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104 VX9400
Safety
Some groups sponsored by other national
governments have advised that children be
discouraged from using wireless phones at all. For
example, the government in the United Kingdom
distributed leaflets containing such a
recommendation in December 2000. They noted
that no evidence exists that using a wireless phone
causes brain 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?
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.