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Cellular phone interference with external cardiopulmonary monitoring devices.

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Tri JL, Hayes DL, Smith TT, Severson RP · 2001

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Cell phones caused clinically significant interference with hospital heart monitors in 7.4% of tests, showing EMF can disrupt life-saving medical equipment.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers tested whether cell phones interfere with hospital heart and lung monitoring equipment by placing 5 phones (4 digital, 1 analog) near 17 different medical devices. They found that phones caused some type of interference in 41% of the devices tested, but only 7.4% of cases involved clinically significant problems that could affect patient care. This suggests that while electromagnetic interference from cell phones can occur in hospitals, serious disruptions to critical monitoring equipment are relatively rare.

Why This Matters

This study provides important real-world evidence that electromagnetic fields from cell phones can interfere with sensitive medical equipment, even if most interference doesn't rise to clinically dangerous levels. The 7.4% rate of clinically important interference may sound low, but in a hospital setting where lives depend on accurate monitoring, even this level of risk has prompted many medical facilities to restrict cell phone use near critical care areas. What makes this research particularly relevant is that it was conducted in 2001 when cell phone usage was far lower than today. With smartphones now ubiquitous in hospitals and EMF exposure levels dramatically higher, the potential for interference has only grown. The science demonstrates that electromagnetic fields don't just affect biological systems - they can also disrupt the electronic devices we depend on for healthcare, creating indirect health risks that deserve serious consideration.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

To determine the potential effect (electromagnetic interference) of cellular telephones on external cardiopulmonary monitoring devices.

For this study, we tested 17 different medical devices with 5 portable telephones (4 digital, 1 anal...

Any type of interference occurred in 7 (41%) of the 17 devices tested during 54.7% of the 526 tests....

Cellular telephones may interfere with the operation of external cardiopulmonary monitoring devices. However, most of the test results showed that the interference would rarely be clinically important.

Cite This Study
Tri JL, Hayes DL, Smith TT, Severson RP (2001). Cellular phone interference with external cardiopulmonary monitoring devices. Mayo Clin Proc 76(1):11-15, 2001.
Show BibTeX
@article{jl_2001_cellular_phone_interference_with_2631,
  author = {Tri JL and Hayes DL and Smith TT and Severson RP},
  title = {Cellular phone interference with external cardiopulmonary monitoring devices.},
  year = {2001},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11155403/},
}
PubMed: 11155403

Cited By (71 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

Cell phones caused interference in 41% of cardiopulmonary monitoring devices tested in a 2001 hospital study. However, only 7.4% of cases involved clinically significant problems that could actually affect patient care, suggesting serious disruptions to critical heart monitoring equipment are relatively rare.
Research testing 17 different hospital devices found cell phones caused some type of interference 54.7% of the time during testing. The study used 4 digital phones and 1 analog phone to evaluate electromagnetic interference with external cardiopulmonary monitoring equipment.
The 2001 study tested both digital and analog phones (4 digital, 1 analog) near hospital monitoring equipment. While interference occurred in 41% of devices tested, the research didn't specifically compare interference rates between digital and analog phone technologies.
Cell phones can interfere with external cardiopulmonary monitoring devices, but most interference is not clinically important. The study found that while 41% of devices showed some interference, only 7.4% involved problems serious enough to potentially impact patient safety.
While cell phones interfered with 41% of cardiopulmonary monitoring devices tested, researchers found most interference would rarely be clinically important. Only 7.4% of cases involved significant problems, suggesting complete phone bans may not be necessary for all hospital areas.