FDA says iPods don’t interfere with pacemakers
Worried that you’ll drop dead when you’re listening to music from an iPod because it interferes with your pacemaker? Worry no more. The Food and Drug Administration has dispelled this little myth with experiments that prove the iPod’s innocence. Full details after the jump.
If you’re using a pacemaker and you like iPods, you might have gotten worried when news hit the Web about the music players interfering with the medical device. According to the rumor, iPods create a magnetic field that causes the pacemaker to malfunction, placing the lives of heart disease patients under great risk.
You can breathe easy now because the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the iPod of the ridiculous accusations. You can now return to listening to music without the fear of dropping dead.
In an experiment that involved a saline solution simulating the body, a pacemaker, three coils, and four iPod models, it was determined by the FDA that magnetic fields created by the music gadgets have no effect on the body and the pacemaker whatsoever.
This was executed by having an iPod video, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and a fourth-generation iPod a centimeter away from the saline bag outfitted with a pacemaker and sensors. Interference was negative on all of the tests involving each model.
“Based on the observations of our in-vitro study we conclude that no interference effects can occur in pacemakers exposed to the iPods we tested,” wrote the FDA in an official statement.
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