needles 61 to drive the reagent needles 61 to move linearly along the guide assembly 52 between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position independently of each other. For example, the example shown in fig. 7 is an example in which each reagent dispensing unit 60 includes two reagent needles 61, and each reagent needle 61 is independently driven by a respective second drive unit 63.

The guide assembly 52 can be implemented in a variety of ways, a few of which are enumerated below.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a side surface of the reagent dispensing unit 60. In some embodiments, the guide assembly 62 of each reagent dispensing unit 60 comprises: a cross member 62a, and a plurality of guides 62b arranged in parallel and along the length direction of the cross member 62 a; the beam 62a is provided along a direction determined by the aspirating reagent position and the index in the reagent of the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60; the number of the guides 62b is equal to the number of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60, and the plurality of reagent needles 61 are slidably connected to the plurality of guides 62b, respectively, so that the reagent needles 61 are linearly moved along the guides 62b between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position. In some embodiments, two reagent needles 61 are provided per reagent dispensing unit 60; two guide pieces 62b of each reagent dispensing unit 60 are provided, and each of the two guide pieces 62b is a linear guide; the two linear guide rails are respectively arranged at two sides of the beam 62a along the long axis direction of the beam 62a, fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of one side of the beam 62a, and the structure at the other side exposes one reagent needle 61; the two reagent needles 61 are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails on the two sides of the cross beam 62a and are connected with the linear guide rails in a sliding manner; the reagent needle 61 moves linearly along the linear guide where it is located between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position.

This is an embodiment in which one reagent dispensing unit is realized by providing one reagent needle on each side of one beam. In another embodiment, a single reagent dispensing unit may be implemented by two parallel beams, and only one reagent needle is disposed on each beam, which will be described in detail below.

Referring to fig. 9 and 10, in some embodiments, the guide assembly 62 of each reagent dispensing unit 60 includes: a plurality of cross members 62a arranged in parallel, and a plurality of guides 62b provided on the plurality of cross members 62a, respectively, and arranged in the longitudinal direction of the cross members 62 a; a plurality of the beams 62a are provided in a direction determined by the aspirating reagent position and the index in the reagent of the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60; the number of the guides 62b is equal to the number of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60, and the plurality of reagent needles 61 are slidably connected to the plurality of guides 62b, respectively, so that the reagent needles 61 are linearly moved along the guides 62b between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of guides 62b of each reagent dispensing unit 60 is a linear guide, and the plurality of linear guides are respectively disposed along the longitudinal direction of the plurality of beams 62 a; the plurality of reagent needles 61 are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails of the plurality of cross beams 62a and are connected with the linear guide rails in a sliding manner; the reagent needle 61 moves linearly along the linear guide where it is located between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent loading position.

In some embodiments, the cross beam 52a of the guide assembly 52 in each reagent dispensing unit 60 is fixed to a position above the index in the test sample of the processing cell 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60 and the reagent aspirating position.

The reagent dispensing component 60 with multiple needles moving linearly is realized through a beam structure, the movement track of the reagent needle 61 does not occupy too much space and the layout interference on other components is reduced as much as possible, so that the structure of the sample analysis device can be more compact, and the miniaturization design of the sample analysis device is very facilitated.

In some embodiments, the reagent needles 61 of different reagent dispensing units 60 do not intersect with each other along the linear movement path, so that the movement of the reagent needles 61 of different reagent dispensing units 60 is not interfered with each other, which is beneficial to improving the testing speed.

In some embodiments, there is at least one processing unit 50, and the reagent adding index includes the same number of cuvette placement positions as the number of reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the processing unit 50. For example, in the example shown in fig. 6, the reaction member 51 has a reagent adding translocation, that is, an in-incubation translocation 51a in the figure, and the in-incubation translocation 51a can accommodate two reaction cups; the number of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the reaction unit 51 is two. In fig. 6, the reagent adding transfer position of the measuring unit 52 is a measuring transfer position 52a in the figure, and two cuvettes can be placed in the measuring transfer position 52 a; the number of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the measurement unit 52 is two. In some embodiments, the number of reagent aspirating sites is the same as the number of reagent needles. For example, in fig. 6, two reagent dispensing units 60 are provided in total, and each reagent dispensing unit 60 has two reagent needles 61, so that the number of reagent aspirating positions is four. The number of the reagent needles is the same as that of the reagent adding positions, so that each reagent needle can clearly divide labor to add reagents into reaction cups on the respective reagent adding positions, and the test speed is improved.

In some embodiments, the reagent needles 61 in the same reagent dispensing unit 60 are used to aspirate the same type of reagent. For example, the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the reaction unit 51 are all used for aspirating the first reagent, and the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the measurement unit 52 are all used for aspirating the second reagent. The different reagent dispensing members 60 are used for sucking different reagents, so that the reagent dispensing members 60 are clearly divided, and the test speed is improved.

In some embodiments, each of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 is provided with a heating unit (not shown) for heating the reagent aspirated by the reagent needle. Since each reagent dispensing unit 60 includes a plurality of reagent needles 61, and there are no two reagent needles as an example, each reagent needle 61 is further provided with a heating member, and since there are two reagent needles 61, each reagent needle 61 has sufficient time, for example, twice the time, to heat the aspirated reagent while maintaining the original speed, so that the reagent reaches the corresponding processing unit 50, the temperature of the reagent is relatively close to the predetermined temperature, that is, the reagent is sufficiently preheated.

The above is some description of the reagent dispensing unit 60. The following description will discuss the relationship and the corresponding configuration between the reagent dispensing unit 60 and the processing unit 50, taking the number of the processing units 50 as two, and specifically, the reaction unit 51 and the measurement unit 52 as an example.

In some embodiments, the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the reaction unit 51 is a first reagent dispensing unit, and the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the measurement unit 52 is a second reagent dispensing unit, which will be described in detail below.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing component 60 comprises a first beam 6a and a first set of reagent needles comprising at least a plurality, e.g., two, of the first reagent needles 6 b; the plurality of first reagent needles 61 are provided on the first beam 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the first beam 62a to suck the first reagent from the first reagent sucking site and discharge the first reagent into the cuvette located at the position 51a during incubation. In some embodiments, the first beam 62a is disposed along the direction defined by the first reagent absorption site and the middle incubation position 51a, and the first beam 62a is fixedly disposed at an upper position corresponding to the first reagent absorption site and the middle incubation position 51 a.

In some embodiments, the first cross member 62a of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 is provided in one piece, and the plurality of first reagent needles 61 are provided in parallel on the one first cross member 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the first cross member 62 a. Taking the first group of reagent needles having two first reagent needles 61 as an example, two linear guide rails are respectively disposed on two sides of the first beam 62a along the long axis direction thereof, the two first reagent needles 61 are respectively disposed on the linear guide rails on two sides of the first beam 62a, and the first reagent needles 61 make linear motion between the first reagent sucking position and the incubation middle position 51a along the linear guide rails on which the first reagent needles are disposed. This is an embodiment in which the first reagent dispensing unit is realized by providing one first reagent needle on each of both sides of one first beam.

In some embodiments, the number of the first beams 62a of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 is equal to the number of the plurality of first reagent needles 61 of the first group of reagent needles, one first reagent needle 61 is disposed on each of the first beams 62a, and two first beams 62a are disposed in parallel. In some specific embodiments, each of the plurality of first beams 62a is provided with a linear guide along the long axis direction thereof, and the plurality of first reagent needles 61 are respectively provided on the linear guides of the plurality of first beams 62a for the first reagent needles 61 to perform linear motion between the first reagent sucking position and the incubation middle position 51 a. This embodiment of the first reagent dispensing unit is realized by a plurality of, for example, two parallel first beams, and only one first reagent needle is provided for each first beam.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes a plurality of driving mechanisms, such as second driving assemblies, which independently drive the plurality of first reagent needles to move linearly, the number of the plurality of second driving assemblies is equal to the number of the plurality of first reagent needles, and independent driving force output ends of the plurality of second driving assemblies respectively act on the plurality of first reagent needles to drive the plurality of first reagent needles to move linearly along the long axis direction of the first beam between the first reagent sucking position and the middle incubation position 51 a.

Without taking the above example where the index 51a includes the first position and the second position for placing the cuvette during incubation as an example, in the case where the first reagent dispensing unit 60 has two first reagent needles 61, one of the first reagent needles 61 is linearly moved along the first beam 62a between the first aspirating position and the first position, and the other of the first reagent needles 61 is linearly moved along the first beam 62a between the first aspirating position and the second position.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes first Z-direction driving assemblies 64 for driving the first reagent needles 61 of the first group of reagent needles to move in the vertical direction, respectively, the number of the first Z-direction driving assemblies 64 being the same as the number of the first reagent needles 61 of the first group of reagent needles; the first Z-drive assemblies 64 each include: a first Z-direction guide 64a for guiding the movement of the first reagent needle 61 in the vertical direction, and a first Z-direction drive 64b for driving the first reagent needle to move along the first Z-direction guide; the first reagent needle 61 is slidably connected to the first cross beam 62a via the first Z-direction guide 64a and the first Z-direction drive 64b, so that the first reagent needle 61 can move in the vertical direction relative to the first cross beam 62a under the drive of the first Z-direction drive 64 b. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, in the case of a reciprocating linear motion, the reagent needle needs to be moved in a vertical direction when reaching each position to perform operations of sucking and discharging the reagent.

In some embodiments, the first reagent needle 61 may further be provided with a heating member (not shown) for heating the reagent sucked by the first reagent needle.

The above description is of the first reagent dispensing unit 60, and the second reagent dispensing unit 60 will be described below.

The second reagent dispensing unit 60 includes a second beam 62a and a second group of reagent needles, which includes at least a plurality of, for example, two second reagent needles 61; the plurality of second reagent needles 61 are provided on the second cross member 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the second cross member 62a to suck the second reagent from the second reagent sucking site and discharge the second reagent into the cuvette positioned at the measurement center position 52 a. In some embodiments, the second beam 62a is disposed along the direction defined by the second reagent sucking position and the assay transit position 52a, and the second beam 62a is fixedly disposed at an upper position corresponding to the second reagent sucking position and the assay transit position 52 a.

In some embodiments, the second beam 62a of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 is provided in one piece, and the plurality of second reagent needles 61 are provided in parallel on the one second beam 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the second beam 62 a. Taking the second group of reagent needles as an example, two first reagent needles 61 are provided on both sides of the second beam 62a along the long axis direction thereof, one linear guide rail is provided on each of both sides of the second beam 62a, the two second reagent needles 61 are provided on the linear guide rails on both sides of the second beam 62a, and the second reagent needles 61 linearly move between the second reagent sucking position and the measurement transfer position 52a along the linear guide rails on which the second reagent needles are provided. This is an embodiment in which the second reagent dispensing unit is realized by providing one second reagent needle on each of both sides of one second beam.

In some embodiments, the number of the second beams 62a of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 is equal to the number of the second reagent needles 61 of the second group of reagent needles, one second reagent needle 61 is disposed on each of the second beams 62a, and two second beams 62a are disposed in parallel. In some specific embodiments, each of the plurality of second beams 62a is provided with a linear guide along the long axis direction thereof, and the plurality of second reagent needles 61 are respectively provided on the linear guides of the plurality of second beams 62a for the second reagent needles 61 to perform linear motion between the second reagent sucking site and the assay transfer site 52 a. This embodiment of the second reagent dispensing unit is realized by a plurality of, for example, two parallel second beams, and only one second reagent needle is provided for each second beam.

In some embodiments, the second reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes a plurality of driving mechanisms, such as a third driving unit, different from the second driving unit and configured to drive the plurality of second reagent needles to move linearly independently of each other, the number of the third driving units is equal to the number of the plurality of second reagent needles, and independent driving force output ends of the plurality of third driving units respectively act on the plurality of second reagent needles to drive the plurality of second reagent needles to move linearly between the second reagent site and the assay transfer site along the long axis direction of the second beam. The second drive assembly and the third drive assembly may be identical in construction.

Without taking the case where the index 52a includes the third position and the fourth position for placing the cuvette in the above measurement as an example, in the case where the second reagent dispensing unit 60 has two second reagent needles 61, one of the second reagent needles 61 is linearly moved along the second beam 62a between the second pipetting reagent position and the third position, and the other second reagent needle 61 is linearly moved along the second beam 62a between the second pipetting reagent position and the fourth position.

In some embodiments, the second reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes second Z-direction driving assemblies 64 for driving the second reagent needles 61 of the second group of reagent needles to move in the vertical direction, respectively, the number of the second Z-direction driving assemblies 64 being the same as the number of the second reagent needles 61 of the second group of reagent needles; the second Z-drive assemblies 64 each include: a second Z-direction guide 64a for guiding the movement of the second reagent needle 61 in the vertical direction, and a second Z-direction drive 64b for driving the second reagent needle 61 to move along the second Z-direction guide 64 a; the second reagent needle 61 is slidably connected to the second cross beam 62a through the second Z-direction guide 64a and the second Z-direction driving member 64b, so that the second reagent needle 61 can move in the vertical direction relative to the second cross beam 62a under the driving of the second Z-direction driving member 64 b.

In some embodiments, the second reagent needle 61 may further be provided with a heating member (not shown) for heating the reagent sucked by the second reagent needle.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 has a first movement locus as a locus of linear movement of the plurality of first reagent needles 61 between the first reagent aspirating position and the in-incubation index 51 a; a locus of linear motion of the plurality of second reagent needles 61 included in the second reagent dispensing unit 60 between the second aspirating reagent site and the measurement transfer site 52a is a second motion locus; wherein the first motion profile does not intersect the second motion profile.

The first reagent dispensing unit 60 and the second reagent dispensing unit 60 may have the same structure except that they are arranged in different directions, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 is arranged in the direction of the reaction unit 51 to be engaged with the reaction unit 51, and the second reagent dispensing unit 60 is arranged in the direction of the measurement unit 52 to be engaged with the measurement unit 52.

The above is some description of the reagent dispensing unit 60. The reagent dispensing unit 60 performs a reciprocating linear motion of the reagent needle 61 between the reagent aspirating position of the reagent holding unit 40 and the reagent adding position of the corresponding processing unit by a beam structure, thereby aspirating and discharging the corresponding reagent.

The movement of different reagent dispensing components 60 is independent and not interfered with each other, thus playing an obvious role in the space miniaturization of the instrument and the improvement of the testing speed.

The scheduling unit 70 is used to schedule the cuvettes, for example, the scheduling unit 70 schedules cuvettes positioned at the loading position and loaded with sample to each processing unit 50 according to the flow of detection, for example, the scheduling unit 70 schedules cuvettes loaded with a reagent, for example, a first reagent, at the position 51a during incubation to the reaction unit 51, and schedules cuvettes loaded with a reagent, for example, a second reagent, at the position 52a during measurement to the measurement unit 52. The following describes a specific configuration of the scheduling unit 70.

Referring to fig. 11, in some embodiments, the dispatching component 70 includes a first transferring component 71, a second transferring component 73, and a third transferring component 75, and in order to cooperate with the three transferring

components

71, 73, and 75, in some embodiments, the sample analysis device further includes a first buffer centering bit 77 and a second buffer centering bit 78. In some embodiments, the first buffer middle-shift bit 77 may adopt a fixed buffer bit design, and only one cuvette placement bit is provided, that is, only one cuvette can be placed, which is beneficial to reduce the size and dimension of the sample analysis apparatus; similarly, the first buffer centering bit 78 may be designed as a fixed buffer bit, and only one cuvette placement bit is provided, i.e., only one cuvette can be placed, which is advantageous for reducing the size and size of the sample analysis apparatus. Of course, in some embodiments, the first cache middle bit 77 and the second cache middle bit 78 may be designed to have multiple cuvette placement positions when a fixed cache bit design is used, so that more cuvette placement positions are scheduled. Even more, in some embodiments, the first buffer centering bit 77 may be designed as a moving or rotating buffer bit, for example, the first buffer centering bit 77 may include a cup placing bit that can be driven to move or rotate, so that during the process of the first transfer unit 71 transferring the cups to the first buffer centering bit 77, the first buffer centering bit 77 may also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to receive the cups transferred by the first transfer unit 71, and in addition, when the second transfer unit 73 needs to transfer the cups on the first buffer centering bit 77, the first buffer centering bit 77 may also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to enable the second transfer unit 73 to more quickly capture the cups on the first buffer centering bit 77; similarly, the second buffer index 78 may include a cup placement position that can be driven to move or rotate, such that during the transfer of a cup by the second transfer unit 73 to the second buffer index 78, the second buffer index 78 can also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to receive a cup transferred by the second transfer unit 73, and further, when the third transfer unit 73 needs to transfer a cup on the second buffer index 78 away, the second buffer index 78 can also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to enable the third transfer unit 75 to more quickly capture a cup on the second buffer index 78; through the design, the whole transfer process of the reaction cup is quicker and less time-consuming, and the efficiency and the testing speed of the sample analysis device are improved.

The first transfer member 71, the second transfer member 73 and the third transfer member 75 can be implemented in various ways, such as a rail-type transfer member for transferring the cuvettes by placing the cuvettes on a rail; for example, the reaction cups are placed on the rotating disc type structure, and the reaction cups carried by the rotating disc are transported to corresponding positions through the transportation of the rotating disc; the first transfer unit 71, the second transfer unit 73, and the third transfer unit 75 are implemented, for example, by driving a cup grasping hand by a two-dimensional or three-dimensional driving mechanism, grasping a reaction cup by the cup grasping hand, and then driving the cup grasping hand to move by the two-dimensional or three-dimensional driving mechanism, thereby implementing transfer of the reaction cup to a corresponding position, which will not be described below in a manner of implementing the transfer unit by the cup grasping hand.

Referring to fig. 12(a), each of the first transfer member 71, the second transfer member 73, and the third transfer member 75 includes a cup grasping hand 79 and a driving member for driving the cup grasping hand 79 to move. In some embodiments, the cup gripping hand 79 is used for holding the reaction cup, for example, fig. 13 is a schematic structural view of the cup gripping hand 79. The opening and closing of the cup grasping hand 79 can be realized by a driving mechanism and a spring together, the opening of the cup grasping hand 79 can be driven by the driving mechanism to open, when the driving mechanism is not driven, the cup grasping hand 79 automatically closes and clamps a clamped object such as a reaction cup through the spring, and in some examples, a circle of bulges which are matched with the clamping of the cup grasping hand can be arranged on the reaction cup.

The transfer elements and their function will be explained below.

The first transfer unit 71 is used to transfer the cuvette after the sample application to the first buffer position 77. In some embodiments, the first transferring member 71 moves linearly in a first direction, for example, the Y direction in the figure, and transfers the reaction cuvette with the sample loaded thereon to the first buffer for indexing 77. Because the first transfer component 71 moves along a straight line to move the reaction cups, the volume of the sample analysis device occupied by the reaction cups in the transfer process is relatively reduced, and the miniaturization design of the sample analysis device is facilitated.

Referring to fig. 14, in some embodiments, the sample analysis device can further include a sample loading position 10a, a pre-dilution position 10b, a first cup throwing position 10c, and a second cup throwing position 10 d. In some embodiments, the first transfer component 71 can move along a first direction, e.g., Y direction in the figure, between the sample loading position 10a, the pre-dilution position 10b, the first cup throwing position 10c and the first buffer indexing position 77. The sample addition site 10a may be a predetermined position to which the empty cuvette is loaded by the cuvette loading unit 10 as mentioned above, and in general, the sample dispensing unit 30 sucks a sample from the sample addition site and discharges the sample into the cuvette located at the sample addition site 10a to complete sample addition. In some cases, the sample needs to be pre-diluted, and therefore in this case, the first transferring member 71 first transfers the empty cuvette at the loading position 10a to the pre-dilution position 10b, the sample dispensing member 30 sucks the sample from the sample sucking position and discharges the sample into the cuvette at the pre-dilution position 10b, and then the sample in the cuvette at the pre-dilution position 10b is diluted; in this process, the cuvette loading unit 10 loads a new empty cuvette to the sample application site 10a, and then the sample dispensing unit 30 sucks the pre-diluted sample from the cuvette in the pre-dilution site 10b and discharges the pre-diluted sample to the sample application site 10a, thereby completing sample application; the first transfer unit 71 transfers the cuvettes at the pre-dilution position 10b to the cup-throwing position 10c for cup-throwing.

