New research shows that iPods do not interfere with cardiac pacemakers

Howard Bassen, a researcher with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Md., led a research team that measured the magnetic fields produced by four different iPod models: a fourth-generation iPod and an iPod with video, and an iPod nano and iPod shuffle. They also measured the voltages delivered inside the pacemaker by the magnetic fields from the iPods. All measurements indicated there would be no effects on users with cardiac pacemakers.

Over the past year, a spate of media reports speculated on iPod interference with cardiac pacemakers. These reports, however, were based on a single incident where a patient with a cardiac pacemaker suffered dizziness while using an iPod. Cardiologists operated an iPod during the patient’s examination, and noted interference with the pacemaker.

The cardiologists published their results in the medical journal, Heart Rhythm.

After publication, there was talk of warning labels for portable music and video players, although a subsequent clinical study failed to show any dangerous connection between the music devices and patients with pacemakers.

Now, Bassen’s more detailed study demonstrates that iPods are not capable of producing electromagnetic interference in implanted pacemakers.

Using a 3-coil sensor, the team measured the magnetic field produced by the iPod at a distance of around 5 to 10 millimeters. They obtained readings for the magnetic field at various specific and small regions 10 mm from an iPod. The peak magnetic field strength was 0.2 millionths of a Tesla, a value hundreds of times lower than the levels capable of interfering with a pacemaker.

In addition, Bassen’s team attempted to detect any voltages these fields might produce within the protective "can" of a pacemaker. The can was placed inside a simulated human torso used by pacemaker manufacturers for interference testing. Bassen and his team found that the voltage levels within the pacemaker can were well below the detection limits of their highly sensitive equipment.

"Based on the observations of our in-vitro study we conclude that no interference effects can occur in pacemakers exposed to the iPods we tested," Bassen concluded.

Source: BioMed Central

iPods and similar devices found not to affect pacemaker function
Last May, a widely reported study concluded that errant electronic noise from iPods can cause implantable cardiac pacemakers to malfunction. This just didn’t sound right to the cardiac electrophysiologists at Children’s Hospital Boston, who’ve seen hundreds of children, teens and young adults with heart conditions requiring pacemakers.
iPods may cause pacemaker glitch
A Michigan high school student says iPods may cause mild interference with the function of pacemakers.
iPods help docs improve stethoscope skills
Patients rely on their physicians to recognize signs of trouble, yet for common heart murmurs, that ability is only fair at best. Fortunately, the solution is simple: listening repeatedly. In fact, intensive repetition — listening at least 400 times to each heart sound — significantly improved the stethoscope abilities of doctors, according to a study presented today at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting.
Investigating working memory
Have you ever heard anyone brag about what a good memory they have? Probably not often, and there"s a reason for that.
"Our brains do an enormous amount of processing, in fact they work like very effective computers," said Dawn Blasko, associate professor of psychology at Penn State Erie. "So effective that we only notice the few things we forget. We never think about the vast amount of material that we do, in fact, remember."
Review: TextBuyIt fun, easy to use, but limited
(AP) -- TextBuyIt, a recently launched shop-by-cell phone service from Amazon.com Inc., seemed like the ultimate comparison shopping tool - perfect for an unabashed bargain hunter like myself.
Apple stock drops despite jump in Q3 profit
(AP) -- Shares of Apple Inc. fell sharply as investors focused more on the company's cautious guidance for the current quarter than on the blockbuster Macintosh and iPod sales during the previous three-month period.
Apple iPhone goes on sale in Japan
(AP) -- The new iPhone model went on sale in the Asia-Pacific region Friday, making its debut in Japan amid swirling smoke after a 30-second countdown chanted by hundreds of people lined up, some for days, snaking around the block.
Apple opens 'extras' store as iPhone 3G hits shelves (Update)
Apple's international launch of iPhone 3G began in New Zealand and Japan on Friday, as a freshly-opened "App Store" tempted fans with independently created mini-programs for the coveted devices.

New research shows that iPods do not interfere with cardiac pacemakers

Related stories:

News discussion: