What is RUSCHELIT™?
RUSCHELIT™ is the registered name for the PVC plastic employed by RUSCH™ in the manufacture of medical products. RUSCHELIT" is a compound of PVC and physiologically innocuous plasticizers and stabilizers. The range of surface textures extends from extremely shiny to velvet-like. Depending on the purpose, the material can be made harder or softer, opaque and colored or transparent. Devices made of RUSCHELIT' are therefore provided with the right degree of stiffness, flexibility and resistance to kinking. RUSCHELIT™ materials, as well as ERU™ and ERUPLAST™ materials, are tested according to USPXXIII, Class VI and IS0 10993 / EN 30993. They are non-toxic. Depending on the purpose, RUSCHELIP can also be made radiopaque by the addition of suitable substances. On account of its properties, RUSCHELIT™ is also suitable for the manufacture of especially flexible devices, for example those armored with an embedded stainless steel spiral. The material becomes more pliable when warmed by contact with the body, so that the device adapts well to the prevailing anatomical situation.

What is soft rubber?
RUSCH™ soft rubber is made from natural rubber and medically innocuous additives (including mineral filling materials). For this reason, this type of rubber is also known as mineralized soft rubber. Its main characteristics are optimum stiffness, a high resistance to kinking, and a high degree of flexibility. Further advantages are its X-ray detectability and electrical conductivity. RUSCH™ soft rubber is high-performance material. Devices made of this material can be steam-sterilized at 121°C or 134°C many times (usually twenty times or more), which is of economic significance. In contrast to soft rubber, RUSCH ROBUSTA is a particularly resistant mixture of natural rubber with a higher Shore hardness.
CAUTION
Latex and rubber instruments must not be used in sensitized patients with allergic reactions to materials contained in these products.
What is SILKOMED™?
SILKOMED™ is the registered name for the silicone elastomer used by RUSCH™ in the manufacture of medical devices. It is made chemically from inorganic materials.
A high-polymer product is obtained by polycondensation of the monomeric basic substances. This product has rubber-like, elastic properties as a result of chemical cross linking. SILKOMED™ is characterized by its physiological innocuousness (implantability) and its resistance to ageing. SILKOMED™ is resistant to oxygen, ozone, UV light and temperatures of up to 200°C. SILKOMED™ may be steam -sterilized without restrictions at 121°C or 134°C and does not contain any substances which can be extracted by water or tissue fluids. SILKOMED" is tested according to USPXXIII, Class VI and IS0 10993 / EN 30993 and is non-toxic. A special advantage is its strong tissue and water repellent property which virtually eliminates incrustation with blood or tissue.
What is SILKOLATEX®?
SILKOLATEX® is the registered trade name for a latex/silicone compound which is protected by patents throughout the world and is manufactured only by RUSCH™. It is an anhydrous, chemically cross-linked coagulum obtained from natural rubber latex which has been refined with a high-molecular weight silicone compound in order to improve its properties. Silicones - or, scientifically, organic silicon compounds - are substances with particularly advantageous properties: largely resistant to both temperature and ageing, physiologically innocuous and usually oil or wax-like. One of their most interesting properties is that they are water repellent or hydrophobic. This prevents deposits, in particular of water-soluble or water-containing adhesive substances in the widest sense (for example blood, blood clots, serum, urine, etc.). Experience has shown that these body products are the cause of the well-known phenomenon of incrustation, especially in conjunction with crystallizing substances in the urine. How SILKOLATEX® devices turn a chemical disadvantage into an advantage. Organic silicon compounds are incompatible with many organic substances. They separate and they "sweat". This property is made use of in SILKOLATEX® devices: The outer surface and also the inner surface of the lumen are constantly covered with a thin layer of silicone which is automatically renewed even after being washed off with surface-active detergents; it is "sweated" out of the latex material.
CAUTION
Latex and rubber instruments must not be used in sensitized patients with allergic reactions to materials contained in these products.