Immunoassay and immunoassay apparatus

An apparatus for competitive immunoassay, comprising:

• a sample preparation unit for preparing a measurement sample containing a target substance in a specimen, a reactant, and a competitive substance;
• a detection unit;
• and
• a control unit;
• wherein the control unit:
• stores a first calibration curve created for a first reaction time period and a second calibration curve created for a second reaction time period longer than the first reaction time period;
• obtains predetermined reference information related to the concentration of the target substance after the first reaction time period since the preparation of the measurement sample based on the output of the detection unit;
• outputs the concentration obtained based on the first calibration curve as the measurement result in the case where the obtained reference information shows that the concentration of the target substance is less than a predetermined threshold;
• and
• outputs the concentration obtained based on the second calibration curve as the measurement result in the case where the reference information shows that the concentration of the target substance is more than or equal to the threshold.

An apparatus for competitive immunoassay, comprising:

• a sample preparation unit configured to prepare a measurement sample containing a target substance in a specimen, a reactant, and a competitive substance;
• a detection unit;
• and
• a control unit;
• wherein the control unit:
• stores a first calibration curve created for a first reaction time period and a second calibration curve created for a second reaction time period longer than the first reaction time period;
• obtains the concentration of the target substance after the first reaction time period since the preparation of the measurement sample based on the output of the detection unit;
• outputs the concentration obtained based on the first calibration curve as the measurement result in the case where the obtained concentration shows that the concentration of a target substance is less than a predetermined threshold;
• and
• outputs the concentration obtained based on the second calibration curve as the measurement result in the case where the obtained concentration shows that the concentration of the target substance is more than or equal to the threshold.