Automatic analysers classification

An analyser can be defined as a series of elements —modular or not—, of which at least one Is an instrument, which operate with different degrees of automation and have been designed for the qualitative or quantitative determination of one or several analytes In a single or a series of samples based on changes In Its physical, chemical or physico-chemical properties. It can provide results In the required form or simply offer raw data [13]. 

Based on physical principles Based on physico-chemical principles 

Analysers can also be classified according to the way in which samples are transported and manipulated Into  

Depending on the number of analytes that can be assayed per sample, analysers can be classified Into one-parameter (e.g. centrifugal and flow-injection analysers) and multi-parameter. The latter are of special use In clinical assays, usually requiring the determination of several parameters In blood or urine —the SMAC, an extremely powerful analyser manufactured by Technlcon allows the determination of up to 20 parameters (analytes) per sample. Because of reminiscences of former times, some workers still use a parallel nomenclature (single-channel and multi-channel) to refer to these analysers. This Is acceptable as the earliest commercially available continuous segmented flow analysers (Technlcon AutoAnalyzers) carried out one determination per channel Into which the sample was spilt. Hence the equivalence between channel and parameter , exclusive to this type of analyser. 

A classification of great practical Interest divides analysers according to their flexibility for adaptation to different situations or needs (l.e. different types of sample or analyte) Into specific designs and flexible designs . 

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The classification of automatic continuous methods is based on the way in which carryover between samples successively introduced into the analyser is avoided. Two general groups have been described by Valcarcel and Luque de Castro [20]. These are illustrated in Table 2.4. 

This process of event classification, in which initiators of all types, both internal and external to the plant, and all modes of operation, including normal operation, shutdown and refuelling, are considered, should lead to a list of different classes of plant specific events to be analysed. Different plant conditions, such as manual control or automatic control, should be investigated. Different site conditions, such as the availability of off-site power or the total loss of off-site power, should also be evaluated, with account taken of the possible interactions between plant manoeuvres and the grid and, where appropriate, possible interactions between different reactor units on the same site. Failures in other plant systems, such as the storage for irradiated fuel and storage tanks for radioactive gas, should also be considered. 

Horizons are usually seen as interfaces between subsurface layers of rocks of different properties. Thus reservoirs are discriminated in the depth extent from seismic cubes by their top and bottom horizons corresponding to their upper and lower limits, respectively. Horizons are usually manually or semi-automatically interpreted by analysing seismic data. However, new tools have recently emerged that allow an automated extraction of horizons from seismic. These new techniques are based on classification of a set of seismic waveform attributes along extrema (minima or maxima) in a seismic post stack cube. For further details on this, we refer to [4, 5]. 

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