Specimen processing system

Abstract

Provided is a specimen processing system in which a stop position of a container carrier (specimen rack) can be accurately controlled even when making a right turn or left turn accompanying a route change or executing sudden acceleration or deceleration during short distance conveyance.　A specimen processing system for conveying a specimen rack to a specimen processing unit includes: a specimen container for storing a biological specimen; a specimen rack having a magnetic body and capable of storing the specimen container; a specimen processing unit for processing the biological specimen stored in the specimen container; a plurality of coils for generating thrust for conveying the specimen rack; a coil driving unit for applying a pulsed voltage to each of the plurality of coils; a calculation unit for calculating the speed of the specimen rack; and a voltage compensation unit for adjusting the time width of the voltage pulses, applied to the coils, on the basis of information on the speed of the specimen rack calculated by the calculation unit.

Description

Sample Processing System

[0001] The present invention relates to a specimen processing system equipped with a transport device that uses electromagnetic attraction force as thrust, and in particular to a specimen processing system that analyzes biological samples such as blood and urine (hereinafter referred to as specimens) and performs pre-processing required for the analysis.

[0002] In a sample analysis system, in order to test each sample for the specified analysis items, a transport device is used to connect devices with multiple functions and transport the samples between each device. The transport methods of the transport device can be broadly divided into two types: (1) a belt conveyor system, and (2) a system that uses electromagnetic attraction force as thrust.

[0003] In the method (2), a permanent magnet is provided on a container carrier, such as a holder or a sample rack, that holds samples. An electromagnetic attraction force generated by supplying current to a magnetic circuit (drive coil) provided on the transport surface is used as a thrust for the container carrier, thereby transporting samples. In this transport method, it is desirable to grasp relative position information between the permanent magnet and the drive coil in order to efficiently apply the electromagnetic force, and to control the applied electromagnetic force based on the grasped relative position information. Patent Document 1 proposes grasping relative position information by utilizing the magnetic saturation phenomenon of the drive coil due to the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet.

[0004] International Publication No. 2020 / 137182

[0005] Compared to the belt conveyor system, the system that uses electromagnetic attraction force for thrust has the advantage that the container carrier can be transported in two dimensions over various distances and routes. However, because right and left turns occur when changing routes, and sudden acceleration and deceleration occur during short-distance transport, there is a concern that the container carrier may stop abnormally or overshoot its target position if the applied electromagnetic force is not accurately controlled.

[0006] The inventors of the present invention have investigated ways to prevent the container carrier from stopping abnormally or from overshooting the target position, and have discovered that the voltage actually applied to the drive coil (effective voltage) decreases due to the induced voltage caused by the movement of the permanent magnets attached to the container carrier, and the electromagnetic force acting on the permanent magnets becomes smaller than the design value, which can cause the container carrier to stop before the desired position.

[0007] The present invention has been developed in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a sample processing system that can accurately control the stopping position of a container carrier (sample rack) even when making right and left turns due to route changes or when performing sudden acceleration and deceleration during short-distance transport.

[0008] The present invention achieves the above object by providing the following configuration: A sample processing system comprising: sample containers for containing biological samples; a sample rack equipped with a magnetic body and capable of accommodating the sample containers; an analysis unit for analyzing the biological samples contained in the sample containers; and a sample rack for transporting the sample rack to the analysis unit, the sample processing system comprising: a plurality of coils for generating thrust for transporting the sample rack; a coil driver for applying a pulsed voltage to each of the plurality of coils; a calculation unit for calculating the speed of the sample rack; and a voltage compensation unit for adjusting the time width of the voltage pulses applied to the coils based on information about the speed of the sample rack calculated by the calculation unit.

[0009] According to the present invention, a sample processing system can be provided that can accurately control the stopping position of a container carrier (sample rack) even when making right and left turns due to route changes or when performing sudden acceleration and deceleration during short-distance transport.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a transport device according to one embodiment; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the control logic of a conventional transport device; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a position detection table in a transport device; FIG. 4 is a diagram comparing the speed pattern of a container carrier and the average voltage applied to the windings when acquiring the table (when stationary) and when transporting in a conventional transport device; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the control logic of a transport device according to Example 1; FIG. 6 is a diagram comparing the average voltage applied to the windings in Example 1; FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing voltage pulses in Example 1; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the control logic of a transport device according to Example 2; FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of a sample analysis system according to Example 3; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of a sample pretreatment device according to Example 3.

