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Institutionalisation

2025-10-20T21:27:09Z

2604:3D08:9476:BE00:8B:AB8C:7AE9:E486:

{{short description|Process of embedding some conception in an organisation}}
{{for|the mental health concept|Commitment (mental health)}}
{{other uses|Institutionalization (disambiguation)}}
{{original research|date=November 2013}}
{{Sociology}}

In [[sociology]], '''institutionalisation''' (or '''institutionalization''') is the process of embedding some conception (for example a [[belief]], [[social norm|norm]], [[social role]], particular [[Value (ethics and social sciences)|value]] or mode of [[behavior]]) within an [[organization|organisation]], [[social system]], or [[society]] as a whole.

The term may also be used to refer to committing a particular individual or group to an [[institution]], such as a mental or welfare institution. The term may also be used in a political sense to apply to the creation or organisation of [[government]]al institutions or particular bodies responsible for overseeing or implementing policy, for example in [[welfare spending|welfare]] or development. During the period of the [[Industrial Revolution]] in Europe many countries went through a period of "institutionalization", which saw a large expansion and development of the role of government within society, particularly into areas seen previously as the private sphere. Institutionalisation is also seen as an important part of the process of [[modernization|modernisation]] in developing countries, involving again the expansion and improved organisation of government structures.

==History==
During the period from 1850 to 1930 many types of institutions were created by public subscription, [[Parliament]] and [[local government|local authorities]] to provide [[housing]], [[healthcare]], [[education]], and financial support for individuals in need. At the upper end of the scale, public boarding schools such as [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Harrow School|Harrow]] were founded or greatly extended to meet the growing demand for the education of the children of those in [[colonial service]] overseas. These were seen as models of social improvement, and many inferior imitations followed for the lower social orders. Virtually every [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]] in the UK was required by legislation to make provision for paupers, homeless, released prisoners, convicted criminals, orphans, disabled war veterans, older people with no means of support, deaf and blind schools, schools and colonies for those with learning disabilities or [[mental health]] problems.

Distinguishing features of such institutions were frequently, but not exclusively:<ref>Ervin Goffman, [http://www.markfoster.net/neurelitism/totalinstitutions.pdf Characteristics of Total Institutions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415055722/http://www.markfoster.net/neurelitism/totalinstitutions.pdf |date=2021-04-15 }}</ref>
* communal dormitories
* communal kitchens and dining facilities
* rural, isolated locations
* restrictions on personal liberty and possessions
* uniforms
* oppressive, authoritarian regimes
* strict systems of rules and codes of conduct
* boards of visitors or trustees, usually drawn from the ranks of the upper middle classes, the so-called "great and good"
* hierarchical systems of management
* compulsory religious attendance
* involvement of inmates as unpaid or poorly rewarded labour in return for small privileges
* widespread abuse of [[human rights]], [[dignity]]
* rigid separation of the sexes
* excessive reliance on medication and physical restraints

Many of these organisations, whilst originally expressing idealistic aspirations and aims, became "total" institutions within a generation or two of their foundation, providing in some cases cradle-to-grave housing, occupation and social control. Founding charters usually proclaimed beneficial outcomes of "reform" (or rehabilitation) of character through moral and occupation education and discipline, but in practice inmates were often trapped in a system that provided no obvious route of escape or promotion. As late as the 1950s, in [[UK|Britain]], several hundred thousand people lived in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] asylums and "colonies".

==See also==
*[[Deinstitutionalisation]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Social institutions]]

Differential analyser

2025-10-16T23:56:32Z

2604:3D08:9476:BE00:8B:AB8C:7AE9:E486: No Canadian or Z spellings

{{Short description|Mechanical analogue computer to solve differential equations}}
{{about|analogue differential analysers|the digital implementation|Digital Differential Analyzer}}

[[Image:Harmonic analyser disc and sphere.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ball-and-disk integrator|Ball-and-disc integrator]] for studying [[Tide#Analysis|tides]]]]
The '''differential analyser''' is a mechanical [[analog computer|analogue computer]] designed to solve [[differential equation]]s by [[integral|integration]], using wheel-and-disc mechanisms to perform the integration.<ref>{{cite web|last=Irwin|first=William|url=http://amg.nzfmm.co.nz/differential_analyser_explained.html|title=The Differential Analyser Explained|access-date=2010-07-21|publisher=Auckland Meccano Guild|date=July 2009|archive-date=2018-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124174422/http://amg.nzfmm.co.nz/differential_analyser_explained.html|url-status=bot: unknown}} Archived</ref> It was one of the first advanced computing devices to be used operationally.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia
| title = Invention of the modern computer
| encyclopedia = [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]
| publisher = www.britannica.com
| url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/130429/computer/216032/Invention-of-the-modern-computer
| access-date = 2010-07-26}}</ref>
In addition to the integrator devices, the machine used an epicyclic differential mechanism to perform addition or subtraction - similar to that used on a front-wheel drive car, where the speed of the two output shafts (driving the wheels) may differ but the speeds add up to the speed of the input shaft. Multiplication/division by integer values was achieved by simple gear ratios; multiplication by fractional values was achieved by means of a multiplier table, where a human operator would have to keep a stylus tracking the slope of a bar. A variant of this human-operated table was used to implement other functions such as polynomials.