As described above, in some embodiments, the first transfer member 71 only needs to move in the first direction, and therefore, the driving member of the first transfer member 71 may be a two-dimensional driving member for driving the cup gripping hand 79 of the first transfer member 71 to move in the first direction and the vertical direction, wherein the first direction may be the Y direction in the figure, and the vertical direction is the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure. Referring to fig. 12(b), in some embodiments, the first transfer unit 71 includes a first direction guide 71a, a first direction driving unit 71b, a vertical direction guide 71c, and a vertical direction driving unit 71 d; the cup grasping hand 79 provided with the first transfer member 71 is slid on the vertical direction guide 71c, and by the driving of the vertical direction guide 71c, the cup grasping hand 79 is made movable in the vertical direction along the vertical direction guide 71 c; with the structure in which the vertical direction guide 71c is slidably provided on the first direction guide 71a, and the vertical direction guide 71c is movable in the first direction along the first direction guide 71a by the driving of the first direction driving member 71b, so that the cup grasping hand 79 of the first transfer member 71 is also moved in the first direction, the cup grasping hand 79 of the first transfer member 71 can be moved in both the first direction and the vertical direction. In particular embodiments, the first direction guide 71a may comprise a first rail; the first direction driving part 71b may include a first stepping motor, a first driven wheel, and a first synchronous belt, the first synchronous belt is sleeved between the first stepping motor and the first driven wheel, and the vertical direction guide 71c may be fixedly connected with the first synchronous belt; similarly, the vertical-direction guide 71c may include a vertical guide rail; the vertical direction driving part 71d may include a lifting stepping motor and a vertical screw, and a mounting plate may be threadedly mounted on the vertical screw for mounting the cup grasping hand 79 of the first transfer part 71. In some embodiments, the first transfer member 71 may further include a first bracket 71f for mounting the first direction guide 71 a.

In some embodiments, the cup grasping hand 79 of the first transferring member 71 grasps, for example, a reaction cup at the sample adding position 10a along a second direction, for example, the X direction in the figure, so that the first transferring member 71 does not affect the sample dispensing member 30 to discharge a sample into the reaction cup when grasping the reaction cup, and thus the sample dispensing member 30 can complete sample adding of the reaction cup while grasping the reaction cup by the first transferring member 71, thereby saving time and improving measurement speed and efficiency.

The above are some descriptions of the first transfer member 71.

The second transfer unit 73 is used to transfer the cuvette in the index 77 in the first buffer to the reaction unit 51, and to transfer the cuvette in the reaction unit 51 after completion of the incubation of the sample to the index 78 in the second buffer. In some embodiments, second transfer component 73 transfers the cuvettes indexed 77 in the first buffer to reaction component 51 and transfers the cuvettes incubated with the sample in reaction component 51 to second buffer by linear movement in a first direction, e.g., the direction of the figure, and a second direction, e.g., the direction X of the figure. Because the second transfer component 73 moves along the straight line to move the reaction cups, the volume of the sample analysis device occupied by the reaction cups in the conveying process is relatively reduced, and the miniaturization design of the sample analysis device is facilitated.

In a specific transfer process, the second transfer unit 73 may first transfer the cuvette in the index 77 in the first buffer to the index 51a during incubation, the reagent dispensing unit 60 may aspirate the reagent and discharge the reagent into the cuvette in the index 51a during incubation, and the second transfer unit 73 may then transfer the cuvette in the index 51a during incubation to the reaction unit 51.

In some embodiments, the second transfer member 73 can move in a first direction (e.g., Y direction in the figure), a second direction (e.g., X direction in the figure), and a vertical direction (e.g., perpendicular to the drawing sheet), so the driving member of the second transfer member 73 can be a three-dimensional driving member for driving the cup gripping hand 79 of the second transfer member 73 to move in the first direction, the second direction, and the vertical direction. Referring to fig. 12(c), in some embodiments, the second transfer part 73 includes a first direction guide 73a, a first direction driving part 73b, a second direction guide 73c, a second direction driving part 73d, a vertical direction guide 73e, and a vertical direction driving part 73 f; the cup grasping hand 79 of the second transfer member 73 is slidably provided on the vertical direction guide 73e, and the cup grasping hand 79 is allowed to move in the vertical direction along the vertical direction guide 73e by the driving of the vertical direction guide 73 f; a vertical direction guide 73e is slidably disposed on the second direction guide 73c, and driven by the second direction driving part 73d, the vertical direction guide 73e can move in the second direction along the second direction guide 73c, so as to drive the cup grasping hand 79 of the second transfer part 73 to move in the second direction; the first direction guide 73a is provided with a second direction guide 73c in a sliding manner, and the second direction guide 73c can move in the first direction along the first direction guide 73a by driving of the first direction driving part 73b, so that the second direction guide 73c is driven to move in the first direction, the vertical direction guide 73e on the second direction guide 73c can be driven to move in the first direction, and the cup grabbing hand 79 of the second transfer part 73 on the vertical direction guide 73e can be driven to move in the first direction; with this configuration, the cup gripping hand 79 of the second transfer member 73 can be moved in three dimensions of the first direction, the second direction, and the vertical direction. In particular embodiments, the first direction guide 73a may comprise a first rail; the first direction driving part 73b may include a first stepping motor, a first driven wheel, and a first synchronous belt, the first synchronous belt is sleeved between the first stepping motor and the first driven wheel, and the second direction guide 73c may be fixedly connected with the first synchronous belt; similarly, the second direction guide 73c may include a second guide rail; the second direction driving part 73d may include a second stepping motor, a second driven wheel, and a second synchronous belt, the second synchronous belt is sleeved between the second stepping motor and the second driven wheel, and the vertical direction guide 73e may be fixedly connected to the second synchronous belt; similarly, the vertical-direction guide 73e may include a vertical guide rail; the vertical driving component 73f may include a lifting stepping motor and a vertical screw, and a mounting plate may be screwed on the vertical screw for mounting the cup-grasping hand 79 of the second transfer component 73. In some embodiments, the second transfer component 73 may further include a second bracket 73g for mounting the first direction guide 73 a.

In some embodiments, the cup grasping hand 79 of the second transfer component 73 grasps the reaction cup along a second direction, for example, the X direction in the figure, so that the second transfer component 71 does not affect the reagent dispensing component 60, for example, the first reagent dispensing component, to add the reagent to the reaction cup when grasping the reaction cup, thereby enabling the reagent dispensing component 60 to complete reagent adding to the reaction cup while grasping the reaction cup by the second transfer component 73, saving time and improving measurement speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, the direction in which the second transfer part 73 grips the cuvette and the direction in which the first group of reagent needles moves linearly are greater than 90 degrees, so that the action of the second transfer part 73 gripping the cuvette and the action of adding the reagent to the first group of reagent needles are less likely to conflict with each other, and the two actions can be performed independently and in parallel reasonably.

In some embodiments, the second transfer component 73 transfers the cuvette from the incubation position 51a to the reaction component 51, and also mixes the sample in the cuvette. For example, after the second transfer unit 73 transfers the cuvette after the sample addition from the first buffer to the index 77 and places the cuvette in the index 51a during incubation, the reagent dispensing unit 60 sequentially adds a reagent such as the first reagent to the cuvette at the index 51a during incubation, and the second transfer unit 73 picks up the cuvette after the reagent addition, mixes the cuvette and transfers the cuvette to the reaction unit 51; specifically, the second transfer component 73 can drive the cup grasping hand 79 to rapidly shake through the driving component 71b to achieve uniform mixing of the sample in the reaction cup grasped by the cup grasping hand 79. The second transfer part 73 has a blending function, so that the sample analysis device does not need to be provided with an independent blending mechanism, the structure of the sample analysis device is more compact, and the cost is reduced; in addition, the second transfer component 73 is used for uniformly mixing when grabbing the reaction cups for transfer, so that time is saved, and the reaction cups do not need to be specially dispatched to a corresponding uniformly mixing mechanism for uniformly mixing.

The above are some descriptions of the second transfer member 73. The second transfer part 73 can and realizes transfer of cuvettes between the first buffer indexing 77, the incubation indexing 51a, the reaction part 51 and the second buffer indexing 78 by linear movement in the first direction and the second direction.

The third transfer unit 75 is used to transfer the cuvette transferred 78 in the second buffer to the measurement unit 52. In some embodiments, the third transfer component 75 transports the cuvettes indexed 78 in the second buffer to the assay component 52 by linear motion in a first direction, e.g., the direction of the figure, and a second direction, e.g., the direction X of the figure. Because the third transfer member 75 moves linearly to move the cuvette, the volume of the sample analyzer occupied by the cuvette during transportation is relatively reduced, which is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the sample analyzer.

In a specific transfer process, the third transfer unit 75 may first transfer the cuvette in the second buffer indexing position 78 to the measurement indexing position 52a, the reagent dispensing unit 60 may aspirate the reagent and discharge the reagent into the cuvette in the measurement indexing position 52a, and the third transfer unit 75 may transfer the cuvette in the measurement indexing position 75a to the measurement unit 52. In some embodiments, when the third transfer unit 75 transfers the cuvette from the second buffer index 78 to the assay index 52a, the third transfer unit 75 may not place the cuvette in the assay index 52a, but still grasp the cuvette, in which case the reagent dispensing unit 60 aspirates and dispenses the reagent to the cuvette, so that the time for the cuvette to be indexed 78 from the second buffer into the assay unit 52 is reduced, thereby improving the testing speed.

