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Section 14: Health and Safety Information 165
Consumer Information on Wireless Phones
Section 14
February 2002, the Federal trade Commission (FTC)
charged two companies that sold devices that claimed
to protect wireless phone users from radiation with
making false and unsubstantiated claims. According to
FTC, these defendants lacked a reasonable basis to
substantiate their claim.
What about wireless phone interference with medical
equipment?
Radio frequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can
interact with some electronic devices. For this reason,
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 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. FDA has tested 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.
FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones
for possible interactions with other medical devices.