==History==
[[Image:KayMcNultyAlyseSnyderSisStumpDifferentialAnalyzer.jpg|thumb|[[Kay McNulty]], Alyse Snyder, and Sis Stump operate the differential analyser in the basement of the [[Moore School of Electrical Engineering]], [[University of Pennsylvania]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], c. 1942–1945.]]
[[Image:NASA Differential Analyzer.jpg|thumb|A differential analyser at the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics|NACA]] [[Glenn Research Center|Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory]], 1951]]
[[File:Nordsieck Differential Analyzer, 1965, Computer History Museum.jpg|thumb|Differential analyser built by [[Arnold Nordsieck]], at the [[Computer History Museum]]]]
Research on solutions for differential equations using mechanical devices, discounting [[planimeter]]s, started at least as early as 1836, when the French physicist [[Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis]] designed a mechanical device to integrate [[differential equation]]s of the first order.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Gaspard-Gustave |last= Coriolis| author-link=Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis |url=http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/ConsulterElementNum?O=NUMM-16380&Deb=11&Fin=15&E=PDF |title=Note sur un moyen de tracer des courbes données par des équations différentielles |journal=[[Journal de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées]] |series=series I 1 |pages=5–9 |year=1836|language=fr}}</ref>

The first description of a device which could integrate differential equations of any order was published in 1876 by [[James Thomson (engineer)|James Thomson]], who was born in [[Belfast]] in 1822, but lived in [[Scotland]] from the age of 10.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thomson, James |title=An Integrating Machine having a new Kinematic Principle |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society |volume=24 |issue= 164–170|pages=262–5 |year=1876 |doi=10.1098/rspl.1875.0033 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1432057 |doi-access=free }} Reprinted in {{cite book | last = Thomson | first = James | title = Collected Papers in Physics and Engineering by James Thomson | editor=Joseph Larmor & James Thomson | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1912 | pages = xvii, 452–7| url = https://archive.org/details/collectedpapersi00thomrich | isbn = 0-404-06422-1 }}</ref> Though Thomson called his device an "integrating machine", it is his description of the device, together with the additional publication in 1876 of two further descriptions by his younger brother, [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Lord Kelvin]], which represents the invention of the differential analyser.<ref>{{Cite journal
| last = Hartree
| first = D.R.
| author-link = Douglas Hartree
| title = The Bush Differential Analyser and its Implications
| journal = Nature
| volume = 146
| issue = 3697
| page = 319
|date=September 1940
| doi = 10.1038/146319a0| bibcode = 1940Natur.146..319H
| s2cid = 40727987
}}. Lord Kelvin's descriptions: {{cite journal |author=Thomson, William |title=Mechanical Integration of Linear Differential Equations of the Second Order with Variable Coefficients |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society |volume=24 |issue= 164–170|pages=269–71 |year=1876 |doi=10.1098/rspl.1875.0035 |s2cid=62694536 |doi-access=free }} {{cite journal |author=Thomson, William |title=Mechanical Integration of the general Linear Differential Equation of any Order with Variable Coefficients |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society |volume=24 |issue= 164–170|pages=271–5 |year=1876 |doi=10.1098/rspl.1875.0036 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

One of the earliest practical uses of Thomson's concepts was a [[tide-predicting machine]] built by Kelvin starting in 1872–3. On Lord Kelvin's advice, Thomson's integrating machine was later incorporated into a [[fire-control system]] for naval gunnery being developed by [[Arthur Pollen]], resulting in an electrically driven, mechanical analogue computer, which was completed by about 1912.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pollen |first=Anthony |title=The Great Gunnery Scandal – The Mystery of Jutland |publisher=Collins |year=1980 |page=23 |isbn=0-00-216298-9}}</ref> Italian mathematician [[Ernesto Pascal]] also developed [[integraph]]s for the mechanical integration of differential equations and published details in 1914.<ref>{{cite book |title= Miei Integrafi per Equazioni Differenziali |last= Pascal |first= Ernesto |year= 1914 |publisher= B. Pellerano |location= Naples |language=it}} See also Integraph.</ref>