In some embodiments, the third transferring member 75 may move in a first direction (e.g., Y direction in the figure), a second direction (e.g., X direction in the figure), and a vertical direction (e.g., perpendicular to the drawing sheet), so that the driving member of the third transferring member 75 may be a three-dimensional driving member for driving the cup gripping hand 79 of the third transferring member 75 to move in the first direction, the second direction, and the vertical direction. Referring to fig. 12(d), in some embodiments, the third transfer component 75 includes a first direction guide 75a, a first direction driving component 75b, a second direction guide 75c, a second direction driving component 75d, a vertical direction guide 75e, and a vertical direction driving component 75 f; the cup grasping hand 79 of the third transfer member 75 is slidably provided on the vertical direction guide 75e, and the cup grasping hand 79 is allowed to move in the vertical direction along the vertical direction guide 75e by the driving of the vertical direction guide 75 f; a vertical direction guide 75e is slidably disposed on the second direction guide 75c, and driven by the second direction driving part 75d, the vertical direction guide 75e can move in the second direction along the second direction guide 75c, so as to drive the cup grasping hand 79 of the third transfer part 75 to move in the second direction; the first direction guide 75a is slidably provided with a second direction guide 75c, and the second direction guide 75c can move in the first direction along the first direction guide 75a by driving of the first direction driving part 75b, so as to drive the second direction guide 75c to move in the first direction, and thus drive the vertical direction guide 75e on the second direction guide 75c to move in the first direction, and thus drive the cup grabbing hand 79 of the third transfer part 75 on the vertical direction guide 75e to move in the first direction; with this configuration, the cup gripping hand 79 of the third transfer member 75 can be moved in three dimensions of the first direction, the second direction, and the vertical direction. In particular embodiments, the first direction guide 75a may comprise a first rail; the first direction driving part 75b may include a first stepping motor, a first driven wheel, and a first synchronous belt sleeved between the first stepping motor and the first driven wheel, and the second direction guide 75c may be fixedly connected to the first synchronous belt; similarly, the second direction guide 75c may include a second guide rail; the second direction driving part 75d may include a second stepping motor, a second driven wheel, and a second synchronous belt, the second synchronous belt is sleeved between the second stepping motor and the second driven wheel, and the vertical direction guide 75e may be fixedly connected to the second synchronous belt; similarly, the vertical direction guide 75e may include a vertical guide rail; the vertical direction driving part 75f may include a lifting stepping motor and a vertical screw, and a mounting plate may be threadedly mounted on the vertical screw for mounting the cup gripping hand 79 of the third transfer part 75. In some embodiments, the third transfer component 75 may further include a second bracket 75g for mounting the first direction guide 75 a.

In some embodiments, the cup grasping hand 79 of the third transferring member 75 grasps the cuvette in a first direction, for example, a Y direction in the figure, so that the reagent dispensing member 60, for example, the second reagent dispensing member, does not affect the reagent dispensing member 60 to add the reagent to the cuvette while the third transferring member 75 grasps the cuvette during the whole reagent adding process, thereby enabling the reagent dispensing member 60 to complete reagent adding to the cuvette while the third transferring member 75 grasps the cuvette, saving time and improving measuring speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, the direction in which the third transferring member 75 grips the cuvettes and the direction in which the second group of reagent needles moves linearly are greater than 90 degrees, so that the action of the third transferring member 75 gripping the cuvettes and the action of the second group of reagent needles adding are less likely to conflict with each other, and the third transferring member 75 gripping the cuvettes and the second group of reagent needles adding can perform corresponding actions very reasonably independently and in parallel.

In some embodiments, the third transfer member 75 mixes the sample in the cuvette during the transfer from the assay transfer position 52a to the assay member 52. For example, when the third transfer component 75 transfers a cuvette from the second buffer 78 to the assay index 52a — in some embodiments, the third transfer component 75 indexes the cuvette 52a during transfer without dropping the cuvette, while still grasping the cuvette; the reagent dispensing unit 60 then adds a reagent such as a second reagent to the cuvette at the transfer position 52a, and the third transfer unit 75 then mixes the sample in the grasped cuvette and transfers the sample to the measuring unit 52; specifically, the third transfer component 75 can drive the cup grasping hand 79 to rapidly shake through the driving component 71b to achieve uniform mixing of the sample in the reaction cup grasped by the cup grasping hand 79. The third transfer part 75 has a blending function, so that the sample analysis device does not need to be provided with an independent blending mechanism, the structure of the sample analysis device is more compact, and the cost is reduced; in addition, the third transfer unit 75 transfers the cuvettes to the original transfer path, for example, by indexing the cuvette 52a during the measurement, thereby saving time and eliminating the need to specially adjust the cuvette to a corresponding mixing mechanism for mixing.

In some examples, the third transferring component 75 may further grab a reaction cup that has been measured in the measuring component 52 after the reaction cup is dispatched to the measuring component 52, and then transfer the reaction cup to the second cup throwing position 10d for cup throwing, and in some embodiments, the second cup throwing position 10d may be disposed near the second buffer indexing position 78 or between the measuring component 52 and the second buffer indexing position 78, so that the third transferring component 75 may incidentally perform cup throwing on the reaction cup that has been measured in the measuring component 52 when indexing 78 from the measuring component 52 to the second buffer to transfer the reaction cup on the second buffer indexing position 78, thereby saving time and improving testing efficiency.

The above are some descriptions of the third transfer component 75. The third transfer unit 75 can and realizes transfer of cuvettes between the second buffer indexing position 78, the assay transfer position 52a, the assay unit 52 and even the second cup throwing position 10d by linear motion in the first direction and the second direction.

The above is a description of the scheduling component 70 according to some embodiments of the present invention, and the present application completes the rapid transportation of the cuvettes through three transportation components, namely, the first transportation component 71, the second transportation component 73, and the third transportation component 75, and the scheduling path of the cuvettes is simple and direct, which is beneficial to speed up of the sample analysis device; the transition between these three transfer units is accomplished in coordination with two cache indexes, namely first cache index 77 and second cache index 78, and is also simple and compact in structure.

The above is a sample analysis device disclosed in some embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated that the disclosed sample analysis device may also include other structures, such as a washing component 80 and/or a processor 90, as described in more detail below in conjunction with fig. 15 and 16.

The cleaning part 80 is used to clean the reagent needle, for example, the first reagent needle and the second reagent needle, etc. Specifically, the washing member 80 may include a plurality of washing cells 81, and the number of the washing cells 81 may be the same as the number of the reagent needles, for example, when the sample analysis apparatus includes a first reagent dispensing member and a second reagent dispensing member each including two reagent needles, the number of the washing cells may be four. A cleaning tank may be provided on a trajectory of the linear motion of each reagent needle for cleaning the reagent needle. Referring to fig. 16, the cleaning unit 80 is used to clean the reagent needle, and specifically, may be used to clean the inner wall and the outer wall of the reagent needle with a cleaning solution. The cleaning part 80 includes a cleaning tank, a pipeline, an on-off valve provided on the pipeline, and the like in the figure. When the switch valve SV01 is opened, the cleaning liquid can reach the tail end of the reagent needle through the pipeline, flow through the inner wall of the reagent needle and flow out from the front end of the reagent needle, and the cleaning liquid cleans the inner wall of the reagent needle. The cleaning chamber is also connected with a pipeline which is opened and closed through an on-off valve SV02, when the on-off valve SV02 is opened, cleaning liquid can reach the cleaning chamber through the pipeline and is sprayed out from the inner wall of the cleaning chamber to the outer wall of the reagent needle, and the cleaning of the outer wall of the reagent needle by the cleaning liquid is completed. The lower end of the cleaning chamber is connected with a waste liquid suction valve SV03 through a pipeline, and when the waste liquid suction valve SV03 is opened, the cleaned waste liquid flows out through the lower end of the cleaning chamber. When the reagent needle is cleaned, the reagent needle is arranged above the cleaning chamber, and then the reagent needle moves downwards to stretch a part of the reagent needle (at least including the part of the needle body which is contacted with the liquid level of the reagent when the reagent is sucked) into the cleaning chamber, so that the cleaning liquid sprayed out of the cleaning chamber can clean the part of the needle body which is contacted with the liquid level of the reagent needle, and the cleaning of the reagent needle is finished. Each cleaning reservoir 81 may share the same set of fluid paths to provide cleaning fluid for cleaning the reagent needles.

Some specific work flows of the sample analyzer will be described below.

The sample analysis device in some embodiments may be operated as such.

The cuvette loader 10 supplies and carries empty cuvettes. For example, the cuvette holding member 10 can hold an empty cuvette at a predetermined position, and the predetermined position can be used as a sample addition position. The sample section 20, such as the sample introduction section 21, dispatches the sample rack carrying the sample to the aspiration position. The sample dispensing unit 30 suctions a sample from the sample suction position and dispenses the sample into a cuvette, and for example, the sample dispensing unit suctions the sample from the sample suction position and discharges the sample into a cuvette located at the sample application position to complete sample application.

The drive means of the reagent carrying part 60 drives the reagent carrying part 60 to rotate so that the reagent container carrying the first reagent is located at the first reagent uptake location. At least one of the two reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 sucks the first reagent in the reagent container through the first reagent sucking site, and moves linearly between the first reagent sucking site and the index of the reagent in the reaction unit 51 to dispense the first reagent into the reaction cup indexed by the reagent in the reaction unit 51. The translocation in the reagent of the reaction part 51 may be the translocation in incubation 51a mentioned herein. In some embodiments, the two first reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 are linearly moved between the first reagent aspirating positions and the indexing in-reagent positions of the reaction unit 51 independently of each other. Thus, the two first reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 can independently, for example, alternately perform the operation of adding the first reagent to the cuvette positioned at the reagent adding position of the reaction unit 51, thereby improving the testing speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, each of the first reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 sequentially performs a plurality of preset actions to complete the first reagent adding operation, and at least one of the preset actions between every two first reagent needles 61 does not overlap in time sequence. In this way, the two reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing component 60 can avoid occupying as little common resources as possible, so that the number of components providing corresponding common resources can be reduced, and the sample analysis apparatus can be more compact; in addition, the timing of the operations of the two first reagent needles 61 is arranged in such a manner that the mutual influence between them is avoided as much as possible, which is advantageous for speeding up the sample analyzer.

The scheduling unit 70 schedules the cuvette into which the first reagent has been dispensed to the reaction unit 51 for incubation, and schedules the cuvette after incubation to the reagent to be added to the measurement unit 52 for indexing. The reagent-mediated translocation of the assay part 52 may be the assay-mediated translocation 52a mentioned herein.

