Abstract:
A blood sample processing apparatus including: a container holder securing a sample container that contains a blood sample, the sample container having a lid, the container holder coupled to a rotation driver that longitudinally rotates the sample container; and a controller that commands the rotation driver to repeatedly perform an inclining-stirring operation that includes a first process and a second process, wherein in the first process, the sample container is initially held in an upright position by the container holder and then rotated to an inclined position, and in the second process, the inclined sample container is returned to the upright position, and wherein in a final inclining-stirring operation, the second process is carried out for a longer time than previous second processes.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-227463 filed on Sep. 30, 2009, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a blood sample processing apparatus and a blood sample processing method. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventionally, blood sample processing apparatuses have been known in which an aspiration tube penetrates a lid (cap) for sealing a specimen container to aspirate the blood sample in the specimen container and the aspirated blood sample is processed. 
     Among such blood sample processing apparatuses, there is an apparatus which repeatedly performs an inclining-stirring operation, in which a specimen container held in an upright state is rotated to be in an inclining state such that a bottom portion of the specimen container is positioned higher than a lid, and then is returned to its original upright state, and then which aspirates a blood sample to carry out analysis. 
     For example, a sample analysis apparatus described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/110627 is provided with a hand member for holding a specimen container and a driver for rotating the hand member, and performs an inclining-stirring operation of the specimen container by rotating the hand member holding the specimen container before aspirating a blood sample from the specimen container by an aspiration tube. 
     The pressure inside the specimen container is higher than the pressure of the atmosphere, therefore, in the blood sample processing apparatus which performs such an inclining-stirring operation, the blood sample may be aspirated after opening the inside of the specimen container to the atmosphere in order to secure the quantitative precision in aspirating a blood sample by the aspiration tube. 
     The opening to the atmosphere is performed by various methods, and for example, there is an apparatus which uses an aspiration tube having a groove extending in a longitudinal direction in an outer circumferential surface thereof to open the inside of a specimen container to the atmosphere before aspirating a blood sample by the aspiration tube. In such an apparatus, when the aspiration tube penetrates the lid of the specimen container, the inside of the specimen container is opened to the air via the groove and thus the inside of the specimen container can be opened to the atmosphere. 
     However, when performing an inclining-stirring operation of a specimen container as in the sample analysis apparatus described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/110627, a blood sample may adhere to the back side of the lid of the specimen container in accordance with the lid type. The pressure in the sealed specimen container is higher than the pressure of the atmosphere as described above. Accordingly, when an aspiration tube having a groove extending in a longitudinal direction in an outer circumferential surface thereof penetrates the lid of the specimen container in a state in which the blood sample adheres to the back side of the lid, the blood sample adhering to the back side of the lid may leak from the upper surface of the lid through the groove of the aspiration tube. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The scope of the present invention is defined solely by the appended claims, and is not affected to any degree by the statements within this summary. 
     A first aspect of the present invention is a blood sample processing apparatus comprising: a container holder securing a sample container that contains a blood sample, the sample container having a lid, the container holder coupled to a rotation driver that longitudinally rotates the sample container; a sample aspirator that aspirates the blood sample in the sample container; and a controller that operates the rotation driver and the sample aspirator, wherein the controller commands the rotation driver to repeatedly perform an inclining-stirring operation that includes a first process and a second process, wherein in the first process, the sample container is initially held in an upright position by the container holder and then rotated to an inclined position, and in the second process, the inclined sample container is returned to the upright position, and wherein in a final inclining-stirring operation, the second process is carried out for a longer time than previous second processes, and wherein the controller commands the sample aspirator to aspirate the blood sample in the sample container after the second process of the final inclining-stirring operation. 
     A second aspect of the present invention is a blood sample processing method comprising: stirring a blood sample in a sample container, the sample container having a lid; and aspirating the blood sample in the sample container after stirring, wherein the stirring comprises an repeated inclining-stirring operation that includes a first process and a second process, wherein in the first process, the sample container is moved from an upright position to an inclined position, and in the second process, the sample container is moved from an inclined position to an upright position, and wherein the second process of a final inclining-stirring operation is performed for a longer time than previous second processes. 
     A third aspect of the present invention is a blood sample processing apparatus comprising: a container holder securing a sample container that contains a blood sample, the sample container having a lid, the container holder coupled to a rotation driver that longitudinally rotates the sample container while the sample holder holds the sample container; a sample aspirator that aspirates the blood sample in the sample container; and a controller that operates the rotation driver and the sample aspirator, wherein the controller commands the rotation driver to perform an inclining-stirring operation that includes a first process and a second process, wherein in the first process, the sample container is initially held in an upright position by the container holder and then rotated to an inclined position, and in the second process, the inclined sample container is returned to the upright position wherein the second process is carried out for at least about 0.8 seconds, and wherein the controller commands the sample aspirator to aspirate the blood sample in the sample container after performing the second process. 
     A fourth aspect of the present invention is a blood sample processing method comprising: stirring a blood sample in a sample container, the sample container having a lid; and aspirating the blood sample in the sample container, wherein the stirring comprises an inclining-stirring operation that includes a first process and a second process, wherein in the first process, the sample container is moved from an upright position to an inclined position, and in the second process, the sample container is moved from an inclined position to an upright position, and wherein the second process is performed for at least about 0.8 seconds. 
