Output details

The permeability of silicone rubber to metal compounds: relevance to implanted devices.

Silicones are often used for chronic implants because of their excellent properties.. Good under-water adhesion keeps the rubber bonded to the conductors and insulators, preventing leakage currents and corrosion. However, when the device is old, adhesion will fail and metal parts corrode. The results in this paper show that when this happens, the corrosion products diffuse through the rubber at a low rate that is unlikely to be toxic. This new information is important to all implant manufacturers who need to be able to assess the risk to the patient of the implant (Active Implantable Medical Device Directive).