BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) has launched a blood collection device designed to help acute healthcare facilities to rapidly analyse blood serum for patient diagnosis.
The BD Vacutainer Rapid Serum Tube incorporates the company’s Hemogard closure system, which is said to enhance healthcare worker safety as well as compatibility with clinical analysers utilising front-end automation. With a five-minute clotting time and just three minutes of centrifugation at 4,000 g, the tube can offer savings of up to 32 minutes of laboratory time. Standard serum separator tubes require a 30 minute clot time followed by 10 minutes of centrifugation before clinical laboratory professionals can begin analysing the sample and getting test results. The 5 mL-draw, 13 x 100 mL plastic sterile blood-collection tube combines a thrombin-based additive with gel technology, to create a high quality serum sample by minimising fibrin formation and haemolysis.
