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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 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?
For additional information, please refer to the following
resources:
FDA web page on wireless phones
(http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/phones/index.html)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety
Program
(http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety)
International Commission on Non-lonizing Radiation
Protection
(http://www.icnirp.de)
World Health Organization (WHO) International EMF
Project
(http://www.who.int/emf)
National Radiological Protection Board (UK)
(http://www.nrpb.org.uk/)
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