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tumors or other ill effects.
Their recommendation to limit
wireless phone use by children
was strictly precautionary; it was
not based on scientific evidence
that any health hazard exists.
11. What about wireless phone
interference with medical
equipment?
Radiofrequency energy (RF)
from wireless phones can
interact with some electronic
devices. For this reason, the
FDA helped develop a detailed
test method to measure
electromagnetic interference
(EMI) of implanted cardiac
pacemakers and defibrillators
from wireless telephones. This
test method is now part of a
standard sponsored by the
Association for the Advancement
of Medical 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.