User's Manual

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