Posted on 04/11/2008 10:50:11 PM PDT by neverdem
Really?
THE FACTS
A much-noted study last year raised more than a few eyebrows when it suggested that digital music players could set hearts aflutter — by interfering with pacemakers.
The study, published in the journal Heart Rhythm, found that all it took to cause electrical interference in an implanted pacemaker was holding an iPod two inches from a patient’s chest. In some cases, the study found, an iPod caused interference when it was held within 18 inches of a patient.
But many scientists were skeptical, and apparently for good reason. More recent studies that looked at music players have found they have little effect on pacemakers.
The latest, carried out by scientists at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, tested four types of music players on patients 6 to 60 with active pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators. The scientists found during hundreds of tests that the music players had no effect on the “intrinsic function” of pacemakers. The only slight effects occurred when the heart devices were being programmed, “but not in a way that compromised device function,” the authors said.
As a result, they concluded, patients need be wary only while their doctors are reprogramming their devices...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
What a crock of crap .... member .. ipod design team
What kind of name is Anahad?
Just like having cell phones and other every-day electronic devices on while a plane is taking off will make it crash and burn.
...can use electronic devices above 10,000 feet now (EU). Then would be no need to pop the credit card into the phone on the back of the seat facing you... minus revenue--$$$.
Regrowing Limbs: Can People Regenerate Body Parts?
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
I don't have a clue.
ping for heart pacemakers going blooeey... not.
The real question is: “Will my pacemaker interfere with my IPod??”
Don't let your doctor fiddle with your ipod ping.
How many people with pacemakers use ipods? Geez.
I dunno - maybe->
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/II/II_8.htm
...
The sound of the abstract is called Anahad in the Vedas, meaning unlimited sound. The Sufis name it Sarmad, which suggests the idea of intoxication. The word intoxication is here used to signify upliftment, the freedom of the soul from its earthly bondage. ...
So, were the i-pods playing, “Jolene,” “Dream On,” or some whiny modern crap?
Seriously, were the ear-phones attached in all the various tests?
They might have grandchildren who do.
Older pacemakers were supposedly sensitive to older microwave ovens and certain automatic door openers.
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a genuine concern for any "mission critical" electronic devices, from avionics to weapons systems to medical devices. The electromagnetic spectrum gets more crowded (and polluted) every year with the increasing population of electronics.
I am sure that medical device manufacturers and regulatory agencies are aware of the problem, but it's difficult to hit a moving target, what is adequate today, might not be tomorrow.
Looks like a study from the trial lawyers of America.
If that worries you then you better not use your hearing aids either. The EMI footprint is similar. Stewardess: “Please turn off your hearing aids while I explain the safety and emergency procedures.”
That ought to help your paranoia.
I tend not to be a worrier, but I am convinced that I’ll never get out of this world alive.
If I were in the medical device business, I would worry a lot about interference from electronic devices, especially from unanticipated sources. In the medical device business, you are betting your company on every unit sold. John Edwards will tearfully implore a panel of illiterate public school drop outs that you should have “reasonably forseen” the late departed would ignore a radiation hazard warning and stand in front a two megawatt phased array radar.
Roaming charges?
'The services could stop working once aircraft leave European airspace. Initially, only second generation networks will be offered but growing interest would mean that third generation, or 3G, services would follow later, said Ofcom. The cost of making a mobile phone call from a plane will be higher than making one from the ground.'"
Competition from network package plans might come into play. On the ground, however, in Europe my Cingular/AT&T unused minutes were valid. Manually switch to International while iPhone automatically recognizes.
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