However, the first widely practical general-purpose differential analyser was constructed by [[Harold Locke Hazen]] and [[Vannevar Bush]] at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], 1928–1931, comprising six mechanical integrators.<ref>Karl L. Wildes and Nilo A. Lindgren, ''A Century of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, 1882-1982'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1985), [https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZX-GwvhcnkC&pg=PA90 pages 90-92].</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
| last = Robinson
| first = Tim
| title = The Meccano Set Computers A history of differential analyzers made from children's toys
| journal = IEEE Control Systems Magazine
| volume = 25
| issue = 3
| pages = 74–83
|date=June 2005
|doi = 10.1109/MCS.2005.1432602| bibcode = 2005ICSys..25c..74R
| s2cid = 10075776
| url = https://zenodo.org/record/918318
}}. Hartree, D.R. (September 1940), ''op. cit.''</ref><ref>Bush's differential analyser used mechanical integrators. The output of each integrator was intended to drive other parts of the machine; however, the output was too feeble to do so. Hazen recognised that a "torque amplifier", which had been invented in 1925 by Henry W. Nieman and which was intended to allow workers to control heavy machinery, could be used to provide the necessary power. See: Stuart Bennett, ''A History of Control Engineering 1930-1955'' (London, England: Peter Peregrinus Ltd., 1993), [https://books.google.com/books?id=VD_b81J3yFoC&pg=PA103 page 103]. See also Nieman's U.S. patents: '''(1)''' "Servo mechanism", [http://patimg1.uspto.gov/.piw?docid=01751645&PageNum=1&&IDKey=4EA8A1F40C57&HomeUrl=http://pimg-piw.uspto.gov/ U.S. patent no. 1,751,645] (filed: 28 January 1925; issued: 25 March 1930); '''(2)''' "Servo mechanism", [http://patimg1.uspto.gov/.piw?docid=01751647&PageNum=1&&IDKey=5001BCE94739&HomeUrl=http://pimg-piw.uspto.gov/ U.S. patent no. 1,751,647] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185758/http://patimg1.uspto.gov/.piw?docid=01751647&PageNum=1&&IDKey=5001BCE94739&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpimg-piw.uspto.gov%2F |date=2018-08-07 }} (filed: 8 January 1926; issued: 25 March 1930); '''(3)''' "Synchronous amplifying control mechanism", [http://patimg2.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=01751652&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526s1%3D1,751,652.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F1,751,652%2526RS%3DPN%2F1,751,652&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page U.S. patent no. 1,751,652] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628104954/http://books.google.com/books?id=VD_b81J3yFoC&pg=PA103&lpg=PA103 |date=2014-06-28 }} (filed: 8 January 1926; issued: 25 March 1930).</ref> In the same year, Bush described this machine in a journal article as a "continuous integraph".<ref>{{Cite journal
| last1 = Bush
| first1 = V.
| author-link = Vannevar Bush
| last2 = Gage
| first2 = F.D.
| last3 = Stewart
| first3 = H.R.
| title = A continuous integraph
| journal = Journal of the Franklin Institute
| volume = 203
| issue = 1
| pages = 63–84
|date=January 1927
| doi = 10.1016/S0016-0032(27)90097-0}}.</ref> When he published a further article on the device in 1931, he called it a "differential analyzer".<ref>{{Cite journal
| last = Bush
| first = V.
| title = The differential analyzer. A new machine for solving differential equations
| journal = Journal of the Franklin Institute
| volume = 212
| issue = 4
| pages = 447–488
|date=October 1931
| doi = 10.1016/S0016-0032(31)90616-9}}.</ref> In this article, Bush stated that "[the] present device incorporates the same basic idea of interconnection of integrating units as did [Lord Kelvin's]. In detail, however, there is little resemblance to the earlier model." According to his 1970 autobiography, Bush was "unaware of Kelvin’s work until after the first differential analyzer was operational."<ref>Robinson, Tim (June 2005), ''op. cit.'', citing {{Cite journal
| last = Bush
| first = Vannevar
| title = Pieces of the Action
| place = New York NY
| publisher = Morrow
| year = 1970}}.</ref> [[Claude Shannon]] was hired as a research assistant in 1936 to run the differential analyser in Bush's lab.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gleick|first=James|title=The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood (ebook) |publisher=Patheon|year=2011|page=342/1102 |isbn=978-0-00-742311-8}}</ref>

[[Douglas Hartree]] of [[Manchester University]] brought Bush's design to England, where he constructed his first "[[proof of concept]]" model with his student, Arthur Porter, during 1934. As a result of this, the university acquired a full-scale machine incorporating four mechanical integrators in March 1935, which was built by [[Metropolitan-Vickers]], and was, according to Hartree, "[the] first machine of its kind in operation outside the United States".<ref>Robinson, Tim (June 2005), ''op. cit.'', Hartree, D.R. (September 1940), ''op. cit.'' Hartree and Porter wrote about the model in their paper {{Cite journal
| title = The Construction and Operation of a Model Differential Analyser
| journal = Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society
| volume = 79
| pages = 51–74
| year = 1935}}.</ref> During the next five years three more were added, at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]], [[Queen's University Belfast]], and the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] in Farnborough.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Robinson | first = Tim | title = Other Differential Analyzers | publisher =Tim Robinson's Meccano Computing Machinery web site | date = 2005-12-07 | url = http://www.meccano.us/differential_analyzers/other_da/index.html | access-date = 2010-07-24}} Includes summaries of "Meccano Differential Analyzers" and "Full Scale Differential Analyzers".</ref> One of the integrators from this proof of concept is on display in the History of Computing section of the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]] in London, alongside a complete Manchester machine.

