Dialysis waste fluid component measuring device and method

Abstract

To provide a device and a method for component measurement for dialysis drainage capable of accurately measuring concentration of a component to be measured in dialysis drainage.SOLUTION: A component to be measured is a component excited by light of a first wavelength, and emitting fluorescent light of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength. A device 1 for component measurement for dialysis drainage includes: a light source 2 for irradiating dialysis drainage with light of a first wavelength; a scattered light measurement unit 3 for receiving scattered light scattered by the dialysis drainage at a predetermined scattering angle, and measuring the light intensity of the scattered light; a fluorescent light measurement unit 4 for measuring the light intensity of fluorescent light of the second wavelength; a component-to-be-measured concentration calculation unit 51 for calculating the concentration of the component to be measured contained in the dialysis drainage on the basis of a result of the measurement by the scattered light measurement unit 3 and storing a result of the calculation in a storage unit 56 as temporary concentration; a component-to-be-measured detection unit 52 for detecting whether or not the component to be measured is contained in the dialysis drainage on the basis of a result of the measurement by the fluorescent light measurement unit 4; and a component confirmation unit 53 for determining the temporary concentration as the concentration of the component to be measured only when the component-to-be-measured detection unit 52 has detected the component to be measured.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring components in a dialysis effluent. [Background technology]

[0002] In a blood purification device, blood is purified by contacting the blood with the dialysate through a blood purification membrane in a blood purifier (also called a dialyzer). If certain components in the blood leak too much into the dialysate, complications and other problems may occur. Therefore, to avoid such problems, it is desirable to monitor the concentrations of certain components in the dialysis effluent discharged from the blood purifier.

[0003] An example of a component (referred to as a component to be measured) in dialysis effluent that is desired to be monitored is albumin. Patent Document 1 discloses a method for measuring the concentration of albumin by optically exciting albumin in the solution and measuring the emitted fluorescence. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2014-518517 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the intensity of fluorescence is low, and measurement accuracy may be reduced, especially when the concentration of the component to be measured is low. For example, when the component to be measured is albumin, albumin is a component that should not leak too much from blood, so the albumin concentration is usually not expected to be very high. Therefore, it is desirable to measure the concentration of the component to be measured accurately even when the concentration is low.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a dialysis effluent component measuring device and method that can accurately measure the concentration of a component to be measured in dialysis effluent. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A dialysis effluent component measuring device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a device for measuring the concentration of a component to be measured contained in dialysis effluent discharged from a blood purifier, wherein the component to be measured is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, and the device comprises a light source that irradiates the dialysis effluent with light of the first wavelength, a scattered light measuring unit that receives scattered light of the first wavelength scattered by the dialysis effluent at a predetermined scattering angle and measures the light intensity of the scattered light, and a scattered light measuring unit that measures the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength. a measurement component concentration calculation unit that calculates the concentration of the measurement component contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement results of the fluorescence measurement unit and stores the calculation result in a memory unit as a provisional concentration; a measurement component detection unit that detects that the measurement component is contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement results of the fluorescence measurement unit; and a component confirmation unit that sets the provisional concentration calculated by the measurement component concentration calculation unit as the concentration of the measurement component only when the measurement component detection unit detects that the measurement component is contained in the dialysis effluent.

