Electrically conductive silicone is used to create many medical devices. Silicone rubber has multiple chemical and physical properties, making it the right choice for many medical applications. The material has many great benefits, which include:
- Flexibility
- Excellent biocompatibility
- Strong chemical resistance
- Temperature stability (low and high)
- Easy manufacturing
- Electrical insulator (desired by many medical devices)
As innovations continue to grow, manufacturers need highly biocompatible and flexible devices, which is why electrically conductive silicone rubber is commonly used. Electrical currents flow through the silicone with ease and efficiency.
Initially, conductive silicone was used in automotive and industrial applications for sealing and radio frequency shielding. Medical devices are held to higher standards, meaning purity levels are high while processing costs remain low. Conductive silicone is made from a carbon nanotube that does not suffer from the same drawbacks of standbys (silver coated glass spheres & carbon black).
For many, carbon nanotubes are a game changer as an additive to conductive silicone. The material is resilient enough to meet strict testing requirements for class VI and USP medical devices. The material offers high levels of purity, an absolute requirement for safe medical applications.
This type of silicone is small, making them a perfect choice for small medical devices. Each year, devices keep getting smaller and more portable, and the nano advantage allows designers to keep up with the marketplace.
With all the above-listed benefits, it would seem that the material is too expensive, but that is not the case. Nanotubes are competitively priced with silver-coated microspheres. They are also as stable as black carbon for suspension.
For more information on conductive silicone, you can call our team today. We can help walk you through all your shielding solutions.