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137
For Your Safety
and the RF source will reduce RF exposure.
Some groups sponsored by other national governments have advised that children be
discouraged from using wireless devices 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 device causes brain
tumors or other ill effects. Their recommendation to limit wireless device use by children
was strictly precautionary; it was not based on scientific evidence that any health
hazard exists.
11. What about wireless communications device interference with medical
equipment?
Radio Frequency (RF) energy from wireless communications devices 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 devices. 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 communications
device EMI.
The FDA has tested hearing aids for interference from handheld wireless devices
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 communications devices so that no
interference occurs when a person uses a “compatible” device 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 communications devices for possible
interactions with other medical devices. Should harmful interference be found to occur,
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