Posted on 05/11/2007 10:03:36 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
There's no denying the technological impact of Apple's iconic iPod and its subsequent dominance in the digital music marketplace, and, considering its prolific rise and ongoing consumer dominance, the occasional bug, fault, and glitch are perhaps tolerable in an otherwise superb piece of kit. However, one of this week's news stories would suggest that loving your iPod and duly keeping it close to your heart might be bad for your health, especially if you're fitted with a pacemaker.
More pointedly, according to a study carried out by Jay Thaker, a 17-year-old high school student, which was presented to a selection of heart specialists yesterday, close proximity to an iPod can trigger monitoring malfunctions in cardiac pacemakers due to electromagnetic interference.
Thaker, lead author on the heart-related study and a student at Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan, revealed that iPod units positioned a mere 2 inches from the chests of patients fitted with a pacemaker caused electrical interference in 50 percent of them. Even when located around 18 inches from a patient's chest electrical interference was registered as disrupting the pacemaker's telemetry equipment, leading the implanted device to misinterpret the pace of the heart. In one test the pacemaker ceased to function completely.
The study was conducted at the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute at Michigan State University across 100 patients with an average age of 77, all equipped with implanted pacemaker devices. Thaker’s somewhat worrying results (which only focused on the iPod, and not the effects of other digital portable music players), were presented on Thursday at the annual meeting off the Heart Rhythm Society in Denver, Colorado.
While the test results are worth noting, the study's senior author, Dr. Krit Jongnarangsin (who is also an assistant professor at the University of Michigan's Division of Cardiovascular Medicine) conceded that the patient and age demographic generally associated with iPod use doesn't coincide with the related demographic of those fitted with pacemakers, and therefore actual figures connected to possible misdiagnosis are hard to amass.
"Most pacemaker patients are not iPod users," said Jongnarangsin in a Reuters report. "This needs to be studied more."
Young Mr. Thaker, whose mother and father happen to be a rheumatologist and electrophysiologist respectively, is now aiming to conduct a similar test that will assess the effects of iPod use in location to implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).
IPods linked to pacemaker malfunction
Ipods can make pacemakers fail - report [But at least you look cool while you do it]
Why, that’s ridiculous. I’m using an iPod right now and it’s not affecting my ka’ld k kfdl;’’’’’’’’’ ,dal,,,,,,,,dax....x
Cheney has an iPod. And his pacemaker still works.
Oh, crap, now the lefties will scream for a law banning iPods in public places.
..over his bullet proof vest.
I’ll give up my iPod when they pry my cold dead fingers from around it.
I have no clue about the technology of an Ipod but I know Pacemakers are not affected by 1000 Watt radio transmiters and I don’t doubt 10000 Watt radio stations hire Pacemaker wearers.
How far away are the transmitters? The problem is in general (and not only for the iPod) putting a device that emits an electromagnetic field only two inches from a pacemaker. So grandpa should put his iPod (or Zen or SanDisk or Zune) in his pants pocket instead of his breast pocket.
Yeah, but Cheney's was hardened to military specifications so it could survive the EMP from a nuke strike! ;^)
To some extent I agree w/you but I also know that many older people use mp3 players. Take a look around any airport waiting area. In addition, those of us in our 50s now have no intention of not using these players (or whatever new technology there is 20 years from now) just because we hit 70.
When I talk to undergrads about technology I always have to tell them not to be ageist in their thinking. 20 year olds are not the only people using computers and music players. They often seem surprised.
My own personal failure in this area is seeing truly senior people using cell phones. I don't know why, but it always seems odd. Maybe because being on college campuses I just see so many young people with them.
When you get a cardiac management device, you get educated on the dos-and-don’ts of what to keep out of your shirt pocket - cell phones, magnets, etc. EM-emitting devices can affect both the sensitive heartbeat detection circuitry, but there is a more direct effect: these devices contain a magnet-activated reed switch.
This switch is used to deactivate the device when specialists run diagnostics - something that should be done a couple of times a year. Therefore if you have a magnet close your device at other times, the device is deactivated - meaning that it will not kick in when you might really need it - like when your’e exercising - which is just when you probably would be using an iPod.
Since the full size iPods have hard-drives, and hard drives have motors with magnets, it makes sense they can interfere. What should be researched is if the smaller, flash-RAM based iPods can interfere as well.
The solution to this is simple, as noted above - just keep the potentially interfering device away from your chest, like on your right arm instead.
(Posted from the Vanderbilt Medical School graduation ceremony. No I’m not graduating, but it makes me feel medically smarter being surrounded by all these brains.....)
When iPods are outlawed only outlaws will have iPods.
Wow, the kid who did the study was 17. Sounds like he has a bright future.
That's what I say about the FReepers! ;)
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