     A fifth aspect of the present invention is a blood sample processing apparatus comprising: a container holder securing a sample container that contains a blood sample, the sample container having a lid, the container holder coupled to a rotation driver that longitudinally rotates the sample container; a sample aspirator that aspirated the blood sample in the sample container; and a controller that operates the rotation driver and the sample aspirator, wherein the controller commands the rotation driver to repeatedly perform an inclining-stirring operation that includes a first process and a second process, wherein in the first process, the sample container is initially held in a first state in which a bottom portion of the sample container is positioned lower than the lid and then rotated to a second state in which the bottom portion of the sample container is positioned at least as high as the lid, and wherein in the second process, the sample container is moved from the second state to the first state, wherein the controller commands the rotation driver to perform the second process of a final inclining-stirring operation to be carried out for a longer time than other second processes, and wherein the controller commands the sample aspirator to aspirate the blood sample in the sample container after the second process of the final inclining-stirring operation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of a blood sample processing apparatus of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing sections in the blood sample processing apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  in detail; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic explanatory diagram showing measuring units and a specimen transport apparatus of the blood sample processing apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a piercer of the blood sample processing apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the measuring units and the specimen transport apparatus of the blood sample processing apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram for explaining a control apparatus of the blood sample processing apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an example of a lid which is used in a specimen container, viewed from the upper side; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the lid shown in  FIG. 7 , viewed from the lower side; 
         FIG. 9  is a longitudinal sectional view of the lid shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram explaining an example of an inclining-stirring operation of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 11A-11C  are diagrams showing transitions in which blood adhering to the back side of the lid flows to a bottom portion; 
         FIG. 12  is a front view showing the appearance of the piercer; 
         FIG. 13  is a flowchart showing the processing flow of a blood sample processing method according to the present embodiment; and 
         FIG. 14  is a flowchart showing the flow of a stirring operation according to the present embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of a blood sample processing apparatus and a blood sample processing method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     [Blood Sample Processing Apparatus] 
     First, the overall configuration of a blood sample processing apparatus will be described. A blood sample processing apparatus  1  shown in  FIG. 1  is a blood cell counting apparatus for counting the number of blood cells in a blood sample collected from a subject, and as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , is provided with two measuring units, that is, a first measuring unit  2  and a second measuring unit  3 , a specimen transport apparatus (sampler)  4  which is disposed in front of the first measuring unit  2  and the second measuring unit  3  (in a direction of the arrow Y 1 ) and a control apparatus  5  including a personal computer (PC) which is electrically connected to the first measuring unit  2 , the second measuring unit  3  and the specimen transport apparatus  4 . In addition, the blood sample processing apparatus  1  is connected to a host computer  6  (see  FIG. 3 ) by the control apparatus  5 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the first measuring unit  2  and the second measuring unit  3  are substantially the same type of measuring unit and are disposed so as to be adjacent to each other. In greater detail, in this embodiment, the second measuring unit  3  uses the same measurement principle as that of the first measuring unit  2  to measure the same measurement items of a specimen. Further, the second measuring unit  3  also measures the measurement items which are not analyzed by the first measuring unit  2 . In addition, as shown in  FIG. 3 , each of the first measuring unit  2  and the second measuring unit  3  includes a piercer  211  ( 311 ) which aspirates blood as a specimen from a specimen container  101 , a sample preparation section  22  ( 32 ) which prepares a sample for detection from the blood aspirated by the piercer  211  ( 311 ), and a detecting section  23  ( 33 ) which detects blood cells of the blood from the sample for detection prepared by the sample preparation section  22  ( 32 ). 
     Each of the first measuring unit  2  and the second measuring unit  3  further includes a unit cover  24  ( 34 ) which stores the sample preparation section  22  ( 32 ) and the like, a specimen container transport section  25  ( 35 ) which introduces a specimen container  101  to the inside of the unit cover  24  ( 34 ) and transports the specimen container  101  up to a position  600  ( 700 ) (see  FIG. 3 ) at which the piercer  211  ( 311 ) performs the aspiration, an existence detection section  26  ( 36 ) which detects the existence of a specimen container  101  transported to the inside by the specimen container transport section  25  ( 35 ), and a chuck section  27  ( 37 ) which fixes and holds a specimen container  101  at the aspiration position  600  ( 700 ) (see  FIG. 3 ). In addition, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in the respective outer surfaces of front surface sections  241  ( 341 ) of the unit covers  24  ( 34 ), a specimen setting section opening-closing button  28  ( 38 ), a prior specimen measurement start button  29  ( 39 ) and an opening section  241   a  ( 341   a ) through which a moving section  255   d  ( 355   d ) (to be described later) of the specimen container transport section  25  ( 35 ) passes are provided. 
