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must conduct extended conversations by wireless phone on a daily basis, consider
placing more distance between your body and the source of the RF, since the
exposure level drops off dramatically with distance. For example, you could use a
headset and carry the wireless phone away from your body or use a wireless phone
connected to a remote antenna. Again, the scientific data does not demonstrate that
wireless phones are harmful. But if you are concerned about the RF exposure from
these products, you can use measures like those described above to reduce your RF
exposure from wireless phone use.
11. What about wireless phone interference with medical equipment?
Radio Frequency (RF) energy from wireless phones can interact with some electronic
devices. For this reason, the FDA helped develop a detailed test method to measure
Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) of implanted cardiac pacemakers and
defibrillators from wireless telephones. This test method is now part of a standard
sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation
(AAMI). The final draft, a joint effort by the FDA, medical device manufacturers, and
many other groups, was completed in late 2000. This standard will allow
manufacturers to ensure that cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators are safe from
wireless phone EMI. The FDA has tested hearing aids for interference from handheld
wireless phones and helped develop a voluntary standard sponsored by the Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This standard specifies test methods
and performance requirements for hearing aids and wireless phones so that no
interference occurs when a person uses a “compatible” phone and a “compatible”
hearing aid simultaneously. This standard was approved by the IEEE in 2000. The
FDA continues to monitor the use of wireless phones for possible interactions with
other medical devices. Should harmful interference be found to occur, the FDA will