In [[Norway]], the locally built [[Oslo Analyzer|Oslo Analyser]] was finished during 1938, based on the same principles as the MIT machine. This machine had 12 integrators, and was the largest analyser built for a period of four years.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Holst, P.A. |title=Svein Rosseland and the Oslo analyzer |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=16–26 |date=Oct–Dec 1996 |doi=10.1109/85.539912 |bibcode=1996IAHC...18d..16H }}</ref>

In the United States, further differential analysers were built at the [[Ballistic Research Laboratory]] in [[Maryland]] and in the basement of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania during the early 1940s.<ref>[[Brian Randell|Randell, Brian]] (ed.), ''The Origins of Digital Computers Selected Papers'' (3rd edition, 1982), Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer-Verlag. p. 297. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dwj4RmcZ1AoC&dq=differential+analyzer+Moore+School+of+Electrical+Engineering&pg=PA297 Google Books]. Retrieved 25 July 2010.</ref> The latter was used extensively in the computation of [[artillery]] firing tables prior to the invention of the [[ENIAC]], which, in many ways, was modelled on the differential analyser.<ref>Bunch, B. & Hellemans, A., ''The History of Science and Technology: A Browser's Guide to the Great Discoveries, Inventions, and the People who Made Them, from the Dawn of Time to Today'' (2004), New York: Houghton Mifflin, p. 535. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MlQ7NK9dw7IC&dq=eniac+modeled+on+bush+differential+analyzer&pg=PA535 Google Books]. Retrieved 25 July 2010.</ref> Also in the early 1940s, with [[Samuel H. Caldwell]], one of the initial contributors during the early 1930s, Bush attempted an electrical, rather than mechanical, variation, but the [[digital computer]] built elsewhere had much greater promise and the project ceased.<ref>{{cite journal |author-last=Randell |author-first=Brian |author-link=Brian Randell |title=From Analytical Engine to Electronic Digital Computer: The Contributions of Ludgate, Torres, and Bush |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=327–41 |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |date=Oct 1982 |url=http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/articles/papers/398.pdf |doi=10.1109/MAHC.1982.10042 |bibcode=1982IAHC....4d.327R |s2cid=1737953 |access-date=2010-07-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055055/http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/articles/papers/398.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-21 }}</ref> In 1947, [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] installed a differential analyser built for them by [[General Electric]] at a cost of $125,000.<ref name=UCLADA>{{cite magazine|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=849&dat=19780109&id=R50oAAAAIBAJ&pg=6329,375623|format=Google News|title= UCLA's Bush Analyzer Retires to Smithsonian|access-date=2010-07-22|magazine=Computerworld|date=1978-01-09}}</ref> By 1950, this machine had been joined by three more.<ref name=UCLA4DA>{{cite web|url=http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/explore/history/major-research-highlights/the-thinking-machine |title=The Thinking Machine |access-date=2010-07-22 |publisher=UCLA Engineering |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710100707/https://www.engineer.ucla.edu/explore/history/major-research-highlights/the-thinking-machine |archive-date=2010-07-10 }}</ref> The UCLA differential analyser appeared in 1950's [[Destination Moon (film)|''Destination Moon'']], and the same footage in 1951's [[When Worlds Collide (1951 film)|''When Worlds Collide'']], where it was called "DA". A different shot appears in 1956's ''[[Earth vs. the Flying Saucers]]''.

[[File:ImgAJ201412020061M-b.png|thumb|Early computer-and-plotter dating to 1944, solving complex equations again 70 years later<ref name="KABATA"/>]]
At [[Osaka Imperial University]] (present-day [[Osaka University]]) around 1944,
a complete differential analyser machine was developed (illustrated) to calculate the movement of an object and other problems with mechanical components, and then draws graphs on paper with a pen. It was later transferred to the [[Tokyo University of Science]] and has been displayed at the school's Museum of Science in Shinjuku Ward. Restored in 2014, it is one of only two still operational differential analysers produced before the end of World War II.<ref name="KABATA">{{citation
| author=Hisatoshi Kabata
|year =2014
|url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sci_tech/technology/AJ201412020060
|title=Early computer dating to 1944 solving complex equations again after long 'reboot'
|journal= The Asahi Shimbun/Technology
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051419/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sci_tech/technology/AJ201412020060
|archive-date=2016-03-04
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