       FIG. 4  is a view showing the vicinity of the piercer  211  ( 311 ). As shown in  FIG. 4 , the blood sample processing apparatus  1  includes the piercer  211  ( 311 ) as a specimen aspiration tube and a piercer moving section  212  ( 312 ) as a penetration driver which causes the piercer  211  ( 311 ) to penetrate the lid of a specimen container  101 . The piercer  211  ( 311 ) is formed such that the front end thereof can penetrate a sealing lid  102  (see  FIGS. 7 to 9 ) (to be described later) of a specimen container  101 . Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 12 , in the outer circumferential surface of the piercer  211  ( 311 ), a groove  211   a  extending in a longitudinal direction of the piercer  211  ( 311 ) is formed, and when the piercer  211  ( 311 ) penetrates the lid of the specimen container  101 , the inside of the specimen container  101  is opened to the air via the above-described groove  211   a . The piercer moving section  212  ( 312 ) has a function of moving the piercer  211  ( 311 ) in a vertical direction (in a direction of the arrows Z 1  and Z 2 ). The piercer moving section  212  ( 312 ) has a horizontal arm  213  ( 313 ) which fixes and holds the piercer  211  ( 311 ), a threaded shaft  214  ( 314 ) which penetrates the horizontal arm  213  ( 313 ) in the vertical direction (in the direction of the arrows Z 1  and Z 2 ), and a nut  215  ( 315 ) which is threadably mounted on the threaded shaft  214  ( 314 ). Further, the piercer moving section  212  ( 312 ) has a slide rail  216  ( 316 ) which is disposed parallel to the threaded shaft  214  ( 314 ) (in the direction of the arrows Z 1  and Z 2 ), a sliding member  217  ( 317 ) which is slidably mounted on the slide rail  216  ( 316 ) and a stepping motor  218  ( 318 ). The horizontal arm  213  ( 313 ) is fixed to the nut  215  ( 315 ) and the sliding member  217  ( 317 ). 
     The detecting section  23  ( 33 ) is configured to perform RBC detection (detection of red blood cells) and PLT detection (detection of platelets) by a sheath flow DC detection method and perform HGB detection (detection of hemoglobin in blood) by a SLS-hemoglobin method. In addition, the detecting section  23  ( 33 ) is also configured to perform WBC detection (detection of white blood cells) by a flow cytometry method using a semiconductor laser. 
     The detection result obtained by the detecting section  23  ( 33 ) is transmitted as measurement data (measurement result) of the specimen to the control apparatus  5 . This measurement data becomes a base for the final analysis result (the number of red blood cells, the number of platelets, the amount of hemoglobin, the number of white blood cells and the like) which is provided to a user. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the specimen container transport section  25  ( 35 ) (see  FIG. 3 ) has a hand section  251  ( 351 ) which is a container holder capable of holding a specimen container  101 , an opening-closing section  252  ( 352 ) which opens and closes the hand section  251  ( 351 ), a vertical moving section  253  ( 353 ) which linearly moves the hand section  251  ( 351 ) in the vertical direction (in the direction of the arrows Z 1  and Z 2 ) and a stirring motor section  254  ( 354 ) which is a rotation driver for moving (rotating) the hand section  251  ( 351 ) like a pendulum between its upright state and inclining state. The stirring motor section  254  ( 354 ) is configured to move (rotate) the hand section  251  ( 351 ) like a pendulum between its upright state and inclining state by the power generated by the stepping motor. Further, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the specimen container transport section  25  ( 35 ) has a specimen container transfer section  255  ( 355 ) which substantially horizontally moves a specimen container  101  in the direction of the arrows Y 1  and Y 2  and a bar-code reading section  256  ( 356 ). 
     The hand section  251  ( 351 ) is disposed above the transport path of a rack  110  transported by the specimen transport apparatus  4 . In addition, the hand section  251  ( 351 ) is configured to be moved downward (in the direction of the arrow Z 2 ) when a specimen container  101  is transported to a first ejection position  43   a  and a second ejection position  43   b  (see  FIG. 3 ) by the specimen transport apparatus  4  and to be then opened and closed by the opening-closing section  252  ( 352 ), thereby gripping the specimen container  101  stored in a rack  110 . 
     In addition, the hand section  251  ( 351 ) is configured to move the gripped specimen container  101  upward (in the direction of the arrow Z 1 ) to eject the specimen container  101  from the rack  110 , and then is moved like a pendulum by the stirring motor section  254  ( 354 ) (for example, reciprocated 10 times). In this manner, the hand section  251  ( 351 ) can stir the blood in the gripped specimen container  101 . After the stirring, the hand section  251  ( 351 ) is configured to open the gripping of the specimen container  101  by the opening-closing section  252  ( 352 ) after moving downward (in the direction of the arrow Z 2 ). In greater detail, the hand section  251  ( 351 ) is configured to set the specimen container  101  in a first specimen setting section  255   a  ( 355   a ) which is moved to a specimen setting position  610  ( 710 ) (see  FIG. 3 ) by the specimen container transfer section  255  ( 355 ). In addition, as shown in  FIG. 3 , when viewed from the top, the first ejection position (specimen container ejection position)  43   a  and the specimen setting position (specimen container setting position)  610  are disposed so as to overlap with each other, and the second ejection position (specimen container ejection position)  43   b  and the specimen setting position (specimen container setting position)  710  are disposed so as to overlap with each other. 
     The opening-closing section  252  ( 352 ) is configured to open and close the hand section  251  ( 351 ) in order to grip a specimen container  101  using the power generated by an air cylinder  252   a  ( 352   a ). 