[0011] The present invention relates to a transport object, a container carrier, and a transport device.The transport device is suitably used in a sample analysis system, a sample pretreatment device that performs pretreatment required for analysis, and the like.

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and the shape, arrangement, and other configurations may be changed as long as the desired effects of the present invention can be obtained.

[0013] 1 shows a schematic configuration of a conveying device to which the present invention is applied. The conveying device 1 is generally composed of a first electromagnet 25a forming a magnetic pole, a second electromagnet 25b as an adjacent magnetic pole arranged adjacent to the first electromagnet 25a at a predetermined distance, a first drive circuit 50a and a second drive circuit 50b, a first current detection unit 40a and a second current detection unit 40b, a calculation unit 41, and a power supply 55.

[0014] The first electromagnet 25a is composed of first teeth 22a made of a magnetic material and first windings 21a wound around the outer peripheries of the first teeth 22a. Similarly, the second electromagnet 25b is composed of second teeth 22b and second windings 21b wound around the outer peripheries of the second teeth 22b. Although the first teeth 22a and second teeth 22b are cylindrical in FIG. 1, they may be rectangular in shape, for example.

[0015] In addition, a container carrier (not shown), which is the object to be transported (transported body), is placed on the upper surface of the first electromagnet 25a and the second electromagnet 25b so that it can move horizontally, and there is a transport surface (not shown) between the container carrier and the first electromagnet 25a or the second electromagnet 25b, and the container carrier moves while sliding horizontally on this transport surface.

[0016] The container carrier also has a permanent magnet 10 built into the bottom. The permanent magnet for the container carrier is preferably made of a neodymium alloy, ferrite, or the like. In some cases, a soft magnetic material may be used instead of the permanent magnet.

[0017] Further, examples of container carriers include a sample holder that holds a single sample container such as a test tube or sample cell containing a liquid sample, or a sample rack that holds a plurality of sample containers.

[0018] The first winding 21a and the second winding 21b of the first electromagnet 25a and the second electromagnet 25b are connected to the first drive circuit 50a and the second drive circuit 50b, respectively. The teeth 22a and 22b that make up the electromagnets 25a and 25b are made of a magnetic material, and the magnetic flux passing through the teeth 22a and 22b has the property of becoming less able to pass as the magnetic flux increases. When a voltage is applied to the windings 21a and 21b to pass a current, the magnetic flux generated by the current acts to pass through the teeth 22a and 22b. Therefore, the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 10 and the magnetic flux generated by the current flowing through the windings 21a and 21b act on the teeth 22a and 22b. The first and second electromagnets 25 a and 25 b generate magnetic fields by applying voltages from the first and second drive circuits 50 a and 50 b to the windings 21 a and 21 b, respectively. The magnetic fields generated by the first and second teeth 22 a and 22 b generate thrust on the permanent magnets 10 built into the container carrier.

[0019] Generally, when current flows through the windings 21a and 21b, a magnetic field is generated around them, and the resulting magnetic flux is proportional to the value of the current. This proportionality constant is called inductance. However, in circuits that have magnetic materials such as teeth 22a and 22b, the inductance changes due to the saturation characteristics of the teeth. When the teeth are saturated, the inductance changes depending on the magnitude of the magnetic flux generated in the teeth. In other words, the inductance of the windings 21a and 21b changes depending on the magnitude of the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 10. This means that the inductance of the windings changes depending on the position of the permanent magnet 10.

[0020] The voltage V generated in the winding is expressed by the following equation 1: V = -dφ / dt (1) where φ is the magnetic flux and t is time. The voltage V is expressed as the amount of change in magnetic flux per unit time.

[0021] Furthermore, where I is the current and L is the inductance, the relationship shown in Equation 2 below holds: dI / dt = (1 / L) × (dφ / dt) (2) From Equations 1 and 2, the relationship shown in Equation 3 below holds: dI / dt = -V / L (3) In other words, when a constant voltage is applied to windings 21a and 21b, the time derivative of supplied current I changes depending on the magnitude of inductance L, as shown in Equation 3. This means that the way the supplied current rises when a voltage is applied will differ.