In Canada, a differential analyser was constructed at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1948 by [[Beatrice Helen Worsley]], but it appears to have had little or no use.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Campbell, Scott M. |title=Beatrice Helen Worsley: Canada's Female Computer Pioneer |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=53–4 |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |date=October–December 2003 |url=http://individual.utoronto.ca/scampbell/campbell03.pdf |doi=10.1109/MAHC.2003.1253890 |bibcode=2003IAHC...25d..51C |s2cid=13499528 |access-date=2010-07-24 |quote= [Worsley's] research was suggested by Samuel H. Caldwell, of MIT’s electrical engineering department, who had helped Vannevar Bush design recent analyzers. … Over six weeks during summer 1948, Worsley constructed a differential analyzer using Meccano…, based on Douglas Hartree and Arthur Porter’s 1935 article. Constructed from about CAD$75 worth of Meccano, the analyzer was minimally modified from the original design but offered slight improvements to the electrical power distribution system, the design of the torque amplifiers, and the output pen support. Unfortunately, there is no information regarding what use, if any, the analyzer was put to or why Worsley built it}} For more on Beatrice Worsley, see [[UTEC#UTEC|UTEC]].</ref>

A differential analyser may have been used in the development of the [[bouncing bomb]], used to attack [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric dams]] during [[World War II]].<ref>Irwin, William (2009-07). ''Op. cit.'' "It is rumoured that a differential analyser was used in the development of the "bouncing bomb" by Barnes Wallis for the "Dam Busters" attack on the Ruhr valley hydroelectric dams in WW2. This was first mentioned in [[Museum of Transport and Technology|MOTAT]] [New Zealand] literature in 1973. However after extensive enquiries and literature searches over the last few years, no evidence can be found that the <nowiki>[</nowiki>[http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/account/3031/object/955 differential analyser held by MOTAT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226165410/http://nzmuseums.co.nz/account/3031/object/955 |date=2018-02-26 }}, nor any other differential analyser, was used for this purpose. Considering the secrecy surrounding war time activities at the time it could still be possible, but most people from that era are now deceased. Two remaining personalities still alive from that era were consulted, namely Arthur Porter and [[Maurice Wilkes]], but neither could substantiate the rumour."</ref> Differential analysers have also been used in the calculation of [[soil erosion]] by river control authorities.<ref>{{citation|title=Electronic Brains: Stories from the Dawn of the Computer Age|first=Mike|last=Hally|publisher=Granta|year=2005|isbn=9781862076631|page=xx}}.</ref>

The differential analyser was eventually rendered obsolete by [[electronic analogue computer]]s and, later, digital computers.

{{Further|Digital differential analyzer}}

==Use of Meccano==
[[Image:DA Cambridge c1937.jpg|thumb|[[Museum of Transport and Technology|MOTAT's]] Meccano differential analyser in use at the Cambridge University Mathematics Laboratory, c. 1937. The person on the right is [[Maurice Wilkes|Dr Maurice Wilkes]], who was in charge of it at the time.|alt=]]
The model differential analyser built at Manchester University in 1934 by Douglas Hartree and Arthur Porter made extensive use of [[Meccano]] parts: this meant that the machine was less costly to build, and it proved "accurate enough for the solution of many scientific problems".<ref name=CamDA>{{harv|Hartree|Porter|1934–1935}},{{cite web|url=http://amg.nzfmm.co.nz/differential_analyser.html|title= Differential Analyser |access-date=2010-07-21|publisher=Auckland Meccano Guild}}</ref> A similar machine built by J.B. Bratt at Cambridge University in 1935 is now in the [[Museum of Transport and Technology]] (MOTAT) collection in [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]].<ref name=CamDA/> A memorandum written for the British military's Armament Research Department in 1944 describes how this machine had been modified during World War II for improved reliability and enhanced capability, and identifies its wartime applications as including research on the flow of heat, explosive detonations, and simulations of [[transmission lines]].<ref>Cairns, W. J., Crank, J., & Lloyd, E. C. ''Some Improvements in the Construction of a Small Scale Differential Analyser and a Review of Recent Applications'', Armament Research Department Theoretical Research Memo. No. 27/44, 1944 (see {{Cite web|last=Robinson|first=Tim|title=Bibliography|publisher=Tim Robinson's Meccano Computing Machinery web site|date= 2008-06-07|url=http://www.meccano.us/bibliography.html|access-date=2010-07-26}}). The memorandum is now in [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]], UK:

{{Cite web|title=Piece reference DEFE 15/751|publisher=The National Archives
|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=6&CATID=1926821&j=1|access-date=2010-07-26}} For the "Armament Research Department", see [[Fort Halstead]], and cf. the entry for 1944 in {{Cite web|title=MoD History of Innovation|publisher=Ploughshare Innovations Ltd|url=http://www.ploughshareinnovations.com/about/MoD_full_history.pdf|access-date=2010-07-26}}</ref>