[0008] A dialysis effluent component measurement method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a method for measuring the concentration of a metered component contained in dialysis effluent discharged from a blood purifier, wherein the metered component is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, the method irradiates the dialysis effluent with light of the first wavelength from a light source, receives scattered light of the first wavelength scattered by the dialysis effluent at a predetermined scattering angle, measures the light intensity of the scattered light, measures the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength, calculates the concentration of the metered component contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the light intensity of the scattered light, stores the calculation result as a provisional concentration, detects the presence of the metered component in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the light intensity of the fluorescence, and only when it is detected that the metered component is contained in the dialysis effluent, the provisional concentration is set as the concentration of the metered component. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dialysis effluent component measuring device and method that can accurately measure the concentration of a component to be measured in a dialysis effluent. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of a blood purification device using a dialysis effluent component measuring device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a dialysis effluent component measuring device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for measuring components in a dialysis effluent according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] [Embodiment Mode] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] (blood purification device) First, a blood purification apparatus using the dialysis effluent component measuring device according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a blood purification apparatus using the dialysis effluent component measuring device according to the present embodiment.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1, a blood purification device 10 includes a blood circuit 11 for extracorporeally circulating a patient's blood, a liquid supply flow path 13 for supplying a supply liquid to a blood purifier 12 provided in the blood circuit 11, and a drainage flow path 14 for discharging drainage liquid from the blood purifier 12. In the example of Fig. 1, the liquid supply flow path 13 is shown as a dialysate flow path 13a for supplying dialysate to the blood purifier 12. However, the liquid supply flow path 13 is not limited to this, and may be a substitution fluid flow path for directly supplying substitution fluid to the blood circuit 11, or may have both the dialysate flow path 13a and a substitution fluid flow path.

[0014] The blood circuit 11 is composed of, for example, flexible tubes. In the blood circuit 11, a blood pump 111, a blood purifier 12, and an air trap chamber 112 are sequentially provided from the upstream side to the downstream side of the blood flow. The blood pump 111 is a liquid delivery pump that delivers blood. The air trap chamber 112 is used to remove air bubbles from the blood.

[0015] Dialysis water is supplied to the dialysate flow path 13a from an RO device (not shown) that produces clean dialysis water using a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. Two types of dialysis solution stock solutions, stock solution A and stock solution B, are also supplied to the dialysate flow path 13a. Both stock solutions are stored in stock solution storage tanks 151, and stock solution A and stock solution B are supplied from the stock solution storage tanks 151 to the dialysate flow path 13a via stock solution flow paths 152. Each of the stock solution flow paths 152 is provided with a stock solution injection pump 153, which is a liquid feed pump that feeds stock solution A or stock solution B. Dialysis water is prepared in the dialysate flow path 13a by mixing stock solution A and stock solution B. The prepared dialysis solution is introduced into the blood purifier 12 via a duplex pump 16. However, the blood purification device 10 is not limited to this, and may be configured to supply a prepared dialysis solution stock solution, for example, a mixture of stock solutions A and B. Alternatively, the mechanism for preparing dialysis solution from dialysis water and dialysis solution stock solution may be omitted, and the dialysis solution may be supplied from an external source. In other words, the blood purification device 10 may be a personal dialysis device having a mechanism for preparing dialysis solution from dialysis water and dialysis solution stock solution, or a dialysis monitoring device supplied with dialysis solution from a multi-person dialysis solution supply device.

[0016] The dialysis effluent discharged from the blood purifier 12 is discharged through the drainage flow path 14. The duplex pump 16 is provided across the dialysate flow path 13a and the drainage flow path 14, and performs pumping operation so that the amount of dialysate introduced into the blood purifier 12 is equal to the amount of effluent discharged from the blood purifier 12. The drainage flow path 14 is also provided with a water removal flow path 14a that bypasses the duplex pump 16, and this water removal flow path 14a is provided with a water removal pump 17. When the water removal pump 17 is driven, the amount of effluent discharged from the blood purifier 12 becomes greater than the amount of dialysate introduced into the blood purifier 12, thereby removing water from the blood. The amount of water removed from the blood can be adjusted by adjusting the amount of fluid sent by the water removal pump 17.

[0017] A dialysis effluent component measuring device 1 according to this embodiment is provided in a drainage flow path 14 of a blood purification apparatus 10. The dialysis effluent component measuring device 1 is provided in the drainage flow path 14 downstream of the position where the water removal flow path 14a joins the drainage flow path 14. Note that the configuration in Fig. 1 is merely an example, and the specific configuration of the blood purification apparatus 10 can be changed as appropriate.