     The vertical moving section  253  ( 353 ) is configured to move the hand section  251  ( 351 ) in the vertical direction (in the direction of the arrows Z 1  and Z 2 ) along a rail  253   b  ( 353   b ) using the power generated by the stepping motor  253   a  ( 353   a ). 
     The chuck section  27  ( 37 ) is configured to fix and hold a specimen container  101  which is transferred to the aspiration position  600  ( 700 ). 
     A before-analysis rack holder  41  has a rack input section  411  and is configured to push out racks  110  held in the before-analysis rack holder  41  one by one onto a rack transport section  43  by moving the rack input section  411  in the direction of the arrow Y 2 . The rack input section  411  is configured to be driven by a stepping motor (not shown) which is provided below the before-analysis rack holder  41 . In addition, the before-analysis rack holder  41  has a regulating section  412  (see  FIG. 5 ) in the vicinity of the rack transport section  43  and is configured to regulate the movement of a rack  110  in order not to return the rack  110 , which is pushed out onto the rack transport section  43  once, to the inside of the before-analysis rack holder  41 . 
     An after-analysis rack holder  42  has a regulating section  421  (see  FIG. 4 ) in the vicinity of the rack transport section  43  and is configured to regulate the movement of a rack  110  in order not to return the rack  110 , which is moved to the inside of the after-analysis rack holder  42  once, to the rack transport section  43 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the rack transport section  43  is configured to transport a rack  110  in order to transfer a specimen container  101  held in the rack  110  to the first ejection position  43   a  for providing the specimen to the first measuring unit  2  and to the second ejection position  43   b  for providing the specimen to the second measuring unit  3 . Further, the rack transport section  43  is configured to transport a rack  110  in order to transfer a specimen container  101  up to a specimen existence confirmation position  43   c  for confirming the existence of the specimen container  101  storing the specimen by an existence detection sensor  45  and a reading position  43   d  for reading the bar-code of the specimen container  101  storing the specimen by a bar-code reading section  44 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the rack transport section  43  has two belts, that is, a first belt  431  and a second belt  432  which can be moved independently of each other. 
     The existence detection sensor  45  is a contact sensor having a contact piece shaped like a short split curtain (see  FIG. 5 )  451 , a light-emitting element (not shown) emitting light and a light-receiving element (not shown). The existence detection sensor  45  is configured such that the contact piece  451  is bent by being brought into contact with a detection target material to be detected, and as a result, the light emitted from the light-emitting element is reflected by the contact piece  451  and enters the light-receiving element. In this manner, when a specimen container  101  as a detection target which is stored in a rack  110  passes under the existence detection sensor  45 , the contact piece  451  is bent by the specimen container  101  and the existence of the specimen container  101  can thus be detected. 
     A rack output section  46  is disposed so as to be opposed to the after-analysis rack holder  42  with the rack transport section  43  interposed therebetween, and is configured to be horizontally moved in the direction of the arrow Y 1 . In this manner, when a rack  110  is transported between the after-analysis rack holder  42  and the rack output section  46 , the rack output section  46  is moved to the after-analysis rack holder  42  side to press and move the rack  110  to the inside of the after-analysis rack holder  42 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 and 6 , the control apparatus  5  is composed of a personal computer (PC) or the like and includes a controller  51  (see  FIG. 6 ) having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM and the like, a display section  52  and an input device  53 . In addition, the display section  52  is provided in order to display the analysis result obtained by analyzing data of digital signals transmitted from the first measuring unit  2  and the second measuring unit  3 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the control apparatus  5  is composed of a computer  500  mainly including the controller  51 , the display section  52  and the input device  53 . The controller  51  mainly includes a CPU  51   a , a ROM  51   b , a RAM  51   c , a hard disk  51   d , a reading device  51   e , an I/O interface  51   f , a communication interface  51   g  and an image output interface  51   h . The CPU  51   a , ROM  51   b , RAM  51   c , hard disk  51   d , reading device  51   e , I/O interface  51   f , communication interface  51   g  and image output interface  51   h  are connected by a bus  51   i.    
     The CPU  51   a  can execute computer programs stored in the ROM  51   b  and computer programs loaded to the RAM  51   c . When the CPU  51   a  executes application programs  54   a ,  54   b  and  54   c  to be described later, the computer  500  functions as the control apparatus  5 . 
     The ROM  51   b  is composed of a mask ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM or the like, and computer programs which are executed by the CPU  51   a  and data which are used in the execution of the programs are recorded therein. 
     The RAM  51   c  is composed of a SRAM, a DRAM or the like. The RAM  51   c  is used to read computer programs which are recorded in the ROM  51   b  and the hard disk  51   d . In addition, the RAM is used as a work area of the CPU  51   a  when these computer programs are executed. 
     In the hard disk  51   d , various computer programs for execution by the CPU  51   a , such as an operating system and an application program, and data which are used to execute the computer programs, are installed. A measurement process ( 1 ) program  54   a  for the first measuring unit  2 , a measurement process ( 2 ) program  54   b  for the second measuring unit  3  and a sampler operation processing program  54   c  for the specimen transport apparatus  4  are also installed in this hard disk  51   d . By executing these application programs  54   a  to  54   c  with the CPU  51   a , the operations of sections in the first measuring unit  2 , second measuring unit  3  and specimen transport apparatus  4  are controlled. A measurement result database  54   d  is also installed in the hard disk  51   d.    