It has been estimated, by [[Garry Tee]] that "about 15 Meccano model Differential Analysers were built for serious work by scientists and researchers around the world".<ref>Irwin, William (2009-07). ''Op. cit.'' "It is estimated by Garry Tee of Auckland University that about 15 Meccano model Differential Analysers were built for serious work by scientists and researchers around the world." For Garry Tee, see {{cite web|url=http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/historydisplays/MoreOnDisplays.php|format=php|title= Computing History Displays: The Displays |access-date=2010-07-22|publisher=University of Auckland}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Torque amplifier]]
* [[Ball-and-disk integrator]]
*[[General purpose analog computer]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=35em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal |author=Thomson, James |title=An Integrating Machine having a new Kinematic Principle |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society |volume=24 |issue= 164–170|pages=262–5 |year=1876 |doi=10.1098/rspl.1875.0033 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1432057 |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |author=Thomson, William |title=Mechanical Integration of Linear Differential Equations of the Second Order with Variable Coefficients |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society |volume=24 |issue= 164–170|pages=269–71 |year=1876 |doi=10.1098/rspl.1875.0035 |s2cid=62694536 |author-link= Lord Kelvin |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |author=Thomson, William |title=Mechanical Integration of the general Linear Differential Equation of any Order with Variable Coefficients |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society |volume=24 |issue= 164–170|pages=271–5 |year=1876 |doi=10.1098/rspl.1875.0036 |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |author=Bush, Vannevar |title=Instrumental analysis |journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society |volume=42 |issue=10 |pages=649–69 |year=1936 |doi=10.1090/S0002-9904-1936-06390-1 |url=http://projecteuclid.org/euclid.bams/1183499313 |doi-access=free }}
*{{citation|last1=Hartree|first1=D. R. |last2=Porter|first2=Porter|title=The construction and operation of a model differential analyser| journal=Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society|volume= 79 |year=1934–1935|pages= 51–73|id=reprinted as a pamphlet July 1935}}
*Worsley, Beatrice Helen (1947). ''[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12637 A mathematical survey of computing devices with an appendix on an error analysis of differential analyzers]'' (Master's Thesis, MIT).
*Crank, J. (1947). ''The Differential Analyser'', London: Longmans, Green (this is the only book that describes how to set up and operate a mechanical differential analyser).
*MacNee, A.B. (1948). ''[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/4953 An electronic differential analyzer]'' (RLE, Technical Report 90, MIT. Note that this paper describes a very early electronic analogue computer, ''not'' a mechanical differential analyser: it is included because the author clearly felt that the only way to introduce such an innovation was to describe it as an "''electronic'' differential analyser").

==External links==
{{commons category|Differential analysers}}
* [http://www.kerryr.net/pioneers/bush.htm Vannevar Bush bio] which focuses on the Differential Analyzer

* [http://amg.nzfmm.co.nz/differential_analyser_explained.html The Differential Analyser Explained (updated July 2009)]
* [http://www.meccano.us/differential_analyzers/robinson_da/index.html Tim Robinson's Meccano Differential Analyser]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G45HmPwbtU&t=56m45s Professor Stephen Boyd at Stanford University provides a brief explanation of its working.]

[[Category:Early computers]]
[[Category:Analog computers]]
[[Category:Electro-mechanical computers]]
[[Category:Mechanical computers]]
[[Category:Mathematical tools]]
[[Category:Integrals]]

Automated analyser

2025-10-16T23:52:01Z

2604:3D08:9476:BE00:8B:AB8C:7AE9:E486:

{{Short description|Medical laboratory instrument}}
An '''automated analyser''' is a [[medical laboratory]] instrument designed to measure various substances and other characteristics in a number of biological [[Sample (material)|samples]] quickly, with minimal human assistance. These measured properties of blood and other fluids may be useful in the diagnosis of disease.
[[File:Cobas 6000.ogv|thumb|[[Roche Cobas 6000]]]]
[[File:Cobas u 411.JPG|thumb|Roche Cobas u 411]]
[[File:LabMachines.jpg|thumb|Beckman Chemistry analysers: Access (left); Synchron (right).]]
[[File:RACKS.jpg|thumb|Racks: for putting samples, quality controls or calibrations. Cobas 6000]]
[[File:Tube vacuette.jpg|thumb|These tubes are put in the racks for testing]]
[[Spectrophotometry|Photometry]] is the most common method for testing the amount of a specific analyte in a sample. In this technique, the sample undergoes a reaction to produce a colour change. Then, a photometer measures the absorbance of the sample to indirectly measure the concentration of analyte present in the sample. The use of an ion-selective electrode (ISE) is another common analytical method that specifically measures ion concentrations. This typically measures the concentrations of sodium, calcium or potassium present in the sample.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.labcompare.com/10-Featured-Articles/138020-Clinical-Chemistry-Analyzers-Technology/|title = Clinical Chemistry Analyzers Technology}}</ref>