[0018] (Dialysis effluent component measuring device 1) 2 is a schematic diagram of the dialysis effluent component measuring device 1 according to this embodiment. The dialysis effluent component measuring device 1 is a device that measures the concentration of a specific target component contained in the dialysis effluent discharged from a blood purifier 12.

[0019] The component to be measured is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the component to be measured is albumin. That is, the dialysis effluent component measuring device 1 is, for example, a device that measures the concentration of albumin in dialysis effluent. When the component to be measured is albumin, the first wavelength, which is the wavelength of the excitation light, is 250 nm or more and 330 nm or less, more preferably 275 nm or more and 285 nm or less. The second wavelength, which is the wavelength of the fluorescence emitted by albumin, is 300 nm or more and 400 nm or less.

[0020] However, the light intensity of fluorescent light is low, and it may be difficult to ensure sufficient detection accuracy, especially when the concentration of the analyte is low. Therefore, the inventors considered measuring the concentration of the analyte based on the light intensity of scattered light from the analyte. However, when using only the light intensity of scattered light, the influence of components other than the analyte contained in the dialysis effluent or the influence of external noise may result in scattered light having the same scattering angle as the scattering angle at which the analyte is being measured. In such cases, leakage of the analyte may be determined even when it is not. The inventors conducted extensive research to address this issue and arrived at the present invention.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the dialysis effluent component measuring device 1 mainly comprises a light source 2, a scattered light measuring unit 3, a fluorescence measuring unit 4, and a computing device 5. The light source 2 irradiates the dialysis effluent with light of a first wavelength capable of exciting albumin, the component to be measured. Here, a light-emitting diode that irradiates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 280 nm is used as the light source 2. In this embodiment, the light source 2 is pulse-driven so that light emission and non-emission are repeated at a predetermined cycle. This reduces power consumption and extends the life of the light-emitting diode used as the light source 2, and also makes it possible to suppress the effects of noise (the suppression of the effects of noise will be described later).

[0022] The drainage flow path 14 is provided with a flat, thin measuring section 14b so that the flow path has a substantially uniform thickness. Here, the measuring section 14b is formed to have a substantially elliptical shape when viewed from the light source 2 side. The light source 2 is provided so as to face the center of the measuring section 14b in the thickness direction of the measuring section 14b. The measuring section 14b is made of a material that transmits light of at least the first and second wavelengths (having sufficiently high transmittance for the first and second wavelengths). In addition, a lens 6 is provided between the light source 2 and the measuring section 14b. The light emitted from the light source 2 is focused by the lens 6 and enters the measuring section 14b. Here, the light from the light source 2 is converted by the lens 6 into parallel light which enters the measuring section 14b.

[0023] The scattered light measurement unit 3 receives scattered light of a first wavelength (i.e., the same wavelength as the light source 2) that is incident on the measurement unit 14b and scattered by the dialysis effluent at a plurality of angles, and measures the light intensity of the scattered light. In this embodiment, the scattered light measurement unit 3 receives the scattered light of the first wavelength that is scattered by the dialysis effluent at a predetermined scattering angle, and measures the light intensity of the scattered light. In this case, the scattering angle at which the scattered light is measured should be selected so that scattering by the component to be measured (here, albumin) is large and the influence of other components contained in the dialysis effluent (e.g., uric acid, β2-microglobulin, etc.) is small, and should be determined in advance by experiment, etc. More specifically, it is advisable to determine in advance the scattering pattern of albumin and the scattering patterns of other substances contained in the dialysis effluent by experiments or the like, and then, by referring to the scattering pattern determined by experiments or the like, determine a scattering angle that is less susceptible to the influence of other substances contained in the dialysis effluent and more susceptible to the influence of albumin (i.e., the scattering angle at which the light intensity of scattered light by other substances contained in the dialysis effluent is reduced and the light intensity of scattered light by albumin is increased).

[0024] The scattered light measuring unit 3 has a scattered light receiving element (PD) 31 for receiving scattered light caused by the component to be measured (here, albumin), a transmitted light mask 32 for blocking transmitted light that has passed through the dialysis effluent from entering the scattered light receiving element 31, and a lens 33 as a first light-guiding member for guiding scattered light at a predetermined scattering angle to the scattered light receiving element 31.

