129
For Your Safety
discouraged from using wireless phones at all. For example, the government in the United
Kingdom distributed leaflets containing such a recommendation in December 2000. They
noted that no evidence exists that using a wireless phone causes brain tumors or other
ill effects. Their recommendation to limit wireless phone use by children was strictly
precautionary; it was not based on scientific evidence that any health hazard exists.
11. What about wireless phone interference with medical equipment?
Radio Frequency (RF) energy from wireless phones can interact with some electronic
devices. For this reason, the FDA helped develop a detailed test method to measure
Electro Magnetic 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 the 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.
The FDA has tested hearing aids for interference from handheld 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.
The FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible interactions with
other medical devices. Should harmful interference be found to occur, the FDA will conduct
testing to assess the interference and work to resolve the problem.
12. Where can I find additional information?
For additional information, please refer to the following resources:
FDA web page on wireless phones
(http://www.fda.gov/cellphones/)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) RF Safety Program
(http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety)
International Commission on Non-lonizing Radiation Protection
(http://www.icnirp.de)
