Registers – Coded record sensors – Particular sensor structure
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-09
2004-04-13
Lee, Michael G. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Coded record sensors
Particular sensor structure
C235S385000, C235S462010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06719203
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a unit for controlling cuvettes used when counting leukocytes in blood products.
When counting the number of leukocytes in blood products, it is known to mix the blood products with a hemolysis fluorescent dyeing reagent.
FIG. 1
is a view showing a cuvette, (a) being a side view and (b) being a view seen from arrow A of (a). The cuvette
1
is a container for holding blood products with the reagent therein, during measurement. Cuvette
1
has a hollow main body
2
made of colorless transparent plastic and a colored lid
3
made of rubber, as shown in FIG.
1
. The main body
2
is open on top, its opening portion has an installation portion
2
d
for the lid
3
. The lid
3
is attachably and detachably installed on this installation portion
2
d.
Below the installation portion
2
d
of the main body
2
, a body portion
2
c
in a cylindrical shape is formed. Below the body portion
2
c
is a taper portion
2
b.
At the lower end of the taper portion
2
b,
a plate portion
2
a
is provided. The whole main body
2
and the plate portion
2
a
are formed integrally. The whole has a shape like a cone narrowing downwardly. The lid
3
is inserted into the installation portion
2
d,
and the installation portion
2
d
is a cylindrical shape having the diameter bigger than one of the body portion
2
c
so as not to drop the lid
3
into the body portion
2
c.
For counting number of leukocytes in blood products using the above-mentioned cuvettes
1
, a number of empty one-use cuvettes
1
(for example 96 cuvettes) are provided in a cuvette box, and are taken individually and identified by marking an ID number on the main body
2
of each of the cuvettes
1
with a marking ink A unique ID number is affixed on blood products bag when blood is collected. The blood products ID and the cuvette ID are each correlated by entries in a note book or the like.
Subsequently, 100 &mgr;L of hemolysis™ fluorescent dyeing reagent, for instance, is respectively added to the ninety six (96) cuvettes
1
. Thereafter, 100 &mgr;L of the blood, for instance, is extracted from the blood products, and the extracted blood is added to the cuvette
1
, wherein the reagent and the blood mix and react. The above-mentioned operation is repeated for each of the ninety six cuvettes
1
in order. Thereafter, the cuvette
1
in which the reagent and the blood products are reacted is taken out and centrifuged. Then, the cuvette
1
is taken out of the centrifuge and set on a micro-leukocytometer.
At this point, it is necessary manually to input the blood products identification in the micro-leukocytometer. In this machine, laser beams are exposed to the leukocytes the lower end of the cuvette
1
, and the image is analyzed with a CCD camera or the like from the lower end or the side so as to count the number of the leukocytes. The counted result is displayed, correlated with the input blood products identification, and printed or stored in a memory medium.
In a conventional method of controlling cuvettes, it is necessary for a tester to read the identification number from each of the cuvettes
1
and to enter the cuvette ID number against the blood products ID number in a separate list, so as to establish the correspondence between these numbers. But this is a close operation because the cuvette
1
is about 30 mm in total length and has a maximum diameter of about 18 mm, for instance. The cuvette is small. Besides, ninety six (96) cuvette ID number entries must be made to complete one box, and ninety six (96) correlations of cuvette and blood product ID numbers are also necessary. The ID numbers may encode information such as the blood center, the place where the blood was collected, and a serial number, in the blood products ID. This ID is a 10 digit number. As mentioned before, the blood products ID is manually input at a measuring instrument. There are problems in such an operation, for instance, there is a possibility of error. In any event, the tester is subject to strong mental stress and physical pain.
For these reasons, each cuvette
1
might be controlled using bar codes of the sort used for individual data control in other fields. But, the cuvette
1
is small. For this reason, the area where a bar code might be affixed is small. There are problems if one attempts to affix and use conventional bar code.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cuvette control unit capable of controlling cuvettes
1
by using bar code even though the cuvette is small and the area for affixing a bar code is limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to an inventive aspect, a cuvette control unit is provided for controlling cuvettes by reading a first bar code affixed on said cuvette, said first bar code being comprised of control code characters located on opposite end portions, and information codes located between said control codes. The cuvette control unit comprises: a first reading means capable of reading said first bar code; a cuvette identification information producing means for producing cuvette identification information corresponding to said cuvette on which said first bar code is affixed from said control code characters and said information codes of said first bar code read by said first reading means; and a memory means for storing said cuvette identification information produced by said cuvette identification information producing means, corresponding to said cuvette on which said first bar code is affixed.
According to an inventive aspect, the capacity of the identification information on the cuvette is increased because a number of different kinds of control codes are used and can distinguish between identification codes that otherwise have the same digits of information code between said control codes. Therefore, sufficient capacity of the identification information is obtained for identifying the cuvettes. In fact, the information capacity encoded by a given number of code digits is increased (or the necessary number of digits to encode the same information is decreased) as compared to the number of digits of information code and/or information capacity of a general bar code of comparable size and/or capacity. That is, identification and control of cuvettes are possible with smaller bar code, having fewer digits, than a general bar code.
According to one application of this aspect, the control codes used in said first bar code comprises a start code that has at least two distinct kinds. Identification information is encoded by the kind of start code used in the control code. When this control code distinction is used in the first bat code together with information code, the information capacity of the first bar code is increased according to the number of kinds of the start code. More cuvettes can be identified and controlled than in a general bar code having the same number of digits.
Alternatively or in addition, said first bar code can have two or more distinct kinds of stop code used in the control codes. As described above with respect to having distinct start codes as control codes, the capacity of the identification information of the bar code can be increased according to the number of distinct kinds of the stop code. Given the same number of digits of information code plus these distinct kinds of control codes, can be identified and controlled.
In one embodiment, the cuvette control unit and cuvette identification information producing means uses identification information for said cuvette, namely said first bar code affixed thereto, with start code as one control code and a stop code as another control code. Part of the identification information is produced from the control codes, particularly a start code and a stop code. The number of distinct identification values possible with bar code containing multiple kinds of start codes and multiple kinds of stop codes, wherein the number of digits of information code between the control codes is the same, is increased according to the number of kinds of the start code and the stop
Hirono Taisuke
Ishikawa Muneharu
Duane Morris LLP
Kowa Company Ltd.
Lee Michael G.
Lee Seung H
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