The reagent carrying member 40 rotates so that the reagent container carrying the second reagent is positioned at the second reagent aspirating position. At least one of the two reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 sucks the second reagent in the reagent container through the second reagent sucking site, and performs linear motion between the second reagent sucking site and the index of the measuring unit, thereby dispensing the second reagent into the cuvette indexed by the index of the measuring unit 52. In some embodiments, the two second reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 are linearly moved independently of each other between the second aspirating reagent position and the indexing of the reagent in the measurement unit 52. Thus, the two second reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 can independently, for example, alternately perform the operation of adding the second reagent to the cuvette in the measuring unit 52 at the index during reagent addition, thereby improving the test speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, each of the second reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 sequentially performs a plurality of preset actions to complete the second reagent adding operation, and at least one of the preset actions between every two second reagent needles 61 does not overlap in time sequence. In this way, the two reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing component 60 can avoid occupying as little common resources as possible, so that the number of components providing corresponding common resources can be reduced, and the sample analysis apparatus can be more compact; in addition, the action time sequence of the two second reagent needles is arranged, and the mutual influence between the two second reagent needles is avoided to the greatest extent, which is favorable for the speed increase of the sample analysis device.

The scheduling unit 70 schedules the cuvette into which the second reagent has been dispensed to the measuring unit 52 for item detection, and schedules the cuvette after detection to a disposal/recovery device, such as the second cup-throwing position mentioned herein.

The invention also discloses a sample analysis method in some embodiments. Referring to fig. 17, in some embodiments, the sample analysis method includes the following steps:

step 100, a reaction cup loading step, controls a reaction cup loading part to supply and carry an empty reaction cup. For example, the cuvette loader may load an empty cuvette into a predetermined position, which may be used as a sample application site.

Step 110, a sample feeding step, controls a sample part, such as a sample introduction part, to dispatch the sample rack carrying the sample to a sample sucking position.

Step 120, i.e., a sample dispensing step, controls the sample dispensing unit to aspirate a sample from the sample aspirating position and dispense the aspirated sample into the reaction cup. For example, the sample dispensing member sucks a sample from the sample suction position and discharges the sample to a cuvette located at the sample application position to complete sample application.

The sample application is completed through the above steps 100 to 120.

Step 130, namely a first reagent dispensing step, of controlling a driving component of a reagent carrying component to drive the reagent carrying component to rotate so that a reagent container carrying a first reagent is positioned at a first reagent sucking position; and controlling at least one of the two reagent needles on the first reagent dispensing unit to suck the first reagent in the reagent container through the first reagent sucking site and to perform linear motion between the first reagent sucking site and the index in the reagent in the reaction unit, so as to dispense the first reagent to the reaction cup indexed in the reagent in the reaction unit. Translocation in the reagent of the reaction part in step 130 may be translocation in incubation as referred to herein.

In some embodiments, step 130 controls the two first reagent needles of the first reagent dispensing component to move linearly between the first reagent aspirating positions and the indexing in the reagent of the reaction component independently of each other. Thus, the two first reagent needles of the first reagent dispensing unit can independently, for example, alternately perform the operation of adding the first reagent to the cuvette indexed in the reagent adding process of the reaction unit, thereby improving the testing speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, the step 130 controls each first reagent needle in the first reagent dispensing component to sequentially perform a plurality of preset actions to complete the first reagent adding operation, and at least one corresponding preset action in the plurality of preset actions between every two first reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence. In this way, the two reagent needles of the first reagent dispensing component can avoid occupying less common resources as much as possible, so that the number of components providing corresponding common resources can be reduced, and the sample analysis device can be more compact; in addition, the action time sequence of the two first reagent needles is arranged, and the mutual influence between the two first reagent needles is avoided to the greatest extent, which is favorable for the speed increase of the sample analysis device. It should be noted that the preset actions are different according to different test requirements, and in an embodiment, the preset actions include the following 4 actions: a reagent sucking action, a heating action, a reagent discharging action and a cleaning action. At least one of the 4 actions between every two first reagent needles is not overlapped in time sequence.

The addition of the first reagent to the reaction cuvette to which the sample is added is completed, via step 130.

Step 140, an incubation step, in which the control scheduling unit schedules the reaction cuvette into which the first reagent is dispensed to the reaction unit for incubation, and schedules the reaction cuvette into which the measurement unit is filled for transposition. In step 140, the indexing in the reagent of the assay part may be the indexing in the assay mentioned herein.

A step 150 of controlling the reagent carrying member to rotate so that the reagent container carrying the second reagent is positioned at the second reagent aspirating position, namely a second reagent dispensing step; and controlling at least one of the two reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit to aspirate the second reagent in the reagent container through the second reagent aspiration site, and to perform linear motion between the second reagent aspiration site and the index of the measuring unit, thereby dispensing the second reagent into the cuvette indexed by the reagent of the measuring unit.

In some embodiments, step 150 controls the two second reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit to move linearly between the second aspirating reagent site and the indexing in the reagent of the measurement unit independently of each other. Thus, the two second reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit can independently, for example, alternately perform the operation of adding the second reagent to the cuvette indexed during reagent addition of the measurement unit, thereby improving the test speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, the step 150 controls each second reagent needle in the second reagent dispensing component to sequentially perform a plurality of preset actions to complete the second reagent adding operation, and at least one corresponding preset action among the plurality of preset actions between every two second reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence. In this way, the two reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing component can avoid occupying less common resources as much as possible, so that the number of components providing corresponding common resources can be reduced, and the sample analysis device can be more compact; in addition, the action time sequence of the two second reagent needles is arranged, and the mutual influence between the two second reagent needles is avoided to the greatest extent, which is favorable for the speed increase of the sample analysis device. It should be noted that the preset actions are different according to different test requirements, and in an embodiment, the preset actions include the following 4 actions: a reagent sucking action, a heating action, a reagent discharging action and a cleaning action. At least one of the 4 actions between every two second reagent needles is not overlapped in time sequence.

The addition of the second reagent to the reaction cuvette carrying the incubated reagent is completed by step 150.

Step 160, i.e. the measurement and recovery step, controls the scheduling component to schedule the cuvette that has completed the second reagent dispensing to the measurement component for item detection, and to schedule the cuvette after completion of detection to a discard recovery device — the discard recovery device may have, for example, the second cup throwing position mentioned herein.

The above is an overall flow of the operation of the sample analyzer.

The workflow arrangement of the reagent dispensing unit 60 imposes an important constraint on the detection speed, and each reagent needle needs to perform operations such as sample sucking, heating, sample discharging, and cleaning. The reagent support member 40 is used to ensure the activity of the reagent and is typically at a relatively low temperature, for example, below 16 ℃. After the reagent is taken out from the reagent bearing member 40, the heating to about 37 ℃ in the reagent needle is completed in a short time to ensure the reaction process is complete. In general, the heating time of the heating member of the reagent needle for the reagent sucked by the reagent needle needs 4 to 10 seconds. In the detection process of different detection items, the reagent needle needs to suck different types of reagents, for example, in the detection of four items (PT/APTT/TT/FIB) of the blood coagulation routine, different second reagents, i.e., trigger reagents, need to be sucked from the reagent bearing part 40 in turn to be added into the reaction cup for reaction. Therefore, when the same reagent needle is used for sucking different project reagents, common cleaning or forced cleaning is needed. In order to ensure the cleaning effect and avoid the influence of carrying pollution among reagents on the accuracy of a detection result, the cleaning time generally needs 2-8 seconds. The sample sucking and discharging actions generally need 1.5-3 s (including the time for horizontal movement to be in place). Therefore, for example, a single duty cycle of the sample analyzer is 8 seconds, and it is difficult to complete all the operations such as the sample suction, heating, sample discharge, and cleaning in one duty cycle, and the overall detection speed is reduced.

Some embodiments of the present invention are designed to determine how to perform reagent adding operation, i.e., how to arrange the operation timing of each reagent needle, in a sample analyzer, and are described in detail below.

In some embodiments, the processor 90 is configured to control each reagent needle in the same group to perform a plurality of preset actions in sequence, such as a reagent sucking action, a reagent heating action in the reagent needle, a reagent discharging action, and a reagent needle cleaning action, to complete a reagent adding operation, and at least one corresponding preset action in the plurality of preset actions between every two reagent needles in the same group is not overlapped in time sequence. For example, the first group of reagent needles in the first reagent dispensing unit 60 includes two first reagent needles, at least one corresponding preset action between the two first reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence, and for example, the second group of reagent needles in the second reagent dispensing unit 60 includes two second reagent needles, at least one corresponding preset action between the two second reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence. In some embodiments, a ping-pong mode may be set for the sample analysis apparatus, and when the ping-pong mode is enabled, the processor 90 executes the ping-pong mode, so that at least one corresponding action between two reagent needles in each group of reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence, for example, at least one corresponding action in a reagent sucking action, a reagent heating action, a reagent discharging action, and a reagent needle cleaning action of two reagent needles in the same group of reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence; the at least one corresponding action comprises a reagent aspirating action and/or a reagent needle rinsing action. In some other embodiments, the processor controls each reagent to perform a plurality of preset actions in sequence to complete a reagent adding operation, and at least one preset action among the plurality of preset actions between every two reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence. If the first reagent needle includes the first reagent needle a1, the first reagent needle a2, and the second reagent needle includes the second reagent needle b1 and the second reagent needle b 2. When the processor controls each of the first, second, and second reagent needles a1, a2, a1, and a2 to perform a plurality of preset actions, at least one corresponding preset action does not overlap in time sequence. The processor is used for carrying out time sequence arrangement on all the reagent needles in the sample analysis device, so that mutual interference of actions among the reagent needles is avoided, resources are occupied, shared resources are effectively utilized, and the sample test efficiency of the sample analysis device is improved.

In some embodiments, the preset actions may include a first type of preset action and a second type of preset action. A first type of preset action is an action that each reagent needle needs to interact with the same component, and generally, the first type of preset action may be some actions that the reagent needle needs to occupy a common resource, such as a reagent sucking action, which needs to occupy a common component of the reagent carrying component 40, such as a reagent needle cleaning action, which needs to occupy a pipeline that provides a cleaning solution for each cleaning pool 81; thus, the first type of preset action comprises at least a reagent aspirating action and a reagent needle washing action. The second type of preset action is an action that each reagent does not need to interact with the same component, and generally, the second type of preset action may be some actions that the reagent needle does not need to occupy common resources, such as a reagent heating action that each reagent needle heats the sucked reagent through a respective heating component; thus, the second type of preset action comprises at least a reagent heating action in the reagent needle. In some embodiments, the first type of preset actions corresponding to two reagent needles in the same group do not overlap in time sequence, for example, the reagent sucking actions between two reagent needles in a group do not overlap in time sequence, and the reagent needle cleaning actions do not overlap in time sequence, for example, fig. 18 is an example.

