Feb. 1, 2008
Report: iPods Don't Zap Pacemakers
Lab Tests Show No Evidence That The Mp3 Player Interferes With Pacemaker
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An FDA researcher reports that in his lab tests, iPods don't hinder pacemakers, contrary to a case reported last year, Friday, Feb. 1, 2008. (GETTY)
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That finding comes from the FDA's Howard Bassen, who conducted lab tests after reading media reports last year about a reported case of an iPod interfering with a pacemaker.
Bassen tested four iPods -- an iPod nano, an iPod shuffle, an iPod classic, and an iPod classic with video. He positioned the iPods in the air, an inch above a pacemaker placed in salt water to simulate a pacemaker in a person's chest.
The iPods gave off "miniscule" voltages, Bassen writes. He concludes that "it is not possible for interference to be induced in a pacemaker by the music players we tested."
Bassen's findings appear in BioMedical Engineering OnLine.
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
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- Well then, can we put a bigger amp in it, crank up the voltage, and give it to Cheney?
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