There are various methods of introducing samples into the analyser. [[Test tube]]s of samples are often loaded into racks. These racks can be inserted directly into some analysers or, in larger labs, moved along an automated track. More manual methods include inserting tubes directly into circular carousels that rotate to make the sample available. Some analysers require samples to be transferred to sample cups. However, the need to protect the health and safety of laboratory staff has prompted many manufacturers to develop analysers that feature closed tube sampling, preventing workers from direct exposure to samples.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beckman.com/literature/ClinDiag/AU%209389%20Tanner%20Case%20Study.pdf |title=Tanner Medical Center Uses Revolutionary SYNCHRON LX®i 725 To Consolidate Testing, Reduce Sample Handling And Increase Safety|accessdate=2007-08-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015634/http://www.beckman.com/literature/ClinDiag/AU%209389%20Tanner%20Case%20Study.pdf |archivedate=2007-09-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bd.com/ds/aboutUs/news/News-05227.asp|title=Microbiology Solutions - BD|website=www.bd.com}}</ref> Samples can be processed singly, in batches, or continuously.

The automation of laboratory testing does not remove the need for human expertise (results must still be evaluated by [[medical technologist]]s and other qualified clinical laboratory professionals), but it does ease concerns about error reduction, staffing concerns, and safety.

==Routine biochemistry analysers==
These are machines that process a large portion of the samples going into a [[hospital]] or private [[medical laboratory]]. Automation of the testing process has reduced testing time for many analytes from days to minutes. The history of discrete sample analysis for the clinical laboratory began with the introduction of the "Robot Chemist" invented by [[Hans Baruch]] and introduced commercially in 1959.<ref>Rosenfeld, Louis. Four Centuries of Clinical Chemistry. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1999. {{ISBN|90-5699-645-2}}. Pp. 490–492.</ref>

The [[AutoAnalyzer]] is an early example of an automated chemistry analyser using a special flow technique named "continuous flow analysis (CFA)", invented in 1957 by Leonard Skeggs, PhD and first made by the Technicon Corporation. The first applications were for clinical (medical) analysis. The AutoAnalyzer profoundly changed the character of the chemical testing laboratory by allowing significant increases in the numbers of samples that could be processed. Samples used in the analyser include, but are not limited to, blood, serum, plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and other fluids from within the body.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clinical Chemistry Analyzer |url=https://www.who.int/medical_devices/innovation/clinical_chemistry_analyzer.pdf |publisher=World Health Organization |accessdate=15 May 2020}}</ref> The design based on separating a continuously flowing stream with air bubbles largely reduced slow, clumsy, and error-prone manual methods of analysis. The types of tests include [[enzyme]] levels (such as many of the [[liver function tests]]), ion levels (e.g. [[sodium]] and [[potassium]], and other tell-tale chemicals (such as [[Blood sugar|glucose]], [[serum albumin]], or [[creatinine]]).

Simple ions are often measured with [[ion selective electrode]]s, which let one type of ion through, and measure [[voltage]] differences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nico2000.net/Book/Guide1.html|title=A Beginners Guide to Ion-Selective Electrodes. All you need to know about theory and practice of ISE measurements, with comprehensive Electrochemical Glossary|website=www.nico2000.net}}</ref> Enzymes may be measured by the rate they change one coloured substance to another; in these tests, the results for enzymes are given as an activity, not as a concentration of the enzyme. Other tests use colorimetric changes to determine the concentration of the chemical in question. Turbidity may also be measured.

==Immuno-based analysers==
Antibodies are used by some analysers to detect many substances by [[immunoassay]] and other reactions that employ the use of antibody-antigen reactions.

When concentration of these compounds is too low to cause a measurable increase in [[turbidity]] when bound to antibody, more specialised methods must be used.

Recent developments include automation for the [[immunohaematology]] lab, also known as [[transfusion medicine]].

==Hematology analysers==
{{main|Hematology analyzer}}
These are used to perform [[complete blood count]]s, [[erythrocyte sedimentation rate]]s (ESRs), or [[coagulation]] tests.