In some embodiments, each corresponding preset action of the plurality of preset actions between two reagent needles within the same group does not overlap in time sequence. For example, fig. 19 is an example. The first group of reagent needles in the first reagent dispensing unit 60 includes two first reagent needles, the reagent aspirating operation between the two first reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence, the reagent heating operation in the reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence, the reagent discharging operation does not overlap in time sequence, and the reagent needle cleaning operation does not overlap in time sequence; for another example, the second group of reagent needles in the second reagent dispensing unit 60 includes two second reagent needles, the reagent aspirating operation between the two second reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence, the reagent heating operation in the reagent needles does not overlap in time sequence, the reagent discharging operation does not overlap in time sequence, and the reagent needle cleaning operation does not overlap in time sequence.

In some embodiments, the time interval between two adjacent and same test items when the sample analyzer completes a fixed test amount is defined as one cycle, and the number of reagent needles of each reagent dispensing unit is equal to the number of cycles occupied by one reagent needle to complete the predetermined actions. For example, if the number of cycles for one reagent needle to perform the above-described predetermined operations (for example, the reagent aspirating operation, the reagent heating operation in the reagent needle, the reagent discharging operation, and the reagent needle cleaning operation) is two, two reagent needles are provided to the reagent dispensing unit, or the number of reagent needles in the same group is two. In another aspect, in some embodiments, the processor 90 controls each reagent needle of the reagent dispensing component to complete the plurality of preset operations (e.g., a reagent sucking operation, a reagent heating operation in the reagent needle, a reagent discharging operation, and a reagent needle cleaning operation) within a preset time, where the preset time is equal to N times the period, and N is equal to the number of reagent needles of the reagent dispensing component. For example, if the number of the reagent needles of each reagent dispensing unit 60 is two, N is equal to two, and each reagent needle needs to complete the predetermined operations (for example, a reagent aspirating operation, a reagent heating operation in the reagent needle, a reagent discharging operation, and a reagent needle cleaning operation) in two cycles. By setting the number of reagent needles of the reagent dispensing unit and the cycle in which the plurality of preset operations are completed in this manner, the sample analyzer can be made to be equivalent to the sample analyzer in that the plurality of preset operations (for example, a reagent aspirating operation, a reagent heating operation in a reagent needle, a reagent discharging operation, and a reagent needle cleaning operation) are completed in one cycle for each reagent needle at the test speed, and the speed at which the sample analyzer outputs the test result can be ensured to be constant. When the time taken by the reagent needle to perform the plurality of preset actions is less than the preset time, in some embodiments, in order to further ensure that the speed of the sample analyzer outputting the detection result is constant, the reagent needle waits, so that the sum of the waiting time and the time taken to complete the plurality of preset actions is equal to the preset time. To be more clearly illustrated, the preset time includes an action time and a waiting time, wherein the action time is used for executing the preset actions (such as a reagent sucking action, a reagent heating action in a reagent needle, a reagent discharging action and a reagent needle cleaning action), and the action time is less than or equal to the preset time. In some embodiments, the waiting time is divided into one or more periods of time and inserted between the plurality of preset actions and/or after the last preset action in time sequence, for example, between the reagent sucking action, the reagent heating action in the reagent needle, the reagent discharging action and the reagent needle cleaning action and/or after the reagent needle cleaning action in time sequence; for example, fig. 20 is an example. In some embodiments, the waiting time is divided into one or more periods, and at least one period in the time sequence is used as an additional action time for executing the preset action. In this way, the preset action can have extra time to continue to be executed, and the execution time of the preset action is prolonged under the constraint of the preset time, so that the reagent needle can have more stable performance, for example, the execution time of the reagent sucking action and the reagent discharging action is prolonged, the reagent needle can suck the reagent and discharge the reagent more stably, abnormal conditions such as air suction or collision with a reaction cup are not easy to cause, and for example, the execution time of the reagent heating action in the reagent needle is prolonged, so that the reagent in the reagent can be fully preheated; for another example, the execution time of the reagent needle cleaning action is prolonged, so that the reagent needle can be cleaned more sufficiently, cross contamination to the next test item is not easily caused, and the accuracy of the test result is improved. Thus, in some embodiments, the sample analysis device may include a full heating mode which, when enabled, is executed by the processor 90 such that the wait time is divided into one or more periods and at least one of the periods in the sequence is taken as an additional action time for performing a reagent heating action in the reagent needle. For example, fig. 21 is an example.

It should be noted that, in fig. 18 to 21, for convenience of drawing, the heating operation in the drawings refers to the reagent heating operation in the reagent needle herein, and the washing operation refers to the reagent needle washing operation herein; the two reagent needles illustrated in fig. 18 to 21 refer to two reagent needles within the same group, for example, two first reagent needles in the first group of reagent needles, or two second reagent needles in the second group of reagent needles.

The invention designs the action time sequence of the reagent needle, introduces the reagent dispensing component with, for example, two reagent needles arranged in parallel, and the double reagent needles running independently and linearly complete the whole work flow of reagent sucking, preheating, reagent discharging and cleaning through ping-pong scheduling, thereby providing double resources, ensuring the speed to be improved, and realizing the aim of no speed reduction of a plurality of detection items.

The following is a description of how the cuvettes are scheduled by the scheduling unit 70. In some embodiments, the present invention provides for transfer of cuvettes by three transfer units and two in-buffer indexing.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a method of a sample analyzer is further disclosed, referring to fig. 22, the method may include the following steps:

and 200, controlling the first transfer component to transfer the reaction cups with finished sample adding to the first buffer for transposition. In some embodiments, step 200 controls the first transferring member to move linearly in the first direction, and the reaction cups with completed samples are transferred to the first buffer for indexing.

And step 210, controlling the second transfer part to transfer the reaction cups indexed in the first cache to the incubation position. The incubation position here may be a position where the reaction cup is placed in the reaction part 51. In some embodiments, step 210 controls the second transferring component to transport the reaction cups indexed in the first buffer to the incubation position by the linear motion along the first direction and the linear motion along the second direction.

And step 220, controlling the second transfer component to transfer the reaction cups with the samples incubated in the incubation positions to the second buffer for transposition.

In some embodiments, step 220 controls the second transferring component to transfer the reaction cups with the completed incubation of the sample in the incubation position to the second buffer for indexing by the linear motion along the first direction and the linear motion along the second direction. In some specific embodiments, step 220 controls the second transferring component to transfer the cuvette indexed in the first buffer to the incubation position for adding the reagent, and then transfer the cuvette indexed in the incubation position to the incubation position.

In some embodiments, step 220 controls the second transfer component to mix the sample in the reaction cup during the process of transferring the reaction cup from the incubation transfer position to the incubation position. When the second transfer component transfers the reaction cups, the second transfer component is also controlled to uniformly mix the samples in the reaction cups, so that the time is saved, and the reaction cups do not need to be specially dispatched to a corresponding mixing mechanism to be uniformly mixed.

And step 230, controlling the third transfer component to transfer the reaction cups indexed in the second cache to the testing position.

In some embodiments, step 230 controls the third transfer unit to transport the indexed cuvettes in the second buffer to the testing position by linear motion in the first direction and linear motion in the second direction. In some embodiments, step 230 controls the second transfer unit to transfer the cuvette indexed in the second buffer to the assay transfer position for adding reagent, and then transfer the cuvette with reagent added at the assay transfer position to the assay position.

In some specific embodiments, step 230 controls the third transfer component to mix the sample in the cuvette during the transferring of the cuvette from the second buffer to the measuring position. When the third transfer component transfers the reaction cups, the third transfer component is also controlled to uniformly mix the samples in the reaction cups, so that the time is saved, and the reaction cups do not need to be specially dispatched to a corresponding uniformly mixing mechanism to be uniformly mixed.

The three transfer components move along the straight line to realize the rapid transfer of the reaction cups, and the transposition is realized in the two buffers, so that the scheduling path of the reaction cups is simple and direct, and the acceleration of the sample analysis device is facilitated.

Finally, the present invention will be described with reference to a specific test item, taking as an example a case where the sample analyzer includes a first reagent dispensing unit 60 having two first reagent needles 61, a second reagent dispensing unit 60 having two second reagent needles 61, a reaction unit 51, and a measurement unit 52.

The reaction part 51 has a certain number of cuvette setting positions, and can heat the sample in the cuvette set in the cuvette setting position to incubate the sample. Depending on the test item, some test items may require the addition of a first reagent, such as a mixing reagent. For example, when the measurement item APTT based on the coagulation method is to be tested, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 suctions the first reagent, for example, a mixed reagent, from the reagent bearing unit 40 and discharges the suctioned first reagent into the cuvette at the incubation position 51a of the reaction unit 51, thereby completing the mixing of the first reagent and the sample. After the addition of the mixed reagent is completed, the second transfer part 73 may mix the reaction solution in the cuvette, and then the cuvette is placed in the reaction part 51, and the reaction part 51 incubates the reaction solution or the sample in the cuvette.

The reagent carrying part 40 is typically operated at a relatively low temperature, for example typically below 16 c, to ensure the activity of the reagent. To ensure the blood coagulation reaction process is complete and accurate test results are obtained, the first reagent needs to be heated to about 37 ℃ before being added into the reaction cup and mixed with the sample. In order to increase the test speed of the sample analyzer, it is necessary to complete the heating of the first reagent in a short time, and therefore, both the first reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 have heating means for completing the reagent heating function. In general, the heating time of the reagent needs 4 to 10 seconds, and for a high-speed sample analyzer, the single duty cycle is, for example, 8 seconds, and thus, the heating time of the reagent takes a long time, which greatly affects the improvement of the test speed of the sample analyzer. Therefore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 has two first reagent needles 61, and the two first reagent needles 61 respectively suck the first reagent, for example, the mixed reagent, from the reagent holding unit 40, move to the incubation index 51a through the linear guide fixed on the linear beam, and alternately add the first reagent, for example, the mixed reagent, to the cuvette. The two first reagent needles 61 are arranged in parallel and move independently. Because two independent first reagent needles 61 are provided, the working cycle time of the first reagent dispensing component 60 is doubled, which can be extended to 16 seconds, and the heating component of the reagent needle can sufficiently ensure that the heating component can sufficiently heat the first reagent, so that the temperature of the reagent can be stably reached to 37 ℃.

