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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. 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/
Health and safety information
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