Patent ID: 8612162

Claim:
A mass analysis data processing method for processing data collected by a multi-turn time-of-flight mass spectrometer including: an ion source for ejecting ions to be analyzed in a pulsed fashion; a loop orbit unit for making ions ejected from the ion source fly multiple times along a substantially same orbit; and a detector for detecting ions which have flown in the loop orbit unit comprising: creating a plurality of time-of-flight spectra of a same sample by changing, in stages, a timing of ejecting ions from the loop orbit so as to direct the ions from the loop orbit unit to the detector, determining a mass-to-charge ratio of an ion corresponding to a peak of interest on one time-of-flight spectrum selected from the aforementioned plurality of time-of-flight spectra, based on coincidence discrimination of a plurality of assumed values of the mass-to-charge ratio, wherein each coincidence discrimination is obtained by performing, for each of two or more of the aforementioned plurality of time-of-flight spectra other than the aforementioned one time-of-flight spectrum, a process including estimating flight times of the ion corresponding to the peak of interest on the time-of-flight spectrum by assuming values of the mass-to-charge ratio, and checking whether or not a peak exists at the estimated flight time on an actually obtained time-of-flight spectrum; and deducing, for each of the aforementioned two or more time-of-flight spectra, a probability that the coincidence in the time position of the peak of interest on the other time-of-flight spectrum accidentally occurs in determining the mass-to-charge ratio, and computing a quantitative value representing a degree of reliability of the processing performed in determining the mass-to-charge ratio from the deduced values of the probability for the plurality of other time-of-flight spectra.