[0025] A photodiode capable of detecting even weak optical signals and having a fast response speed to incident light is preferably used as the scattered light receiving element 31, and more preferably an avalanche photodiode is used, which allows for capturing changes in scattered light over time and improves light receiving sensitivity due to its high multiplication factor even for small amounts of light.

[0026] In this embodiment, the scattered light receiving element 31 is disposed opposite the light source 2 with the measurement unit 14b in between. Therefore, a transmitted light mask 32 is provided between the measurement unit 14b and the scattered light receiving element 31 to prevent the light from the light source 2 passing through the measurement unit 14b from being received by the scattered light receiving element 31. The transmitted light mask 32 is preferably configured to block not only the transmitted light but also the fluorescence from the component to be measured (here, albumin). The scattered light at a predetermined scattering angle (i.e., the light scattered by albumin) generated by the measurement unit 14b is collected by a lens 33 serving as a light guide member and guided to the scattered light receiving element 31. In the illustrated example, one lens 33 is used as the light guide member, but this is not limiting and multiple lenses may be used, or an optical member other than a lens, such as a mirror, may be used.

[0027] Furthermore, although not shown, the scattered light measurement unit 3 may be configured to guide the light focused by the lens 33 to the scattered light receiving element 31 through a filter that blocks light of the second wavelength and passes light of the first wavelength. In this case, the filter may be a bandpass filter that passes light of the emission wavelength of the light source 2, and may be configured to pass light with a wavelength of 250 nm or more and 330 nm or less, more preferably 275 nm or more and 285 nm or less. This makes it possible to remove fluorescence due to albumin (and light that becomes noise) from the light focused by the lens 33, enabling more accurate measurements.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the light source 2 is pulse-driven, repeatedly emitting and not emitting light at a predetermined cycle, but the scattered light measurement unit 3 may be configured to measure the difference in light intensity between when the light source 2 is emitting light and when it is not emitting light as the light intensity due to scattered light. This makes it possible to suppress the effects of noise and perform measurements with higher accuracy.

[0029] The fluorescence measurement unit 4 measures the light intensity of fluorescence of a second wavelength generated when light of a first wavelength is irradiated onto the measurement unit 14b. The fluorescence measurement unit 4 includes a fluorescence photodetector (PD) 41 that receives the fluorescence, a bandpass filter 42, and a lens 43 as a second light-guiding member that guides the fluorescence generated in the measurement unit 14 to the fluorescence photodetector 41. The bandpass filter 42 is provided between the measurement unit 14b and the fluorescence photodetector 41 and functions as a filter that blocks light of the first wavelength (transmitted light and scattered light) from entering the fluorescence photodetector 41 and passes only light of the second wavelength generated by fluorescence. The wavelength that the bandpass filter 42 passes is preferably 300 nm or more and 400 nm or less, the same as the second wavelength, and more preferably a wavelength range around 340 nm, the fluorescence wavelength of albumin (e.g., 330 nm or more and 350 nm or less). Since the light intensity of fluorescence is relatively low, in this embodiment, light collected by lens 43 is received by fluorescence light receiving element 41. Lens 43 is provided between measurement unit 14b and bandpass filter 42.

[0030] As with the scattered light photodetector 31, a photodiode capable of detecting weak optical signals and having a fast response to incident light should be used as the fluorescent light photodetector 41, and more preferably an avalanche photodiode. This makes it possible to capture changes in the fluorescent light over time and improves light-receiving sensitivity due to its high multiplication factor even for minute light amounts.

[0031] In this embodiment, the light source 2 is pulse-driven to repeatedly emit and not emit light at a predetermined cycle, but the fluorescence measurement unit 4 may be configured to measure the difference in light intensity between when the light source 2 emits light and when it does not emit light as the light intensity of the fluorescence. By extracting only the light-receiving component at a predetermined cycle in the signal processing unit (arithmetic unit 5), the influence of noise can be suppressed, enabling more accurate measurements.