     The reading device  51   e  is composed of a flexible disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD-ROM drive or the like and can read computer programs or data which are recorded in a portable recording medium  54 . In addition, the application programs  54   a  to  54   c  are stored in the portable recording medium  54  and the computer  500  can read the application programs  54   a  to  54   c  from the portable recording medium  54  and install the application programs  54   a  to  54   c  in the hard disk  51   d.    
     The above-described application programs  54   a  to  54   c  are provided by the portable recording medium  54  and can be also provided from an external device, which is connected to the computer  500  by an electric communication line (which may be wired or wireless) to communicate therewith, through the electric communication line. For example, the application programs  54   a  to  54   c  are stored in the hard disk of a server computer on the internet and the computer  500  accesses the server computer to download the application programs  54   a  to  54   c  and to install the programs in the hard disk  51   d.    
     Further, in the hard disk  51   d , for example, an operating system for providing a graphical user interface environment, such as Windows (registered trade name) which is made and distributed by Microsoft Corporation in America, is installed. In the following description, the application programs  54   a  to  54   c  operate on the above-described operating system. 
     The I/O interface  51   f  is composed of, for example, a serial interface such as USB, IEEE1394 or RS-232C, a parallel interface such as SCSI, IDE or IEEE1284, and an analog interface including a D/A converter and an A/D converter. The input device  53  is connected to the I/O interface  51   f  and a user uses the input device  53  so as to input data to the computer  500 . 
     For example, the communication interface  51   g  is an Ethernet (registered trade name) interface. By the communication interface  51   g , the computer  500  can transmit and receive data to and from the first measuring unit  2 , second measuring unit  3 , specimen transport apparatus  4  and host computer  6  by using a predetermined communication protocol. 
     The image output interface  51   h  is connected to the display section  52  composed of an LCD or a CRT so as to output to the display section  52  a picture signal corresponding to image data provided from the CPU  51   a . The display section  52  is configured to display an image (screen) in accordance with an input picture signal. 
     Due to the above-described configuration, the controller  51  is configured to analyze the components of an analysis target by using the measurement result transmitted from the first measuring unit  2  and the second measuring unit  3  and to obtain the analysis result (the number of red blood cells, the number of platelets, the amount of hemoglobin, the number of white blood cells and the like). 
     [Blood Sample Processing Method] 
     Next, an embodiment of a blood sample processing method of the present invention, which uses the above-described blood sample processing apparatus  1 , will be described focusing on a characteristic inclining-stirring operation by using  FIGS. 13 and 14 . Since the first measuring unit  2  and the second measuring unit  3  perform the analysis including stirring and aspiration of a specimen with the same operation, a blood sample processing method of the first measuring unit  2  will be described hereinafter and a blood sample processing method of the second measuring unit  3  will be omitted. 
     First, a user sets a rack  110 , in which a specimen container  101  with a lid storing a blood sample as an analysis target is installed, on the specimen transport apparatus  4 . Next, when determining that an analysis start instruction is issued by the pressing of the start button (Step S 1 ), the CPU  51   a  of the control apparatus  5  controls the transport of the rack  110  by the specimen transport apparatus  4  to position the above-described specimen container  101  at the first ejection position (specimen container ejection position)  43   a  (Step S 2 ). 
     The CPU  51   a  ejects the specimen container  101  from the rack  110  by using the hand section  251  (Step S 3 ). In greater detail, the CPU  51   a  drives the vertical moving section  253  such that the hand section  251  in an opened state moves down from the upper side and is stopped at a specimen container holding position where the specimen container  101  can be held. 
     Next, the CPU  51   a  drives the opening-closing section  252  to close the hand section  251  and thus the specimen container  101  is held. In addition, the CPU  51   a  drives the vertical moving section  253  again such that the hand section  251  is lifted in a state of holding the specimen container  101 , and the specimen container  101  is ejected from the rack  110  and stopped at a predetermined position. In this state, the specimen container  101  is in an upright state such that the axis thereof in a longitudinal direction is substantially in the vertical direction. 
     &lt;Stirring Process&gt; 
     Next, the CPU  51   a  performs an inclining-stirring operation of the specimen container  101  by driving the stirring motor section  254  (step S 4 ). The flow of this stirring operation will be described later by using  FIG. 14 . In this stirring process, the hand section  251  holding the specimen container  101  rotates forward and backward to stir the blood sample stored in the specimen container  101 .  FIG. 10  is a diagram showing the inclining-stirring operation of the specimen container  101  by the hand section  251 , and shows both of an aspect in which the specimen container  101  is held in an upright state by the hand section  251  and an aspect in which the specimen container  101  is held in an inclining state by the hand section  251 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the hand section  251  performs the inclining-stirring operation which includes a first rotation process of rotating the hand section to reach an inclining state in which the bottom portion of the specimen container  101  is positioned higher than the sealing lid  102  of the specimen container  101  and a second rotation process of inversely rotating the hand section to return the specimen container  101  to an upright state from the inclining state. 
     In the above-described inclining state, an angle θ which is formed between a vertical line V and an axis L in the longitudinal direction of the specimen container  101  is about 127 degrees (see  FIG. 10 ). 
