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11. What about wireless phone
interference with medical equipment?
Radio frequency 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.
12. Where can I find additional
information?
F
or additional information, please refer to the
following resources:
FDA web page on wireless phones
(http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/phones/index.html)
F
ederal Communications Commission (FCC) RF
Safety Program
(http://www.fcc.gov/)
I
nternational Commission on Non-lonizing
Radiation Protection
(http://www.icnirp.de)
W
orld Health Organization (WHO)
International EMF Project
(http://www.icnirp.de)
N
ational Radiological Protection Board (UK)
(http://www.nrpb.org.uk)