[0032] The calculation device 5 is equipped with a metered component concentration calculation unit 51, a metered component detection unit 52, a component confirmation unit 53, a metered component leakage amount calculation unit 54, an alarm unit 55, and a memory unit 56. The metered component concentration calculation unit 51, the metered component detection unit 52, the component confirmation unit 53, the metered component leakage amount calculation unit 54, and the alarm unit 55 are realized by appropriately combining a calculation element, memory, software, an interface, a storage device such as a hard disk, etc. The memory unit 56 is realized using a predetermined storage area in a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. The calculation device 5 may be, for example, a control device of the blood purification apparatus 10.

[0033] Based on the measurement result from scattered light measurement unit 3, analyte concentration calculation unit 51 calculates the concentration of the analyte (here, albumin) contained in the dialysis effluent and stores the calculation result as a provisional concentration in memory unit 56. For example, analyte concentration calculation unit 51 uses a relationship between the intensity of scattered light and the concentration of albumin that has been determined in advance to calculate the concentration of albumin (provisional concentration) based on the intensity of scattered light measured by scattered light measurement unit 3. The reason why the calculation result from analyte concentration calculation unit 51 is used as a provisional concentration here is because there is a risk that scattered light from components other than albumin may also be measured by scattered light measurement unit 3.

[0034] The analyte component detection unit 52 detects that the dialysis effluent contains a analyte component (here, albumin) based on the measurement results of the fluorescence measurement unit 4. Specifically, the analyte component detection unit 52 detects that the dialysis effluent contains albumin when the light intensity of the fluorescence measured by the fluorescence measurement unit 4 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

[0035] Only when the analyte component detection unit 52 detects that the dialysis effluent contains a analyte component (here, albumin), the component confirmation unit 53 determines the provisional concentration calculated by the analyte component concentration calculation unit 51 and stored in the memory unit 56 as the concentration of the analyte component (here, albumin). That is, the component confirmation unit 53 confirms whether the provisional concentration calculated by the analyte component concentration calculation unit 51 is the concentration of albumin. Thus, in this embodiment, only when the dialysis effluent contains albumin and the fluorescence is detected, the provisional concentration calculated using scattered light is treated as the albumin concentration. Even if the provisional concentration is calculated by the analyte component concentration calculation unit 51, if the dialysis effluent contains no albumin and the fluorescence is not detected, the provisional concentration is not treated as the albumin concentration, and the albumin concentration is treated as zero. This prevents the possibility of determining that albumin is leaking when it is not. Furthermore, since the albumin concentration is measured using scattered light, which has a higher light intensity than fluorescence, the albumin concentration can be measured with high accuracy.

[0036] The analyte leakage amount calculation unit 54 calculates the amount of leakage of the analyte component since the start of treatment based on the concentration of the analyte component (here, albumin) confirmed by the component confirmation unit 53 (i.e., the concentration of the analyte component calculated by the analyte concentration calculation unit 51 and detected as being contained in the dialysis effluent by the analyte component detection unit 52) ​​and the flow rate of the dialysis effluent. The flow rate of the dialysis effluent may be determined from the drive rates of the duplex pump 16 and the ultrafiltration pump 17, or may be measured by providing a flow sensor in the drainage flow path 14.

[0037] More specifically, the measurement component leakage amount calculation unit 54 calculates the average albumin concentration for one minute, and multiplies the average albumin concentration by the flow rate of the dialysis effluent to calculate the albumin leakage amount per minute, which is stored for each minute in the memory unit 56. Then, the albumin leakage amount per minute stored in the memory unit 56 is added up over the entire treatment time, thereby calculating the leakage amount of the measurement component since the start of treatment.