     The hand section  251  repeatedly performs an inclining-stirring operation, in which the first rotation process and the second rotation process are set as one cycle, ten times. In addition, the second rotation process at the final cycle is carried out for 0.8 seconds or longer (in this embodiment, about 1.87 seconds). In this embodiment, the first rotation processes and the second rotation processes other than the second rotation process at the final cycle are performed for a shorter time than the second rotation process at the final cycle, for example, for about 0.4 to 0.6 seconds (in this embodiment, about 0.43 seconds). In this manner, by performing the second rotation processes other than the second rotation process at the final cycle for a shorter time than the second rotation process at the final cycle, the time required for all of the multiple inclining-stirring operations can be reduced. 
     Due to the above-described inclining-stirring operations, the blood sample adheres to the back side of the sealing lid  102  of the specimen container  101 . However, by slowly performing the dropping process at the final cycle for 0.8 seconds or longer, the blood sample adhering to the back side of the sealing lid  102  of the specimen container  101  can be moved to the bottom portion of the container. The principle whereby the blood sample adhered to the back side of the sealing lid  102  runs down into the container can be assumed and confirmed as follows. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the sealing lid  102  viewed from the upper side,  FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the same sealing lid viewed from the lower side, and  FIG. 9  is a longitudinal sectional view of the sealing lid  102  shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The sealing lid  102  is made of a synthetic resin such as silicon rubber having elasticity and has a lid main body  103  which is inserted into the opening of a specimen container  101 . In the lower surface of the lid main body  103 , a concave portion or recess  104  is formed and a brim section  105  is formed at the upper end portion of the circumferential surface of the lid main body  103 . A concave portion or recess  106  is also formed in the upper surface of the lid main body  103  and a piercer  211  pierces a bottom surface  106   a  of the concave portion  106 . 
     When the inclining-stirring operation is applied to the specimen container  101  sealed by the sealing lid  102  having the above-described configuration, the blood sample moving to the inside of the concave portion  104  of the sealing lid  102  in an inclining state adheres to a back surface  102   a  of the sealing lid  102  and an inner circumferential surface  103   a  of the lid main body  103  in a spherical shape by the action of surface tension on the interface of the blood sample (see  FIG. 11A ). 
     When the specimen container  101  is slowly returned to the upright state from the inclining state for 0.8 seconds or longer, as shown in  FIG. 11B , a time at which the specimen container  101  is tilted in a state in which the sealing lid  102  is positioned higher than the bottom portion of the specimen container  101  is increased. When the specimen container  101  is tilted in a state in which the sealing lid  102  is positioned higher than the bottom portion of the specimen container  101 , the surface area of the blood sample is increased, the spherical shape collapses, and as a result, surface tension is decreased. That is, the pressure in the blood sample is decreased and a force pulling the molecules of the surface of the blood sample to the inside is decreased. In this manner, it is thought that a force causing the blood sample to remain on the back side of the sealing lid  102  is decreased, the blood sample runs down to the bottom portion of the specimen container  101  due to the influence of gravity, and as a result, the amount of blood sample adhering to and remaining on the back side of the sealing lid  102  can be significantly decreased (see  FIG. 11C ). 
     Table 1 shows results which are obtained by surveying a blood leakage state (whether or not the blood is leaked from the groove in the longitudinal direction formed in the outer circumferential surface of the piercer when the piercer penetrates the lid after stirring) when a time required for the second rotation process at the final cycle is variously changed in the case in which a 10-cycle inclining-stirring operation is performed. As the sealing lid, a lid of the type shown in  FIGS. 7 to 9  is used and the amount of blood stored in the specimen container is 4 ml. 
     The inclining-stirring operation is performed by using a pulse motor and set pulse values in the second rotation process at the final cycle are set as a low-speed value and a high-speed value shown in Table 1. In greater detail, the “set pulse value” is the number of driving pulses (pulse speed) which are applied to the pulse motor per second. In this inclining-stirring operation, the pulse motor is driven such that the pulse speed increases from the set pulse value shown by a low-speed value to the set pulse value shown by a high-speed value, and after the elapse of a predetermined time, the pulse motor is driven such that the pulse speed decreases from the set pulse value shown by a high-speed value to the set pulse value shown by a low-speed value. Accordingly, the hand section is set so as to rotate at a low speed for a predetermined time after the start of the rotation and a predetermined time before the end of the rotation and to rotate at a high speed for the remaining time. In other words, when the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents pulse speed, the pulse value is changed such that the pulse speed changes in a trapezoidal shape. The “processing time” in Table 1 is a time required for the second rotation process at the final cycle, and in the test shown in Table 1, the second rotation processes other than the second rotation process at the final cycle and the first rotation processes are performed for 0.43 seconds, respectively. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Returning Operation 
                 The Number of Specimen 
                   
               
               
                   
                 of Final Stirring 
                 Containers Without Leakage 
               
               
                   
                 Set Pulse Value 
                 (Amount of Blood 4 mL) 
                 Processing 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Stirring 
                 [Low 
                 [High 
                 Among 10 
                 Among 100 
                 Time 
               
               
                 No. 