[0022] Therefore, when a voltage is applied to windings 21a and 21b, the inductance L can be calculated by detecting the current flowing through the windings and how it flows. In other words, if the inductance L of winding 21, which changes depending on the position of permanent magnet 10, is detected from the time derivative dI / dt of the current, the position of permanent magnet 10 that affects the inductance can be determined.

[0023] Therefore, the first current detection unit 40a and the second current detection unit 40b have the function of detecting the currents from the first drive circuit 50a and the second drive circuit 50b that flow through the first winding 21a and the second winding 21b of the first electromagnet 25a and the second electromagnet 25b, respectively, and sending the current values ​​detected by the first current detection unit 40a and the second current detection unit 40b to the calculation unit 41. The calculation unit 41 uses the current values ​​detected by the first current detection unit 40a and the second current detection unit 40b to output control signals to the first drive circuit 50a and the second drive circuit 50b to move the container carrier. This allows control to transport the container carrier to a desired position.

[0024] The first current detection unit 40a and the second current detection unit 40b may be configured to measure the voltage of a series resistor, to use a current transformer, or to use a Hall current sensor, but are not limited to these.

[0025] The calculation unit 41 also calculates the relative positional relationship between the first teeth 22 a and the second teeth 22 b and the container carrier (the permanent magnet 10) based on the current values ​​detected by the first current detection unit 40 a and the second current detection unit 40 b, and calculates the position of the container carrier within the transport device 1. That is, it calculates the current position of the container carrier within the transport device 1. The calculation unit 41 also uses the calculated position information of the container carrier to determine the amount of current required to drive the container carrier and the timing of supplying that current. In this example, in order to detect the position of the permanent magnet 10, i.e., the container carrier, the calculation unit 41 pre-stores various data and relational expressions, such as relational expressions and table data, that define the relationship between the current values ​​detected by the current detection unit 40 and distance. In this example, the relationship between the time derivative dI / dt of the current for each magnitude of the drive current and the position of the permanent magnet 10 is stored as a table.

[0026] A power supply 55 is connected to the first drive circuit 50a and the second drive circuit 50b, and this power supply 55 may be either AC or DC. In the case of DC, a battery may be used.

[0027] Figure 2 shows an outline of the contents of the conventional calculation unit 41. Based on the detected drive current value and dI / dt, a table stored in the position estimation unit is searched to determine position information. The speed calculation unit calculates the speed from the determined position information, and the difference between the calculated speed and the speed command value is passed through control gain multiplier 1 to generate a current command value. An example of the table is shown in Figure 3. In the figure, P indicates the pitch between adjacent coils, and if the position x when the permanent magnet 10 is directly above the excitation coil is x = 0, then when the permanent magnet 10 is directly above the adjacent coil, it will be located at x = P.

[0028] The table in Fig. 3 is obtained in advance before the container carrier incorporating the permanent magnet 10 is transported. This is obtained by measuring the time derivative dI / dt of the current with respect to the position x of the permanent magnet 10 while changing the position of the permanent magnet 10 from x = 0 (directly above the excitation coil) to x = P in increments of 0.1 P while keeping the permanent magnet 10 (container carrier) stationary. In other words, the table in Fig. 3 shows the relationship between the position x and the time derivative dI / dt of the current when the container carrier is stationary.

[0029] Next, the difference between the generated current command value and the current value is passed through another control gain multiplier 2 to generate a command value for the duty of the voltage pulse (time width of the voltage pulse), and finally a voltage based on the command value of the duty is applied to the coil. A proportional-integral controller or the like can be applied to the control gain multipliers 1 and 2.