[0038] When the concentration of albumin confirmed by component confirmation unit 53 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold, alarm unit 55 issues an alarm by appropriate means such as light, sound, or display. In this embodiment, when the amount of albumin leakage calculated by measurement component leakage amount calculation unit 54 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold, alarm unit 55 issues an alarm by appropriate means such as light, sound, or display. (Method for measuring components in dialysis effluent) 3 is a flow diagram of the method for measuring components in a dialysis effluent according to this embodiment. For example, the flow of FIG. 3 starts at the start of blood purification treatment.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, in the method for measuring components in dialysis effluent according to this embodiment, first, in step S1, light of a first wavelength (here, 280 nm) is irradiated onto the dialysis effluent from the light source 2, and in step S2, the scattered light is measured by the scattered light receiving element 31 of the scattered light measuring unit 3, and the light intensity of the fluorescence of a second wavelength (here, 340 nm) is measured by the fluorescence receiving element 41 of the fluorescence measuring unit 4.

[0040] Then, in step S3, the analyte concentration calculation unit 51 calculates the concentration of albumin contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the scattered light measurement unit 3, and stores the calculated concentration as a provisional concentration in the memory unit 56. Then, in step S4, the analyte detection unit 52 determines whether the light intensity of the fluorescence measured by the fluorescence measurement unit 4 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold. If the determination in step S4 is YES (Y), it means that albumin is contained in the dialysis effluent, and therefore, in step S5, the component confirmation unit 53 sets the provisional concentration to the concentration of albumin, and then the process proceeds to step S7. If the determination in step S4 is NO (N), it means that albumin is not contained in the dialysis effluent, and therefore, in step S6, the component confirmation unit 53 sets the albumin concentration to zero, and then the process proceeds to step S7.

[0041] In step S7, the alarm unit 55 determines whether the albumin concentration set in step S5 or step S6 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold. If the determination in step S7 is YES (Y), an alarm is issued using light, sound, or the like in step S8, and the process proceeds to step S9. If the determination in step S7 is NO (N), the process proceeds to step S9 without issuing an alarm.

[0042] In step S9, the measurement component leakage calculation unit 54 calculates the amount of albumin leakage since the start of treatment based on the albumin concentration and the flow rate of the dialysis effluent set in step S5 or step S6. More specifically, as described above, the measurement component leakage calculation unit 54 calculates the average albumin concentration for one minute, and multiplies the average albumin concentration by the flow rate of the dialysis effluent to calculate the amount of albumin leakage per minute, which is stored for each minute in the memory unit 56. The albumin leakage per minute stored in the memory unit 56 is then added together over the entire elapsed treatment time to calculate the amount of albumin leakage since the start of treatment.

[0043] Thereafter, in step S10, the alarm unit 55 determines whether the amount of albumin leakage determined in step S9 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold. If the determination in step S10 is YES (Y), an alarm is issued using light, sound, or the like in step S11, and the process proceeds to step S12. If the determination in step S10 is NO (N), the process proceeds to step S12 without issuing an alarm.

[0044] In step S12, the calculation device 5 determines whether the treatment has ended. Whether the treatment has ended can be determined, for example, by a signal from a dialysis control device. If the determination in step S12 is NO (N), the process returns to step S1 and continues to monitor the albumin concentration in the dialysis effluent. If the determination in step S12 is YES (Y), the process ends.

[0045] (Actions and Effects of the Embodiments) As described above, in the dialysis effluent component measuring device 1 according to this embodiment, the analyte component is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength. The device is equipped with a light source 2 that irradiates the dialysis effluent with light of the first wavelength, a scattered light measuring unit 3 that receives the scattered light of the first wavelength scattered by the dialysis effluent at a predetermined scattering angle and measures the light intensity of the scattered light, a fluorescence measuring unit 4 that measures the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength, a analyte component concentration calculating unit 51 that calculates the concentration of the analyte component contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement results of the scattered light measuring unit 3 and stores the calculation result in a memory unit 56 as a provisional concentration, a analyte component detecting unit 52 that detects the presence of the analyte component in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement results of the fluorescence measuring unit 4, and a component confirming unit 53 that determines the provisional concentration calculated by the analyte component concentration calculating unit 51 as the concentration of the analyte component only when the analyte component detecting unit 52 detects the presence of the analyte component in the dialysis effluent.

