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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/
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:
http://www.icnirp.de
National Radiation Protection Board (UK):
http://www.nrpb.org.uk
Updated 4/3/2002: US food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-
EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/HomeBusinessandEntertainm
ent/CellPhones/default.htm
Road Safety
Your wireless phone gives you the powerful ability to communicate by
voice, almost anywhere, anytime. But an important responsibility
accompanies the benefits of wireless phones, one that every user must
uphold.
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