                 Condition 
                 Speed] 
                 Speed] 
                 Containers 
                 Containers 
                 [s] 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1 
                 Ten-time Stirring 
                 100 
                 600 
                 0 
                 — 
                 0.43 
               
               
                 2 
                 * Returning 
                 100 
                 300 
                 9 
                 — 
                 0.72 
               
               
                 3 
                 Operation of Final 
                 100 
                 200 
                 10 
                 — 
                 0.94 
               
               
                 4 
                 Stirring is Slowly 
                 75 
                 150 
                 10 
                 90 
                 1.25 
               
               
                 5 
                 Performed 
                 60 
                 120 
                 10 
                 99 
                 1.56 
               
               
                 6 
                   
                 50 
                 100 
                 10 
                 100 
                 1.87 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     As can be seen from Table 1, when all the second rotation processes and the first rotation processes in the 10-cycle inclining-stirring operation are performed for 0.43 seconds, respectively (Test No. 1), leakage of the blood is observed in all of the ten specimen containers. However, when the second rotation process at the final cycle is performed for 0.94 seconds, which is longer than 0.8 seconds (Test No. 3), leakage of the blood is not observed in any of the ten specimen containers. In addition, when the second rotation process at the final cycle is performed for 1.56 seconds, which is longer than 1.4 seconds (Test No. 5), leakage of the blood is not observed in any of the ten specimen containers, and even when the number of specimen containers is increased to 100, leakage of the blood is observed in only one specimen container. 
     Accordingly, it was found that the amount of blood sample adhering to and remaining on the back side of the lid can be significantly decreased by setting a time required for the second rotation process at the final cycle to 0.8 seconds or longer and it was found that the amount of blood sample adhering to and remaining on the back side of the lid can be more significantly decreased by setting the above-described time to 1.4 seconds or longer. 
     Next, the flow of the inclining-stirring operation of the specimen container  101  will be described by using  FIG. 14 . In the following description, a rotation process of shifting a specimen container  101  in an upright state into an inclining state is referred to as “first rotation process” and a rotation process of returning a specimen container  101  in an inclining state to an upright state is referred to as “second rotation process”, and particularly, the second rotation process which returns a specimen container  101  in an inclining state to an upright state in the final cycle is referred to as “second low-speed rotation process”. 
     First, the CPU  51   a  performs the first rotation process of rotating a specimen container  101  from an upright state to an inclining state (Step S 41 ), and then performs the second rotation process of returning the specimen container  101  to an upright state from an inclining state (Step S 42 ). The respective first and second rotation processes are performed for 0.43 seconds. Next, the CPU  51   a  determines whether or not the number of inclining-stirring operations in which the first rotation process and the second rotation process are set as one cycle reaches 9 (Step S 43 ), and when the number of inclining-stirring operations does not reach 9, the CPU  51   a  repeatedly performs the operations of Steps S 41  and S 42 . 
     When the number of the inclining-stirring operations reaches 9, the CPU  51   a  performs the first rotation process once again (Step S 44 ), and then performs the second low-speed rotation process (Step S 45 ). Then, the process returns to the blood sample processing. In the second low-speed rotation process in Step S 45 , an operation of returning the specimen container  101  in an inclining state to an upright state is performed for a longer time than other processes, that is, 1.87 seconds. 
     During the stirring operation of the specimen container  101 , the rack  110  is evacuated from the specimen container ejection position  43   a  and the specimen setting section  255   a  moves forward up to a predetermined position positioned below the hand section  251  due to the driving of the specimen container transport section  255 . After the stirring, the CPU  51   a  moves the hand section  251  down and opens the hand section  251 , and thus the specimen container  101  held in the hand section  251  is set in the specimen setting section  255   a  (Step S 5 ). 
     Next, the hand section  251  is lifted, and the specimen setting section  255   a  is drawn into the apparatus by the driving of the specimen container transport section  255  and positioned at a predetermined position. 
     &lt;Aspiration Process&gt; 
     Next, the CPU  51   a  performs an operation of aspirating the specimen from the specimen container  101  (Step S 6 ). In greater detail, in a state in which the specimen container  101  is held by the chuck section  27  so as not to move due to the control of the CPU  51   a , the piercer  211  is driven by the piercer moving section  212  and moves down from the upper side to penetrate the sealing lid  102  of the specimen container  101 , and is stopped at a predetermined position. In this penetration operation, as described above, the blood sample adhering to the back side of the lid  102  moves to the bottom portion of the container during the inclining-stirring operation and thus does not remain on the back side of the lid  102 . Accordingly, there is no leakage to the outside from the groove  211   a  in the outer circumferential surface of the piercer  211  for opening to the atmosphere. 
     After the piercer  211  is stopped at the predetermined position in the specimen container  101 , a predetermined amount of the blood sample is aspirated by the piercer  211 . After the aspiration, the piercer  211  is lifted and the aspirated blood sample is mixed with a reagent in a reaction container of the sample preparation section  22 , and thus a sample for measurement is prepared. Then, the prepared sample for measurement is transferred to the detecting section  23  and predetermined items are detected (measured) in the detecting section  23 . The detection result is transmitted to the controller  51  and the components of the analysis target are analyzed in the controller  51 . The obtained analysis result is displayed on the display section  52 . 