[0046] By measuring the albumin concentration using scattered light, which has a higher light intensity than fluorescence, the albumin concentration can be measured with high accuracy. Note that it is possible that the scattered light measured by the scattered light measuring unit 3 may be affected by components other than the component to be measured contained in the dialysis effluent, but by also detecting the component to be measured by measuring fluorescence, it is possible to prevent problems such as determining that albumin is leaking even when it is not.

[0047] (Summary of the embodiment) Next, the technical ideas grasped from the above-described embodiments will be described by using the reference numerals and the like in the embodiments. However, the reference numerals and the like in the following description do not limit the components in the claims to the members and the like specifically shown in the embodiments.

[0048] [1] An apparatus for measuring the concentration of a component to be measured contained in a dialysis effluent discharged from a blood purifier (12), wherein the component to be measured is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, the apparatus comprising: a light source (2) that irradiates the dialysis effluent with light of the first wavelength; a scattered light measuring unit (3) that receives scattered light of the first wavelength scattered by the dialysis effluent at a predetermined scattering angle and measures the light intensity of the scattered light; a fluorescence measuring unit (4) that measures the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength; and a fluorescence measuring unit (5) that measures the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength based on the measurement result of the scattered light measuring unit (3). a metered component concentration calculation unit (51) that calculates the concentration of the metered component contained in the dialysis effluent and stores the calculation result as a provisional concentration in a memory unit (56); a metered component detection unit (52) that detects that the metered component is contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the fluorescence measurement unit (4); and a component confirmation unit (53) that sets the provisional concentration calculated by the metered component concentration calculation unit (51) as the concentration of the metered component only when the metered component detection unit (52) detects that the dialysis effluent contains the metered component.

[0049] [2] The dialysis effluent component measuring device (1) according to [1], wherein the component to be measured is albumin.

[0050] [3] The dialysis effluent component measuring device (1) according to [2], wherein the first wavelength is 250 nm or more and 330 nm or less, and the second wavelength is 300 nm or more and 400 nm or less.

[0051] [4] The dialysis effluent component measuring device (1) according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the light source (2) repeats emission and non-emission at a predetermined cycle, the scattered light measuring unit (3) measures the difference in light intensity between when the light source (2) is emitting light and when it is not emitting light as the light intensity due to the scattered light, and the fluorescence measuring unit (3) measures the difference in light intensity between when the light source is emitting light and when it is not emitting light as the light intensity due to the fluorescence.

[0052] [5] The dialysis effluent component measuring device (1) according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the scattered light measuring unit (3) has a scattered light receiving element (31) for receiving the scattered light, a transmitted light mask (32) for blocking the transmitted light that has passed through the dialysis effluent from being incident on the scattered light receiving element (31), and a first light guiding member (33) for guiding the scattered light at the predetermined scattering angle to the scattered light receiving element (31).

[0053] [6] The dialysis effluent component measuring device (1) according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the fluorescence measuring unit (4) has a fluorescence light-receiving element (41) that receives the fluorescence, and a filter (42) that blocks light of the first wavelength from entering the fluorescence light-receiving element (41) and transmits light of the second wavelength.

[0054] [7] The dialysis effluent component measuring device (1) according to [6], wherein the fluorescence measuring unit (4) has a second light guiding member (43) that guides the fluorescence to the fluorescence light receiving element (41).

[0055] [8] A method for measuring the concentration of a metered component contained in a dialysis effluent discharged from a blood purifier (12), wherein the metered component is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, the method comprising: irradiating the dialysis effluent with light of the first wavelength from a light source (2); receiving scattered light of the first wavelength scattered by the dialysis effluent at a predetermined scattering angle among the scattered light of the first wavelength; measuring the light intensity of the scattered light; measuring the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength; calculating the concentration of the metered component contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the light intensity of the scattered light; storing the calculation result as a provisional concentration; detecting the presence of the metered component in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the light intensity of the fluorescence; and setting the provisional concentration as the concentration of the metered component only when it is detected that the dialysis effluent contains the metered component.

[0056] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the invention according to the claims is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It should be noted that not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention. Furthermore, the present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope of its spirit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1...Dialysis waste fluid component measuring device 2…Light source 3...Scattered light measurement section 31... Scattered light receiving element 32...Transmitted light mask 33... Lens (first light guide member) 4...Fluorescence measurement section 41...Fluorescent light receiving element 42...Bandpass filter (filter) 43...Lens (second light guide member) 5...Arithmetic device 51...Measurement component concentration calculation section 52...Measuring component detection unit 53...Component confirmation section 54...Measurement component leakage calculation section 55...Alarm section 56...Storage section 10...Blood purification device 12...Blood purifier

Claims

1. An apparatus for measuring the concentration of a target component contained in dialysis wastewater discharged from a blood purifier, the component to be measured is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, a light source that irradiates the dialysis effluent with light of the first wavelength; a scattered light measuring unit that receives scattered light of the first wavelength scattered by the dialysis effluent at a predetermined scattering angle and measures the light intensity of the scattered light; a fluorescence measuring unit that measures the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength; a measurement component concentration calculation unit that calculates the concentration of the measurement component contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the scattered light measurement unit and stores the calculation result in a memory unit as a provisional concentration; a metered component detection unit that detects whether the metered component is contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the fluorescence measurement unit; and a component confirmation unit that sets the provisional concentration calculated by the analyte component concentration calculation unit as the concentration of the analyte component only when the analyte component detection unit detects that the analyte component is contained in the dialysis effluent. Dialysis effluent component measuring device.

2. the component to be measured is albumin; The dialysis effluent component measuring device according to claim 1.

3. the first wavelength is equal to or greater than 250 nm and equal to or less than 330 nm, The second wavelength is 300 nm or more and 400 nm or less. The dialysis effluent component measuring device according to claim 2.

4. the light source repeats light emission and non-light emission at a predetermined cycle; the scattered light measuring unit measures a difference in light intensity between when the light source is emitting light and when it is not emitting light as the light intensity due to the scattered light; The fluorescence measurement unit measures the difference in light intensity between when the light source is emitting light and when it is not emitting light as the light intensity due to the fluorescence. The dialysis effluent component measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the scattered light measuring unit includes a scattered light receiving element for receiving the scattered light, a transmitted light mask for blocking the transmitted light that has passed through the dialysis effluent from being incident on the scattered light receiving element, and a first light guiding member for guiding the scattered light at the predetermined scattering angle to the scattered light receiving element. The dialysis effluent component measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. the fluorescence measurement unit includes a fluorescence light-receiving element that receives the fluorescence, and a filter that blocks light of the first wavelength from being incident on the fluorescence light-receiving element and transmits light of the second wavelength. The dialysis effluent component measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. the fluorescence measurement unit has a second light guiding member that guides the fluorescence to the fluorescence light receiving element; The dialysis effluent component measuring device according to claim 6.

8. A method for measuring the concentration of a target component contained in a dialysis effluent discharged from a blood purifier using a dialysis effluent component measuring device, comprising: the component to be measured is a component that is excited by light of a first wavelength and emits fluorescence of a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, The device, irradiating the dialysis effluent with light of the first wavelength from a light source; Among the scattered light of the first wavelength scattered by the dialysis effluent, light scattered at a predetermined scattering angle is received, and the light intensity of the scattered light is measured; measuring the light intensity of the fluorescence of the second wavelength; calculating a concentration of the component to be measured contained in the dialysis effluent based on the measurement result of the light intensity of the scattered light, and storing the calculation result as a provisional concentration; Based on the measurement result of the light intensity of the fluorescent light, it is detected that the dialysis effluent contains the component to be measured; Only when it is detected that the dialysis effluent contains the component to be measured, the provisional concentration is set to the concentration of the component to be measured. Method for measuring components in dialysis effluent.

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