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The witness seminar “Datorisering av medicinsk laboratorieverksamhet 2: Massanalyser och hälsokontroller” [Computerization of Laboratory Work 2: Automation and Health Screenings] was held at Tekniska museet [The National Museum of Science and Technology] in Stockholm on 20 September 2006. The seminar was led by Urban Rosenqvist and focused on the upscaling of medical laboratory work through automation and computerization for screening purposes in the 1960s. The participants described crucial Swedish projects, which addressed issues of upscaling, rationalization, labeling and patient identification of laboratory results. During the seminar the development of mass analysis through Auto-Chemist, one of the first devices for automated blood analysis in the world, was explained. Two large-scale health screening projects, Värmlandsundersökningen and X69 were also brought up. The latter project was accomplished in cooperation with Uppsala Datacentral, UDAC. Early computers were a central part in all the mentioned projects. The interaction between local university-based developments, industrial production, and Swedish health care authorities were addressed. Another challenge the early ITusers in the panel had to deal with was that professional programmers had difficulties to adjust to the working conditions in the laboratories. This may explain why many chemists learned to program and developed computerized applications for the laboratories. Another subject touched upon was the importance of study trips abroad, as to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the USA where techniques and visions were being developed, which inspired the early users and developers in Sweden. |