After the sample in the cuvette has been incubated in the reaction part 51 for a fixed period of time, the cuvette is transferred to the assay part 52 by the cooperation of the second transfer part 73 and the third transfer part 75, and in some embodiments, may pass through the assay middle position 52a on the way for adding a second reagent, such as a trigger reagent.

The third transfer unit 75 transfers the cuvette to the indexing unit 52a for measurement, and the second reagent dispensing unit 60 sucks the second reagent, for example, the trigger reagent from the reagent holding unit 40, moves the cuvette held by the third transfer unit 75 above the cuvette, and adds the second reagent, for example, the trigger reagent to the cuvette, thereby completing the mixing of the second reagent with the sample. After the trigger reagent is added, the third transfer component 75 can uniformly mix the reaction solution in the reaction cup, and then the reaction cup is placed in the determination component 52 for analyzing and detecting the blood coagulation signal, so as to obtain a detection result.

Similarly to the first reagent dispensing unit 60, in order to ensure a sufficient heating time of the second reagent such as the trigger reagent, the second reagent dispensing unit 60 also has two reagent needles, for example, two second reagent needles; the two second reagent needles respectively suck a second reagent such as a trigger reagent from the reagent bearing member 40, move to the transfer position 52a in measurement through the linear guide fixed on the linear beam, and alternately add the second reagent such as the trigger reagent to the reaction cup. The two second reagent needles 61 are arranged in parallel and move independently. Because two independent second reagent needles 61 are provided, the working cycle time of the second reagent dispensing component 60 is doubled, which can be extended to 16 seconds, and the heating component of the reagent needle can sufficiently ensure that the heating component has sufficient heating time for the second reagent, so that the temperature of the reagent can stably reach 37 ℃.

The cuvettes in the measurement unit 52 are irradiated with multi-wavelength light, and the transmitted or scattered light is received by, for example, a photodetector in the measurement unit 52, and a detection signal corresponding to the amount of the received light is output, which may be sent to, for example, the processor 90 for analysis of data, processing, and generation of corresponding display content. In a sample analyzer such as a fully automatic blood coagulation analyzer, sample analysis can be performed by using different methods such as a coagulation method, an immunoturbidimetric method, and a chromogenic substrate method, and depending on the detection method, the measuring unit 52 irradiates the cuvettes with light of different wavelengths, which may range from 405nm to 800nm, for example.

The test-completed cuvette may be transferred by the third transfer unit 75 to a discard recovery unit, which may have, for example, a second cup disposal site as mentioned herein, into which the cuvette is discarded by the third transfer unit 75, completing the disposal process of the cuvette.

Reference is made herein to various exemplary embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope hereof. For example, the various operational steps, as well as the components used to perform the operational steps, may be implemented in differing ways depending upon the particular application or consideration of any number of cost functions associated with operation of the system (e.g., one or more steps may be deleted, modified or incorporated into other steps).

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Additionally, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the principles herein may be reflected in a computer program product on a computer readable storage medium, which is pre-loaded with computer readable program code. Any tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be used, including magnetic storage devices (hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical storage devices (CD-to-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray discs, etc.), flash memory, and/or the like. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including means for implementing the function specified. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified.

While the principles herein have been illustrated in various embodiments, many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, elements, materials, and components particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements may be employed without departing from the principles and scope of the present disclosure. The above modifications and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this document.

The foregoing detailed description has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is to be considered in an illustrative and not a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope thereof. Also, advantages, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to various embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any element(s) to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the term "coupled," and any other variation thereof, as used herein, refers to a physical connection, an electrical connection, a magnetic connection, an optical connection, a communicative connection, a functional connection, and/or any other connection.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined only by the claims.

Claims

A sample analysis apparatus, comprising:

a housing;

a reaction cup loading part for supplying and carrying empty reaction cups;

the sample injection component is used for dispatching the sample rack bearing the sample to a sample suction position;

the sample dispensing component is used for sucking a sample from a sample sucking position and discharging the sample into a reaction cup positioned at a sample adding position;

a reagent carrier arranged in a disc-like configuration having a plurality of positions for carrying first reagent containers of a first reagent and a plurality of positions for carrying second reagent containers of a second reagent; the reagent bearing part comprises a first driving assembly for driving the reagent bearing part to rotate, and the first driving assembly drives the reagent bearing part to rotate and drives the first reagent container to rotate so as to rotate the first reagent container to the first reagent absorption position; the first driving assembly drives the reagent bearing part to rotate and drives the second reagent container to rotate so as to rotate the second reagent container to a second reagent sucking position;

the reaction part is used for bearing the reaction cup and incubating a sample in the reaction cup, and is provided with at least one in-incubation transposition of a position for placing the reaction cup;

the measuring component is used for carrying the reaction cup and detecting a sample in the reaction cup, and is provided with at least one measuring transfer position for placing the position of the reaction cup;

a first reagent dispensing component comprising: the reagent kit comprises a first beam and a first group of reagent needles, wherein the first group of reagent needles at least comprises a plurality of first reagent needles; the plurality of first reagent needles are arranged on the first cross beam and do linear motion along the long axis direction of the first cross beam so as to suck a first reagent from the first reagent sucking position and discharge the first reagent into a reaction cup positioned in transposition during incubation;

a second reagent dispensing component comprising: the second cross beam and a second group of reagent needles, the second group of reagent needles at least comprises a plurality of second reagent needles; the plurality of second reagent needles are arranged on the second cross beam and do linear motion along the long axis direction of the second cross beam so as to suck a second reagent from the second reagent sucking position and discharge the second reagent into a reaction cup positioned in transposition in the determination;

the scheduling component is used for scheduling the reaction cups; the scheduling unit schedules the cuvette to which the first reagent is added at the index during incubation to the reaction unit, and schedules the cuvette to which the second reagent is added at the index during measurement to the measurement unit.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 1,

the first cross beam is arranged along the direction determined by the first reagent absorption position and the incubation transfer position, and is fixedly arranged at the upper position corresponding to the first reagent absorption position and the incubation transfer position;

the second beam is arranged along the second reagent sucking position and the direction determined by the transfer position in the measurement, and the second beam is fixedly arranged at the upper position corresponding to the second reagent sucking position and the transfer position in the measurement.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the number of the first cross beams of the first reagent dispensing component is one, and a plurality of first reagent needles are arranged on the first cross beams in parallel and move linearly along the long axis direction of the first cross beams;

the second beam of the second reagent dispensing component is provided with one second beam, and a plurality of second reagent needles are arranged on the second beam in parallel and move linearly along the long axis direction of the second beam.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein there are two first reagent needles of the first group of reagent needles, and two second reagent needles of the second group of reagent needles;

two sides of the first cross beam along the long axis direction are respectively provided with a linear guide rail, the two first reagent needles are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails on the two sides of the first cross beam, and the first reagent needles do linear motion between the first reagent sucking position and the incubation transfer position along the linear guide rails where the first reagent needles are located;

two linear guide rails are respectively arranged on two sides of the second cross beam along the long axis direction of the second cross beam, two second reagent needles are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails on two sides of the second cross beam, and the second reagent needles perform linear motion between the second reagent sucking position and the measuring middle transposition position along the linear guide rails where the second reagent needles are located.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the number of first cross beams of the first reagent dispensing component is equal to the number of a plurality of first reagent needles of the first group of reagent needles, each first cross beam is provided with one first reagent needle, and every two first cross beams are arranged in parallel;

the number of second beams of the second reagent dispensing component is the same as that of a plurality of second reagent needles of the second group of reagent needles, each second beam is provided with one second reagent needle, and every two second beams are arranged in parallel.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 5,

the plurality of first beams are respectively provided with a linear guide rail along the long axis direction, and the plurality of first reagent needles are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails of the plurality of first beams and are used for performing linear motion between a first reagent sucking position and an incubation middle position;

the plurality of second crossbeams are provided with a linear guide rail along the long axis direction, and the plurality of second reagent needles are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails of the plurality of second crossbeams and are used for performing linear motion between the second reagent sucking position and the incubation middle position.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the first reagent dispensing component further comprises a plurality of second driving assemblies which are mutually independent and drive the plurality of first reagent needles to do linear motion, the number of the plurality of second driving assemblies is equal to that of the plurality of first reagent needles, and the independent driving force output ends of the plurality of second driving assemblies respectively act on the plurality of first reagent needles so as to drive the plurality of first reagent needles to do linear motion between the first reagent sucking position and the incubation transfer position along the long axis direction of the first beam;

the second reagent dispensing component further comprises a plurality of third driving assemblies which are different from the second driving assemblies and drive the plurality of second reagent needles to do linear motion independently, the number of the third driving assemblies is equal to that of the plurality of second reagent needles, and independent driving force output ends of the plurality of third driving assemblies respectively act on the plurality of second reagent needles so as to drive the plurality of second reagent needles to do linear motion between a second reagent sucking position and the measurement transfer position along the long axis direction of the second beam.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the sample introduction part, the cuvette loading part, the reaction part and the assay part are disposed around the reagent carrying part.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the reaction member and the measuring member are disposed in an adjacent manner around the reagent bearing member.
The sample analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a transfer site is provided between the reagent support member and the reaction member during the incubation; the assay transfer position is provided between the reagent-bearing member and the assay member.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the reaction member has a rectangular shape having a plurality of reaction cup placement positions; the measuring part is rectangular and has a plurality of reaction cup placing positions.
The sample analyzer of claim 11 wherein the reaction member has a longitudinal direction disposed in a first direction and the measurement member has a longitudinal direction disposed in a second direction different from the first direction.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12,

a first movement trajectory is a trajectory of a linear movement of the plurality of first reagent needles of the first reagent dispensing unit between the first reagent aspirating positions and the in-incubation indexing positions;

