News
Study: iPods can cause pacemakers to malfunction
iPods can cause cardiac implantable pacemakers to malfunction, according to a study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a meeting of heart specialists at Michigan State University this week. “The study tested the effect of the portable music devices on 100 patients, whose mean age was 77, outfitted with pacemakers,” reports Reuters. “Electrical interference was detected half of the time when the iPod was held just 2 inches from the patient’s chest for 5 to 10 seconds. In some cases, the iPods caused interference when held 18 inches from the chest. Interfering with the telemetry equipment caused the device to misread the heart’s pacing and in one case caused the pacemaker to stop functioning altogether.”
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1
This proves that ipods are bad and should be taken off the market
Posted by Brownie on May 11, 2007 at 7:41 AM (PDT)
2
Nope, it’s bad pacemakers! They must be running Windows. Time for the iPace
Posted by mwilgar on May 11, 2007 at 7:52 AM (PDT)
3
Its not just ipod that emit these electrical pulses, mobile phones do the same, I’m sure any other personla media player will do the same
Posted by Uncle MOe on May 11, 2007 at 8:55 AM (PDT)
4
So, some high school kid was allowed to stop a mans pacemaker? I wish I got to kill senior citizens in my science fair project. I could double it for my economy project and save social security as well.
Posted by mike on May 11, 2007 at 9:39 AM (PDT)
5
Well, since I’ve given up neither my treo or ipod and I have had a pacemaker defibrillater for 18 months and I’m still ticking along. So (sorry for the sick humor) they’ll be prying my tech gear fom my cold dead hands. One other thing at 47, I’m usually younger by 30 or more years than the people I see in the cardiologist office. Are that may of them rocking out on their ipods. I must have missed them.
Posted by denisew on May 11, 2007 at 10:04 AM (PDT)
6
@ 62 now and still rocking with Hootie & the Blowfish and the Gratful Dead on my ipod and a pacemaker defibrillater for the past 4 yr’s
Posted by kray on May 11, 2007 at 10:33 AM (PDT)
7
I don’t believe that one li…little…*thud*
Posted by Obadiah on May 11, 2007 at 11:15 AM (PDT)
8
On one hand I’m slightly disturbed by this news. On the other hand who the hell volunteered for this experiment? “What’s that? You say you’re going to see if that iPod stops my pacemaker? Are you a doctor? No? A high school student you say? Well, all right.”
Posted by rainking187 on May 11, 2007 at 12:04 PM (PDT)
9
Heck, if airplane electronics get fouled up by interference from personal electronics, why not pacemakers?
Kudos to a high-school kid thinking up this scenario, and to MSU for allowing the study to happen (btw, other news sources say the study was presented in Colorado, not Michigan).
Posted by flatline response on May 11, 2007 at 1:29 PM (PDT)
10
If an iPod can stop a pacemaker and bring down an airplane, perhaps it’s time they designed better pacemakers and airplanes instead of wasting time on these “studies”.
Posted by Chahk on May 11, 2007 at 3:57 PM (PDT)
11
What, you want high school students to design pacemakers and airplanes instead of coming up with original science projects? That’s real brilliant.
Incidentally, notice that without studies like this you wouldn’t have any clue an iPod could affect pacemakers/airplanes/random other electronics, now, would you?
I wish people would just think before they speak. Is that too much to ask?
Posted by jarofchris on May 13, 2007 at 7:56 PM (PDT)
12
I happen to be a high school student AND a pacemaker recipient… I’m not sure how I feel about all this. However, I AM planning to use my Teletrace system (the only ones who know what I’m talking about have pacers) for my upcoming science fair. Anyway, have fun biting each others heads off…
Posted by bionicchick on December 31, 2008 at 3:51 PM (PDT)