Table of Contents
Advertisement
Safety and usage information
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
18
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. Should harmful interference
be found to occur, FDA will conduct testing to
assess the interference and work to resolve the
problem.
Additional information on the safety of RF
exposures from various sources can be
obtained from the following organizations:
•
FCC RF Safety Program:
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/
•
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/
•
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration's (OSHA):
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/
radiofrequencyradiation/index.html
•
National institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH):
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emfpg.html
•
World health Organization (WHO):
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/
•
International Commission on Non-Ionizing
Radiation Protection:
Advertisement
Table of Contents