a locus of a linear motion of the plurality of second reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit between the second reagent aspirating position and the measurement indexing position is a second motion locus;

wherein the first motion trajectory and the second motion trajectory do not intersect.
The sample analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the first reagent needles of the first group of reagent needles are provided in two; the second reagent needles of the second group of reagent needles are provided in two.
The sample analyzing apparatus of claim 14,

the transfer station in incubation comprises a first position and a second position for placing the reaction cup, one first reagent needle linearly moves between the first reagent sucking position and the first position along the first beam, and the other first reagent needle linearly moves between the first reagent sucking position and the second position along the first beam;

the transfer position in the measurement comprises a third position and a fourth position for placing the reaction cup, one second reagent needle linearly moves between the second reagent sucking position and the third position along the second cross beam, and the other second reagent needle linearly moves between the second reagent sucking position and the fourth position along the second cross beam.
Sample analysis device as claimed in any of the claims 1-15, characterized in that the first and/or the second reagent needle is/are provided with a heating means for heating the aspirated reagent.
The sample analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the first reagent dispensing member further comprises first Z-drive assemblies for driving the first reagent needles of the first group of reagent needles to move in the vertical direction, respectively, the number of the first Z-drive assemblies being the same as the number of the first reagent needles of the first group of reagent needles; the first Z-direction drive assemblies each include: a first Z-direction guide for guiding the movement of the first reagent needle in the vertical direction, and a first Z-direction drive for driving the movement of the first reagent needle along the first Z-direction guide; the first reagent needle is in sliding connection with the first cross beam through the first Z-direction guide part and the first Z-direction driving part, so that the first reagent needle can move in the vertical direction relative to the first cross beam under the driving of the first Z-direction driving part;

the second reagent dispensing component also comprises second Z-direction driving assemblies for driving second reagent needles in a second group of reagent needles to move in the vertical direction respectively, and the number of the second Z-direction driving assemblies is the same as that of the second reagent needles in the second group of reagent needles; the second Z-direction drive assemblies each include: a second Z-direction guide for guiding the movement of the second reagent needle in the vertical direction, and a second Z-direction drive for driving the second reagent needle to move along the second Z-direction guide; the second reagent needle is connected with the second cross beam in a sliding mode through the second Z-direction guide piece and the second Z-direction driving piece, so that the second reagent needle can move in the vertical direction relative to the second cross beam under the driving of the second Z-direction driving piece.
A sample analysis apparatus, comprising:

a reaction cup loading part for supplying and carrying empty reaction cups;

the sample injection component is used for dispatching the sample rack bearing the sample to a sample suction position;

the sample dispensing component is used for sucking a sample from a sample sucking position and discharging the sample into a reaction cup positioned at a sample adding position;

the reagent bearing part is used for rotating the reagent bearing part and rotating the reagent container to a reagent sucking position;

one or more processing units; the processing unit is used for receiving the reaction cup loaded with the sample and processing the sample in the reaction cup; wherein each processing unit is configured with a corresponding additive neutral position;

one or more reagent dispensing components, the number of which is equal to the number of processing units, and one reagent dispensing component corresponds to one processing unit; each reagent dispensing component comprises: the reagent needle assembly comprises a plurality of reagent needles, a guide assembly and a second driving assembly, wherein the guide assembly is used for guiding the reagent needles to do linear motion, and the second driving assembly is used for driving the reagent needles to do linear motion along the guide assembly; the guide assembly is arranged along the direction determined by the reagent sucking position and the reagent indexing in the reagent of the processing unit corresponding to the reagent dispensing component, so that the reagent needle sucks the reagent from the reagent sucking position and discharges the reagent into a reaction cup indexed in the reagent of the processing unit corresponding to the reagent dispensing component; and

and the scheduling component is used for scheduling the reaction cups which are positioned in the sample adding positions and finish sample adding to each processing unit according to the detection flow.
The sample analysis apparatus of claim 18, wherein the guide assembly of each reagent dispensing member comprises: the device comprises a cross beam and a plurality of guide pieces which are arranged in parallel and along the length direction of the cross beam; the cross beam is arranged along the direction determined by the reagent sucking position and the transposition in the reagent adding of the processing unit corresponding to the reagent dispensing component; the number of the guide members is equal to the number of the reagent needles of the reagent dispensing unit, and the plurality of reagent needles are slidably connected to the plurality of guide members, respectively, so that the reagent needles linearly move along the guide members between reagent aspirating positions and reagent adding positions.
The sample analysis apparatus of claim 18, wherein the guide assembly of each reagent dispensing member comprises: the device comprises a plurality of cross beams arranged in parallel and a plurality of guide pieces which are respectively arranged on the cross beams and arranged along the length direction of the cross beams; a plurality of the beams are arranged along a direction determined by reagent sucking positions and index positions in a reagent feeding of a processing unit corresponding to the reagent dispensing component; the number of the guide members is equal to the number of the reagent needles of the reagent dispensing unit, and the plurality of reagent needles are slidably connected to the plurality of guide members, respectively, so that the reagent needles linearly move along the guide members between reagent aspirating positions and reagent adding positions.
The sample analyzer of claim 19 or 20, wherein the cross-member of the guide assembly in each reagent dispensing unit is fixedly disposed at a position above the reagent aspirating position and the index in the reagent of the processing unit corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit.
The sample analyzer as claimed in claim 19, wherein there are two reagent needles per one reagent dispensing member; two guide pieces of each reagent separate injection component are arranged, and the two guide pieces are linear guide rails;

the two linear guide rails are respectively arranged on two sides of the cross beam along the long axis direction of the cross beam, and the two reagent needles are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails on the two sides of the cross beam and are in sliding connection with the linear guide rails; the reagent needle moves linearly along the linear guide rail where the reagent needle is located between the reagent sucking position and the reagent adding position.
The sample analyzer of claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of guides of each reagent dispensing unit is a linear guide, and the plurality of linear guides are disposed along the longitudinal direction of the plurality of beams, respectively; the plurality of reagent needles are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails of the plurality of cross beams and are in sliding connection with the linear guide rails; and the reagent needle performs linear motion between a reagent sucking position and a reagent adding position along the linear guide rail where the reagent needle is positioned.
The sample analyzer of any of claims 18 to 23 wherein the number of second drive assemblies per reagent dispensing unit is equal to the number of reagent needles, and wherein the independent drive force outputs of the plurality of second drive assemblies act on the plurality of reagent needles to drive the plurality of reagent needles linearly along the guide assembly independently of each other between the reagent aspirating positions and the indexing in the loading reagent.
The sample analyzer according to any of claims 18 to 24, wherein the reagent needles of different reagent dispensing units do not intersect with each other along a linear movement trajectory.
The sample analysis apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 25, wherein reagent needles in the same reagent dispensing member are used to aspirate the same type of reagent.
The sample analyzer according to any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein the transfer in the reagent dispensing of at least one of the processing units includes the same number of cuvette placement positions as the number of reagent needles of the reagent dispensing unit corresponding to the processing unit.
Sample analysis apparatus as claimed in any of claims 18 to 27, in which each reagent needle is provided with a heating means for heating the aspirated reagent in the reagent needle.
The sample analysis device according to any one of claims 18 to 28, wherein at least one of the processing units is a reaction means for incubating the sample.
The sample analyzing apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 29, wherein at least one of the processing units is a measuring part for measuring a sample.
The sample analysis device of any one of claims 18 to 30, wherein the number of reagent uptake sites is the same as the number of reagent needles.
A method of analyzing a sample, comprising the steps of:

a reaction cup loading step of controlling the supply of the reaction cup loading part and carrying an empty reaction cup;

a sample feeding step, wherein a sample feeding part is controlled to dispatch a sample rack bearing a sample to a sample sucking position;

a sample dispensing step of controlling a sample dispensing component to suck a sample from a sample sucking position and dispense the sample into a reaction cup;

a first reagent dispensing step of controlling the driving member to drive the reagent carrying member to rotate so that the reagent container carrying the first reagent is positioned at a first reagent suction position; controlling at least one of the two reagent needles of the first reagent dispensing unit to aspirate the first reagent in the reagent container through the first reagent aspirating position and to move linearly between the first reagent aspirating position and the index of the reagent in the reaction unit, thereby dispensing the first reagent into the reaction cup indexed in the reagent in the reaction unit;

an incubation step, controlling a scheduling component to schedule the reaction cup which completes the first reagent separate injection to the reaction component for incubation, and scheduling the reaction cup which completes the incubation to the test reagent adding of the determination component for transposition;

a second reagent dispensing step of controlling the rotation of the reagent carrying member so that the reagent container carrying the second reagent is positioned at a second reagent aspirating position; controlling at least one of the two reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit to aspirate the second reagent in the reagent container through the second reagent aspiration site and to perform a linear motion between the second reagent aspiration site and the index in the reagent of the measurement unit, thereby dispensing the second reagent into the cuvette indexed in the reagent of the measurement unit;

and a measurement and recovery step of controlling the scheduling unit to schedule the cuvette into which the second reagent has been dispensed to the measurement unit to perform item detection, and to schedule the cuvette after the detection to the discard recovery device.
The method of claim 32, wherein the first reagent dispensing step further comprises:

the two first reagent needles of the first reagent dispensing unit are controlled to linearly move independently between the first reagent aspirating positions and the in-reagent indexing positions of the reaction unit.
The method of claim 32 or 33, wherein the second reagent dispensing step further comprises:

the two second reagent needles controlling the second reagent dispensing unit are linearly moved independently of each other between the second aspirating reagent site and the indexing of the reagent in the measurement unit.
The method of any one of claims 32 to 34, wherein the first reagent dispensing step further comprises:

and controlling each first reagent needle in the first reagent dispensing component to sequentially perform a plurality of preset actions to finish the operation of adding the first reagent, wherein at least one corresponding preset action in the plurality of preset actions between every two first reagent needles is not overlapped in time sequence.
The method of any one of claims 32 to 35, wherein the second reagent dispensing step further comprises:

and controlling each second reagent needle in the second reagent dispensing component to sequentially perform a plurality of preset actions to finish the operation of adding the second reagent, wherein at least one corresponding preset action in the plurality of preset actions between every two second reagent needles is not overlapped in time sequence.