Safety

11. What about wireless phone interference with medical equipment?

 

Radio Frequency (RF) energy

 

from wireless phones can interact

 

with some electronic devices. For

 

this reason, the FDA helped

 

develop a detailed test method

 

to measure Electro Magnetic

 

Interference (EMI) of implanted

 

cardiac pacemakers and

 

defibrillators from wireless

 

telephones. This test method is

 

now part of a standard

S

sponsored by the Association for

a f

the Advancement of Medical

e ty

Instrumentation (AAMI). The

 

final draft, a joint effort by the

 

 

FDA, medical device

 

manufacturers, and many other

 

groups, was completed in late

 

2000. This standard will allow

 

manufacturers to ensure that

 

cardiac pacemakers and

 

defibrillators are safe from

wireless phone EMI.

The FDA has tested hearing aids for interference from handheld wireless phones and helped develop a voluntary standard sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This standard specifies test methods and performance requirements for hearing aids and wireless phones so that no interference occurs when a person uses a “compatible” phone and a “compatible” hearing aid at the same time. This standard was approved by the IEEE in 2000.

The FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible interactions with other medical devices. Should harmful interference be found to occur, the FDA will conduct testing to assess the interference and work to resolve the problem.

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