     After the piercer  211  is lifted, the CPU  51   a  performs an operation for returning the specimen container  101  to the original rack  110  (Step S 7 ). In greater detail, due to the control of the CPU  51   a , the specimen setting section  255   a  is moved forward once again by the driving of the specimen container transport section  255  and is stopped at the specimen container setting position. Next, the hand section  251  moves down from the upper side and is stopped at the specimen container holding position. 
     Next, the hand section  251  is closed to hold the specimen container  101  of the specimen setting section  255   a , and after that, the hand section  251  is lifted and stopped at a predetermined position. During the lifting of the hand section  251  holding the specimen container  101 , the specimen setting section  255   a  is drawn into the apparatus by the driving of the specimen container transport section  255 . In addition, the evacuated rack  110  advances and is stopped at a predetermined position. 
     Next, the hand section  251  moves down and inserts the specimen container  101  into the rack  110 . Then, the hand section  251  is opened by the opening driving of the opening-closing section  252  and thus the specimen container  101  is set in the rack  110 . Then, the hand section  251  is lifted. After that, the CPU  51   a  determines whether or not there is a specimen container storing a blood sample to be analyzed next (Step S 8 ). When there is a next specimen container, the process proceeds to Step S 2  and the rack  110  is moved to position a specimen container  101  storing a blood sample to be analyzed next at the specimen container ejection position. The above-described sequence of operations starting from the dropping of the opened hand section  251  is repeatedly performed in the same manner. In Step S 8 , when it is determined that there are no specimen containers storing a blood sample to be analyzed next, the CPU  51   a  completes the process. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, since the inclining-stirring operation of a specimen container is repeatedly performed and the second rotation process of the final inclining-stirring operation is performed for a longer time (0.8 seconds or longer) than in other second rotation processes, the blood sample adhering to the back side of the lid of the specimen container can be moved to the bottom portion of the specimen container. Accordingly, at the time point when the inclining-stirring operation is completed, a state in which the blood sample adheres to the back side of the lid of the specimen container can be resolved or suppressed. For example, the leakage of the blood sample in the specimen container out of the container when a piercer penetrates the lid can be resolved or suppressed. 
     In addition, since a state in which the blood sample adheres to the back side of the lid of the specimen container can be resolved or suppressed, wastage of a portion of the blood sample collected from a patient can be suppressed. 
     In the above-described blood sample processing method, the second rotation process which is performed just before the piercing of the piercer is slowly carried out for 0.8 seconds or longer and the time required for other second rotation processes and first rotation processes is not particularly limited. However, from the point of view of decreasing the total processing time, it is preferable that other second rotation processes and first rotation processes are performed for a shorter time than the second rotation process which is performed just before the piercing of the piercer. 
     In the above-described embodiments, the inclining-stirring operation is an operation reciprocating from an upright state to an inclining state with an angle of about 127 degrees between the vertical line and the axis of the specimen container. However, as long as the inclining state exists in which the bottom portion of the specimen container is positioned higher than or as high as the lid, the inclining-stirring operation is not limited to the exemplified operation and various inclining-stirring operations can be performed. For example, the above-described angle θ may be smaller than or larger than 127 degrees. For example, the angle θ may be 180 degrees or may be 90 degrees. In addition, the hand section  251  may not only be rotated in a space in one direction viewed from the vertical line V as in this embodiment, but may also be rotated in a space in another direction viewed from the vertical line V in addition to the above-described space. 
     In the above-described embodiments, a specimen container  101  in an upright state is rotated in one direction to be shifted into an inclining state, and then the specimen container  101  is inversely rotated to return to the original upright state. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the specimen container  101  in an upright state may be rotated in one direction to be shifted into an inclining state and may be further rotated in the one direction to return to the original upright state from the inclining state. 
     In the above-described embodiments, a specimen container  101  is stirred by repeating an operation in which the specimen container  101  in an upright state is shifted into an inclining state and is stopped once and then the specimen container  101  is returned to the original upright state. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, an operation may be continuously repeated in which the specimen container  101  in an upright state is rotated to be shifted into an inclining state and then is rotated by 360 degrees as it is without stopping the specimen container  101  so as to be returned to the original upright state. In the case of this stirring operation, a process of returning the specimen container in an inclining state to an upright state at the final cycle is performed at a lower speed than other processes, and thus the amount of blood sample adhering to and remaining on the back side of the lid of the specimen container  101  can be decreased. 
     In the above-described embodiments, the aspiration tube carries out the opening to the atmosphere and moves to a predetermined aspiration position with one dropping operation. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Another aspiration tube may be used such as an aspiration tube of a two-time-piercing type which only carries out opening to the atmosphere with an initial dropping operation and moves to a predetermined aspiration position after rising once and dropping again. 
     In the above-described embodiments, a blood cell counting apparatus is used as the blood sample processing apparatus. However, a smear preparation apparatus may be used as the blood sample processing apparatus. 
     In the above-described embodiments, the second rotation process which is performed just before the piercing of the piercer is performed for a shorter time than in other processes. However, all the processes may be performed for the same time period as in the second rotation process which is performed just before the piercing of the piercer. 
     In the above-described embodiments, a 10-cycle inclining-stirring operation is performed. However, inclining-stirring operations having various numbers of cycles may be performed, and for example, an 8-cycle inclining-stirring operation may be performed.