[0030] Figure 4 compares the container carrier transport speed pattern and the product of the voltage and voltage pulse width applied to the coil when stationary and when transporting in a conventional transport device. As shown in Figure 4(a), the container carrier accelerates and decelerates from the starting position to the stop position. As shown in Figure 4(b), during transport, the actual applied voltage to the coil decreases by the amount of the induced voltage (Ke x v, described below; Ke is a constant obtained from the characteristics of the magnetic circuit, and v is the moving speed of the permanent magnet) generated by the movement of the permanent magnet 10. Therefore, the product of voltage and duty is smaller than when stationary. As a result, the state during table acquisition (when stationary) may differ from the state during transport, which may result in false detection or detection failure. Furthermore, because the driving force of the permanent magnet is smaller than the required driving force calculated when stationary (V x dt, described below), the permanent magnet (container carrier) may stop before reaching the destination position.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows an outline of the control configuration in the first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, an induced voltage compensator is added after the control gain multiplier 2, and the generated duty (pulse time width) command value is increased to compensate for the voltage drop due to the induced voltage. The contents of the induced voltage compensator will be described below. If the magnitude of the voltage is V (constant) and the time width of the voltage pulse is dt, the product of the voltage and the voltage pulse width when stationary is V×dt. Since an induced voltage occurs due to the movement of the permanent magnet 10 during transportation, if the induced voltage constant (unit: V / (m / s)) is Ke and the speed of the permanent magnet is v (the speed calculated value derived by the calculation unit 41), the product of the voltage and the voltage pulse width during transportation is (V-Ke×v)×dt'. During transportation, the induced voltage compensator adds compensation to the duty, i.e., the pulse time width dt, so if the pulse time width after compensation is dt', the relationship in Equation 4 below should hold true for the product of the voltage and voltage pulse width when stationary and the product of the voltage and voltage pulse width when transportation. Ke is a constant obtained from the characteristics of the magnetic circuit. V x dt = (V - Ke x v) x dt' (4) Transforming Equation 4 gives us dt' = (1 / (1 - Ke x v / V)) x dt (5) By calculating Equation 5 in the induced voltage compensator, it is possible to compensate for the voltage drop due to the induced voltage.

[0032] Figure 6 compares the average voltage applied to the coil when stationary and when transporting in Example 1. The induced voltage compensator ensures that the voltage during transport closely matches the voltage when stationary. As a result, it is possible to compensate for the voltage drop due to the induced voltage and suppress false detections (detection failures) caused by a discrepancy between the voltage state when acquiring the table (when stationary) and the voltage state during transport, and to accurately control the stopping position of the container carrier even when sudden acceleration and deceleration are performed during short-distance transport.

[0033] The voltage pulse applied to the drive coil shown in Equation 5 will be described in detail using Figure 7. When the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet acts on the drive coil, the drive voltage V (voltage pulse 70a) applied to the drive coil decreases to V-Ke x v. Therefore, if the container carrier is driven with the initial voltage pulse width dt, the drive energy (i.e., the current that generates thrust) may be insufficient, and the container carrier may only be transported up to a position just short of the desired position. This problem can be avoided by setting the drive energy to the same as the original design value in order to transport the container carrier to the desired position. In other words, the width of the applied voltage pulse is increased (voltage pulse 70b), thereby controlling the drive energy to be the same. This is the meaning of Equation 4.

[0034] Note that voltage pulse compensation does not necessarily need to be performed for all pulses. In this embodiment, the duration of one pulse is approximately 1 ms, so there is ample time for compensation processing in the compensation unit (which calculates dt' using a computer and adjusts the pulse width using a pulse control unit (the electronic circuit after PWM in Figure 5)). However, if the pulse duration is small or a microprocessor with a slow processing speed is used, adjusting the pulse width for each pulse may be difficult. In this case, the pulse width can be adjusted collectively for multiple pulses, for example, for each group of five pulses. Compared to the method of adjusting the pulse width for each pulse, the movement of the permanent magnet (container carrier) is not smooth and is somewhat jerky, but the permanent magnet can still ultimately reach the target position.

[0035] Furthermore, instead of compensating by adjusting the pulse time width, the driving force of the permanent magnet may be compensated by increasing the voltage from V to V', as follows: V×dt=(V'−Ke×v)×dt (6)

[0036] 8 shows an outline of the control configuration in Example 2 of the present invention. Instead of using a calculated speed value obtained by time-differentiating the measured position of the permanent magnet as in Example 1, a voltage drop due to induced voltage may be compensated for using a preset speed command value vref based on a pre-calculated table such as that shown in FIG. 3. In this case, the speed command value vref is used instead of the calculated speed value v in Equation 5, as follows: dt' = (1 / (1 - Ke × vref / V)) × dt (7) Due to the effect of speed feedback control, the container carrier is controlled so that the transport speed of the container carrier matches a predetermined speed command value, and therefore the same effect can be obtained by using the speed command value instead.

[0037] A sample analyzing system and a sample pre-treatment device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The sample analyzing system and the sample pre-treatment device according to this embodiment include the transport device 1 according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] First, the sample analysis system according to this embodiment will be described. The sample analysis system is an apparatus that dispenses a sample and a reagent into a reaction vessel, reacts them, and measures the reacted liquid.

[0039] 9 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of a sample analysis system 100 according to this embodiment. The sample analysis system 100 includes an input unit 101, an emergency rack input port 113, a transport line 102, a buffer 104, an analysis unit 105, a storage unit 103, a display unit 118, and a control unit 120.

[0040] The loading section 101 is a place where a sample rack 111 is placed, which contains a plurality of sample containers 122 containing biological samples (samples) such as blood and urine.

[0041] The emergency rack insertion port 113 is a place for inserting into the device a sample rack (calibration rack) loaded with a standard solution or a sample rack 111 containing a sample container 122 containing a sample that requires urgent analysis.

[0042] The transport line 102 is a line that transports the sample rack 111 installed in the loading section 101, and can be configured with the transport device 1 according to Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention. In this example, the container carrier is the sample rack 111, and the permanent magnet provided on the container carrier is provided on the bottom surface of the sample rack 111.

[0043] The buffer 104 holds a plurality of sample racks 111 transported by the transport line 102 so that the order in which samples are dispensed in the sample racks 111 can be changed.

[0044] The analysis unit 105 analyzes the sample transported from the buffer 104. The analysis unit 105 may have, for example, the same configuration as an analysis unit included in an existing sample analysis system.

[0045] The storage section 103 stores sample racks 111 that contain sample containers 122 holding samples that have been analyzed in the analysis section 105 .

[0046] The display unit 118 is a display device for displaying the results of the analysis performed by the analysis unit 105. For example, the display unit 118 displays the concentration of a predetermined component contained in the sample as the analysis result.

[0047] The control unit 120 is configured with a computer or the like, and controls the operation of each mechanism of the sample analysis system 100, and performs arithmetic processing to determine the concentration of a predetermined component in a sample such as blood or urine. The transport device 1 (transport line 102) according to Examples 1 and 2 is controlled by the control unit 120.

[0048] Next, a sample pretreatment device according to this embodiment will be described. The sample pretreatment device is a device that performs various pretreatments required for sample analysis.

[0049] 10 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of a sample pretreatment device 150 according to this embodiment. The sample pretreatment device 150 may have a configuration similar to that of existing sample pretreatment devices. For example, the sample pretreatment device 150 includes a capping unit 152, a sample storage unit 153, an empty holder stacker 154, a sample introduction unit 155, a centrifugal separation unit 156, a liquid volume measurement unit 157, an uncapping unit 158, a secondary sample container preparation unit 159, a dispensing unit 160, and a transfer unit 161, as well as an operation unit 163 that controls the operations of these multiple units.

[0050] The sample pretreatment device 150 is connected to a sample analysis system 100, which performs qualitative and quantitative analysis of the components of the sample, as a destination of the pretreated sample.

[0051] The transport device 1 according to the first or second embodiment of the present invention can be used to connect the multiple units included in the sample pretreatment device 150, or to connect the sample pretreatment device 150 and the sample analysis system 100. The transport device 1 transports sample holders and sample racks that hold sample containers 122.

[0052] The sample analysis system 100 and sample pretreatment device 150 of this embodiment are equipped with the transport device 1 of Examples 1 and 2, and can transport sample containers 122 to their destinations with high efficiency, thereby shortening the time it takes to obtain analysis results. In addition, there are fewer problems that occur when transporting the sample containers 122, reducing the burden on laboratory technicians.

[0053] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the transported object is a sample rack 111 that holds five sample containers 122 containing samples, as shown in Fig. 9. The transported object is not limited to this sample rack 111, and may be, for example, a sample holder that holds two sample containers 122.

