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Cardiovascular

Digital cellular telephone interaction with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

No Effects Found

Fetter JG, Ivans V, Benditt DG, Collins J, · 1998

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Digital cell phones don't interfere with ICDs during normal use, but should be kept at least 6 inches away from the implanted device.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers tested whether digital cell phones interfere with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), life-saving devices that shock the heart back into normal rhythm when dangerous arrhythmias occur. Testing 41 patients with ICDs and various phone models, they found no interference with normal ICD function during typical phone use. However, placing a phone directly on top of an ICD (within half a centimeter) could temporarily disable the device's ability to detect dangerous heart rhythms.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 50 Hz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 50 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: 50-Hz TDMA-50

Study Details

This study sought to determine, in vivo, whether electromagnetic interference (EMI), generated by North American Digital Communications (NADC)/Time Division Multiple Access-50-Hz (TDMA-50) mobile cellular digital telephone model AT&T 6650, disturbs normal implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) operation and to verify these observations in vitro by testing a selection of telephones representing worldwide systems.

The effects of cellular phone interference on the operation of various models of market-released ICD...

None of the ICDs tested in 41 patients were affected by oversensing of the EMI field of the cellular...

We conclude that TDMA-50 cellular telephones did not interfere with these types of ICDs. However, we recommend that the patient not carry or place the digital cellular telephone within 15 cm (6 in.) of the ICD.

Cite This Study
Fetter JG, Ivans V, Benditt DG, Collins J, (1998). Digital cellular telephone interaction with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. J Am Coll Cardiol 31(3):623-628, 1998.
Show BibTeX
@article{jg_1998_digital_cellular_telephone_interaction_3018,
  author = {Fetter JG and Ivans V and Benditt DG and Collins J and},
  title = {Digital cellular telephone interaction with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.},
  year = {1998},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9502645/},
}
PubMed: 9502645

Cited By (78 papers)

View all 78 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

TDMA-50 digital phones do not interfere with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators during normal use. A 1998 study of 41 ICD patients found no interference with device function when phones were used at typical distances from the chest.
Digital phones should stay at least 15 centimeters (6 inches) away from ICDs. While normal phone use poses no risk, placing a phone within half a centimeter of an ICD can temporarily disable its ability to detect dangerous heart rhythms.
Digital phones don't affect ICD arrhythmia detection during typical use. However, when placed directly over an ICD at distances under 0.5 centimeters, the phone's magnetic field can activate the device's internal switch and temporarily suspend rhythm detection.
Digital TDMA-50 phones showed no interference with ICDs in testing, but the study focused specifically on digital technology. The research tested both digital phones in service mode and test mode without finding interaction problems.
When a digital phone touches an ICD directly (within 0.5 centimeters), the phone's static magnetic field activates the device's internal reed switch. This temporarily suspends the ICD's ability to detect ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation until the phone is moved away.