Hans Rudolph, Inc. a Family Affair

By Tracy R. Nasca

“Have you ever heard of Hans Rudolph (HRI) masks?” I often ask this question to patients who call me to discuss their struggles and challenges with CPAP compliance due to mask issues. Many patients are not familiar with HRI. That’s a shame, as they make unique and quality masks that fit the need for many patients. CPAP users need to take an active role in mask choice. How can they be aware of their options if they do not have access to see and try on all masks to find what best fits their face? The next time you visit your home healthcare provider, ask to see Hans Rudolph masks. If they don’t carry this brand, remind them that it is important for you to have options and they do you disservice by not offering you a full line of choices!

In my travels to healthcare conferences, I always make it a point to visit the HRI exhibit to see their new mask products which are unique and have features not seen on any other full face masks on the market. I wanted to share their family story and introduce their mask products to the Talk About Sleep community. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Kelly Rudolph, who has been President at HRI for the past 20 years.

Tracy: For those who are not familiar with the Hans Rudolph Company, would you provide a brief history?

Kelly Rudolph: During the early 1930s Hans Rudolph designed and built what were possibly the first Respiratory Valves specifically for use in Pulmonary Function Studies with humans and animals. In 1960 Hans and John Rudolph formed and incorporated Hans Rudolph, Inc. as it continues to exist today with a product line that has grown over the years and now includes CPAP/BiLevel Full Face Masks for Home Care and Hospital Care.

Tracy: I have had the pleasure of meeting most of the Rudolph men at various home healthcare conferences, just how many of you are there? Are any of you sleep apnea patients using CPAP?

Kelly Rudolph: Currently there are four Rudolph working at HRI. Hans passed away in 1994, but his legacy lives on in his son John, grandsons Kevin & Kelly, and great grandson K.C. None of us personally use CPAP, but there are family friends that use our mask for OSA Therapy. They provide feedback before, during, and after the design process. We also make a large effort to constantly collect feedback from patients, doctors, RTs and other medical professionals to lead our engineering direction.

Tracy: I wanted to focus today on your latest mask, the V2 full face mask. I know your VIP full face Vmask was very popular, is the V2 an upgraded version or a totally different mask?

Kelly Rudolph: The V2, at a first glance, looks similar to the VIP Vmask, but on closer inspection you will find that the differences are monumental. The interior seal of the mask, the most important part of the design, has been completely re-engineered. A seal that sets off the mask by contoured ridges allows the V2 to form much better to a wider variety of face types. The nose bridge portion of the seal has also been revamped and now does not have an accessory seal to aid it. Instead, it’s built in flange now goes deeper and creates better seals than ever before. Some weight has also been taken out of the mask to make it more comfortable. Structural braces have been added to allow the soft silicone face piece to perform at high pressures. The swivel port is now detachable and has become the point for CO2 Ventilation and now utilizes micro-hole ventilation for a more quiet night of sleep.

Tracy: Full face masks can be challenging for anyone, but men and especially women who have small facial features and a small head size have an especially hard time finding a mask with a smaller frame. I know that your masks come in a large assortment of sizes including petite, how have you addressed this special need issue?

Kelly Rudolph: The V2 is available in 5 sizes; Petite, Extra-Small, Small, Medium, Large. We feel that our mask goes smaller and larger than the majority of the competition. Our petite mask is cleared for adults down to 60 lbs. and we have heard that patients that couldn’t get a small enough full face found success with it. We also have three different sizes of headgear. The Large Assembly comes with a Large Headgear and the Petite Assembly comes with the Small Headgear while Extra-Small, Small, and Medium Assemblies come with the Medium Headgear. These matchups work in most situations and headgears can be ordered separately for those patients that may need a unique setup.

Tracy: Talk About Sleep surveyed its female members who have sleep apnea. They were asked to comment on mask challenges and one of the biggest issues was headgear. Most masks come with a one size fits all headgear, so if you wear a petite mask and have an oversized headgear, you’ve not fully met the patients need.

Kelly Rudolph: We have three different sizes of headgear for the V2. The Large Assembly comes with a Large Headgear, and the Petite Assembly comes with the Small Headgear. Meanwhile Extra-Small, Small, and Medium Assemblies come with the Medium Headgear. These matchups work in most situations, but headgears can be ordered separately for those patients that may need a unique setup.

Tracy: Another complaint with women concerned their hair – they wanted a more “hair friendly” headgear

Kelly Rudolph: The V2 Headgear is a soft foam simple strap type of headgear & has an opening at the crown of the head that could be used to put longer hair through. The headgear can be worn directly on top of the hair. We haven’t heard any complaints on this aspect of our Headgear.

Tracy: MedTrade is coming soon – the largest home healthcare show of the year. Can you tell me if you will be launching a new CPAP mask? If so, can you share any information about it now?

Kelly Rudolph: The V2 has still only been around for months and although we are constantly designing new products for the Sleep Market we will not have a new product released at the upcoming MedTrade show. Before coming out with the next generation Full Face CPAP Mask (V3) we will collect more feedback and make it truly better than its predecessors.

Tracy: What other products do you manufacture that you would like patients to know about?

Kelly Rudolph: We design many Respiratory products but most are for hospital use only. The CPAP market is the first Home Health, Patient driven market we’ve entered. We entered the market because Medical Professionals in hospitals were demanding that we turn our mask interfaces used for hospital applications into CPAP/BiLevel masks for Sleep Apnea patients to use at home. Keep an eye out for future Nasal and Full Face interfaces from Hans Rudolph as we will surely be continuing to design and manufacture quality products for the sleep market.

Tracy: If you could relate something directly to the patients reading this, what would it be?

Kelly Rudolph: In many cases we see dealers only recommending our mask to patients that can’t get other full face masks to seal. What we want to tell patients is that they have the power to get the mask they want without having to go through 7 others before they get ours. We are constantly pushing for our mask to be the first fit and hope Patients and Dealers don’t look at the V2 as “too pricey” or as a “next mask they try”. We have made our pricing very competitive & maybe even one of the most affordable on the market. We hope these stereotypes, pushed by our competition, will come to an end and that patients will ask for the V2 by name.

To learn more about HRI http://www.rudolphkc.com

From left: Kelly, John and Kevin
Seated the late Hans Rudolph