[0054] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the objects to be transported by the transport device 1 are not limited to the container carriers 110 (sample holders and sample racks 111), but may be any objects, for example, various objects that require large-scale transport. In the claims, the term "sample processing" refers to a process including analytical processing such as absorbance, turbidity, scattering, and immunological analysis of a sample (biological sample), and sample pre-processing such as centrifugation to separate serum from the sample and dispensing of aliquot samples, and the like. The mechanism that performs sample processing is referred to as a "sample processing unit," and a system including the sample processing unit and transport mechanism is referred to as a "sample processing system."

[0055] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to embodiments that include all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment. It is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment.

[0056] Furthermore, it is possible to delete part of the configuration of each embodiment, or to add or replace other configurations.

[0057] 1...Transportation device, 21a, 21b...windings, 22a, 22b...teeth, 25a, 25b...electromagnets, 40a, 40b...current detection unit, 41...calculation unit, 50a, 50b...drive circuit, 55...power supply, 60...position or speed detection unit, 70a, 70b...voltage pulse, 100...sample analysis system, 101...loading unit, 102...transport line, 103...storage unit, 104...buffer, 105...analysis unit, 110...container carrier, 110a...arrow indicating direction of travel, 1 11...Sample rack, 113...Emergency rack input port, 118...Display unit, 120...Control unit, 122...Sample container, 150...Sample pre-treatment device, 152...Capping unit, 153...Sample storage unit, 154...Empty holder stacker, 155...Sample input unit, 156...Centrifugation unit, 157...Liquid volume measurement unit, 158...Uncapping unit, 159...Daughter sample container preparation unit, 160...Dispensing unit, 161...Transfer unit, 163...Operation unit.

Claims

1. A sample processing system comprising: a sample container for containing a biological sample; a sample rack equipped with a magnetic material and capable of accommodating the sample container; an analysis unit for analyzing the biological sample contained in the sample container; and a sample processing system for transporting the sample rack to the analysis unit, the sample processing system comprising: a plurality of coils for generating thrust for transporting the sample rack; a coil driving unit for applying a pulsed voltage to each of the plurality of coils; a calculation unit for calculating the speed of the sample rack; and a voltage compensation unit for adjusting the time width of the voltage pulse applied to the coils based on information about the speed of the sample rack calculated by the calculation unit.

2. A specimen processing system according to claim 1, wherein the speed information used to compensate for the time width of the voltage pulse is a speed calculated by the calculation unit in accordance with the timing of generation of the voltage pulse.

3. A sample processing system comprising: sample containers for containing biological samples; a sample rack having a magnetic body and capable of accommodating the sample containers; an analysis unit for analyzing the biological samples contained in the sample containers; and a sample processing system for transporting the sample rack to the analysis unit, the sample processing system comprising: a plurality of coils for generating thrust for transporting the sample rack; a coil driving unit for applying a pulsed voltage to each of the plurality of coils; a calculation unit for calculating the speed of the sample rack; and a voltage compensation unit for adjusting the voltage applied to the coils based on information about the speed of the sample rack calculated by the calculation unit.

4. A sample processing system comprising: sample containers for containing biological samples; a sample rack having a magnetic material and capable of accommodating the sample containers; an analysis unit for analyzing the biological samples contained in the sample containers; and a sample processing system for transporting the sample rack to the analysis unit, the sample processing system comprising: a plurality of coils for generating thrust for transporting the sample rack; a coil driving unit for applying a pulsed voltage to each of the plurality of coils; and a voltage compensation unit for calculating the position of the sample rack based on the magnitude of the current flowing in the coils as a result of applying a voltage to the coil driving unit, and for adjusting the time width of the voltage pulse to be applied to the coils based on information about the position and information about a speed command value corresponding to the position.

5. A specimen processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the calculation unit calculates the speed of the magnetic body based on the value of the current flowing through the coil due to the pulsed voltage applied to the coil driving unit.

6. A specimen processing system as described in claim 5, wherein the calculation unit stores a table showing the relationship between the position of the magnetic body and the magnitude of the current flowing through the coil, and calculates the position of the magnetic body by referring to the table and based on the value of the current flowing through the coil due to the pulsed voltage applied to the coil driving unit.

7. A specimen processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the magnetic substance is a permanent magnet.

8. A specimen processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a pre-processing unit is provided in place of the analysis unit to perform pre-processing of the biological sample so that it can be analyzed by the analysis unit.

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