Those among you who rely on pacemakers for, in the words of The Bee Gees, stayin’ alive will be happy to know that you should safely be able to listen to your iPod without risking heart failure. We’ve been back and forth on this story a couple of times before, but now a Food and Drug Administration researcher is weighing in on the matter.
Howard Bassen and his wacky co-workers concocted an intricate experiment to test four different iPod models for electromagnetic signals, including a fourth-generation iPod, iPod shuffle, iPod nano, and iPod with video. The verdict? “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.”
There you have it. Now all those “Made for iPod” pacemakers can finally take their rightful place on the market. Next up: how well does your iPod play with the metal plate in your head?
As it always was…
It's funny that the FDA had to give clearance (benediction) for that. This is the early 21st century where pacemakers are more reliable than ever, and iPODs are no 1970s microwave ovens.
The latest important notice the FDA made regarding medical devices vs. gadgets was about five years ago, finally mentioning that cell phones represented no hazard to biomedical equipment at hospitals or ICUs