===Cell counters===
{{see also|Complete blood count|White blood cell differential}}
Automated cell counters sample the blood, and quantify, classify, and describe cell populations using both electrical and optical techniques.
Electrical analysis involves passing a dilute solution of the blood through an aperture across which an electrical current is flowing. The passage of cells through the current changes the [[Electrical impedance|impedance]] between the terminals (the [[Coulter principle]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beckman.com/coultercounter/homepage_tech_coulter_principle.jsp |title=CoulterCounter.com - the Coulter Principle |accessdate=2007-08-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015537/http://www.beckman.com/coultercounter/homepage_tech_coulter_principle.jsp |archivedate=2007-09-28 }}</ref> A lytic reagent is added to the blood solution to selectively lyse the [[Red blood cell|red cells]] (RBCs), leaving only [[White blood cell|white cells]] (WBCs), and [[platelets]] intact. Then the solution is passed through a second detector. This allows the counts of RBCs, WBCs, and platelets to be obtained. The platelet count is easily separated from the WBC count by the smaller impedance spikes they produce in the detector due to their lower cell volumes.

Optical detection may be utilised to gain a differential count of the populations of white cell types. A dilute suspension of cells is passed through a flow cell, which passes cells one at a time through a capillary tube past a laser beam. The reflectance, transmission and scattering of light from each cell is analysed by sophisticated software giving a numerical representation of the likely overall distribution of cell populations.

Some of the latest hematology instruments may report [[Cell Population Data]] that consist in [[Leukocyte]] morphological information that may be used for flagging [[Cell (biology)|Cell]] abnormalities that trigger the suspect of some [[diseases]].

[[Reticulocyte]] counts can now be performed by many analysers, giving an alternative to time-consuming manual counts. Many automated reticulocyte counts, like their manual counterparts, employ the use of a [[Supravital stain|supravital dye]] such as [[new methylene blue]] to stain the red cells containing [[Reticular fiber|reticulin]] prior to counting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/New_methylene_blue|title=New methylene blue - Biology-Online Dictionary|website=www.biology-online.org|date=7 October 2019}}</ref> Some analysers have a modular slide maker which is able to both produce a blood film of consistent quality and stain the film, which is then reviewed by a medical laboratory professional.

===Coagulometers===
{{further|Coagulation testing}}
Automated coagulation machines or Coagulometers measure the ability of blood to clot by performing any of several types of tests including [[Partial thromboplastin time]]s, [[Prothrombin time]]s (and the calculated [[International normalized ratio|INRs]] commonly used for therapeutic evaluation), [[Lupus anticoagulant]] screens, [[D dimer]] assays, and factor assays.

Coagulometers require blood samples that have been drawn in tubes containing [[Trisodium citrate|sodium citrate]] as an anticoagulant. These are used because the mechanism behind the anticoagulant effect of sodium citrate is reversible. Depending on the test, different substances can be added to the blood plasma to trigger a clotting reaction. The progress of clotting may be monitored optically by measuring the absorbance of a particular wavelength of light by the sample and how it changes over time.

[[File:StaRRsed Inversa, automated Westergren based ESR 'analyzer'.jpg|thumb|upright=0.55|right|StaRRsed Inversa, automated Westergren-based ESR 'analyzer']]

===Other hematology apparatus===
Automatic [[erythrocyte sedimentation rate]] (ESR) readers, while not strictly analysers, do preferably have to comply to the 2011-published CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) "Procedures for the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate Test: H02-A5 and to the ICSH (International Council for Standardization in Haematology) published "ICSH review of the measurement of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate", both indicating the only reference method, being Westergren, explicitly indicating the use of '''diluted''' blood (with sodium citrate), in 200 mm pipettes, bore 2.55 mm. After 30 or 60 minutes being in a vertical position, with no draughts and vibration or direct sunlight allowed, an optical reader determines how far the [[Red blood cell|red cells]] have fallen by detecting the level.

==Miscellaneous analysers==
Some tests and test categories are unique in their mechanism or scope, and require a separate analyser for only a few tests, or even for only ''one'' test. Other tests are esoteric in nature—they are performed less frequently than other tests, and are generally more expensive and time-consuming to perform. Even so, the current{{When|date=February 2014}} shortage of qualified clinical laboratory professionals<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.astho.org/pubs/LABORATORYWORKERSHORTAGE.pdf |title=Public Health Workforce Shortage: Laboratory Scientists and Technicians |date=December 2004|access-date=2007-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006120151/http://www.astho.org/pubs/LABORATORYWORKERSHORTAGE.pdf |archive-date=2007-10-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> has spurred manufacturers to develop automated systems for even these rarely performed tests.

Analysers that fall into this category include instruments that perform:
* [[DNA]] labeling and detection
* [[Osmole|Osmolarity and osmolality]] measurement
* Measurement of [[Glycated hemoglobin|glycated haemoglobin]] (haemoglobin A1C), and
* Aliquotting and routing of samples throughout the laboratory

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Automated analysers}}
* [[Comprehensive metabolic panel]]
* [[Medical technologist]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Automated Analyser}}
[[Category:Laboratory equipment]]
[[Category:Measuring instruments]]
[[Category:Clinical pathology]]
[[Category:Drugs developed by Hoffmann-La Roche]]
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