The blood rocker
After many years working in care, both as a nurse and as a teacher, Barbro Hjalmarson had an idea. Her idea, the blood rocker, is both accurate and saves valuable time.
Nurse with insight
Barbro Hjalmarson was born in 1919, qualified as a nurse and over time gained a lot of knowledge and insight into care work. When a blood test is taken, it is important that the blood is handled in the correct way. The test tube must be turned forwards and backwards a certain number of times to mix with a substance which stops the blood from clotting, otherwise the tests can produce incorrect results. In the past, that was a time-consuming exercise for nurses, but today it is much easier.
Used in our Swedish hospitals
To avoid turning all the tests by hand, Barbro Hjalmarson invented a rocker. It is powered by batteries and it rocks the blood at the correct speed. The invention was patented in 1994. The rocker was developed with the help of the company Triolab AB, and today the company has purchased the patent. The rocker is widely used in our Swedish hospitals and also to a certain extent in the other Nordic countries.