Health Sciences · Hospital for Sick Children
A tube consisting of a wire coil with a yellow/ orange tinted transparent covering. The tube has a light blue plastic connector at its proximal end. Near the distal end is an inflatable cuff. Attached to the cuff by a narrow tube is a flattened bulb (a pilot balloon) of green/ blue tinted transparent plastic that is used to inflate the cuff. Attached to the pilot balloon is a tube with a captive plug that is used to seal this channel.
Accession Number: 2025.sk.75
Armored/ Armoured Endotracheal Tube (Rusch)
Primary Materials: PVC, Stainless Steel.
Printed in dark lettering along the tube: “6 Rusch W GERMANY I. T. 16”
Printed close to the connector: “20“
Height = 1.8, Width = 1.9, Length = 21.5.
An endotracheal tube provides a temporary artificial airway for a patient under general anesthesia. This example, like most such tubes, has an inflatable collar that is used to seal the tube against trachea.
A reinforced endotracheal tube has a coil of internal wire to prevent kinking. It is typically used in head and neck surgery. Such tubes are more flexible than standard plastic endotracheal tubes and are used in cases in which a stiffer tube might be difficult to insert or risk trauma.
This artifact is intact. There are small points of damage on a ring moulded on the connector. It is unclear whether the plastic coating around the spring was originally tinted yellow or whether it has discoloured with time.
Associated Instruments:
Willy Rüsch AG. Rommelshausen (Kernen im Remstal), Germany.
Date of Manufacture: c. 1970s to 1990
Provenance:
Additional Information and References:
Historical Notes: