Calls made on cell phones do not affect hospital medical devices, U.S. researchers said Friday, but store anti-theft alarms might make implanted heart devices misfire.
Tests at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, showed normal use of cell phones, also called mobile phones, caused no noticeable interference with patient care equipment, they said.
But a portable CD player caused an abnormal electrocardiographic (ECG) reading when a patient used it near one of the leads of the device, according to one of several reports in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
And at least two reports suggest that anti-theft devices set up near the doors of retail stores can cause implantable rhythm devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators to malfunction.
Hospitals ban cellphones and their lawyers will not care in the least about this report.
On the other hand, retailers should at least tell their employees that if someone collapses between the posts of their anti-theft gizmo, the first best thing to do is drag them away from there!
Hospitals are not going to end their ban on cellphones because of this — they make too much money from the additional fees they charge for landline phones in hospital rooms. If patients could just use their cellphone instead, the hospital wouldn’t make any money from that.
So hospitals will just plain ignore this report, or say that “one study isn’t enough; until further proof is available, we will continue to ban cellphones for the safety of our patients”.
Back in about 1991, I showed my boss at Best Buy how to disable their doorway security in a few seconds with a BIC pen. Instead of telling me that was good to know, and replacing the system, he got mad. Typical moron management type.
2 – Bilbo – He’d probably been using the technique to steal stuff himself and didn’t like it that you might tell other employees and your friends and publish the technique on CompuServe or some such place. Where did you publish it, by the way?
The old man in the picture is getting a BJ from Frankenhooker 😉 (I love B movies!)
normal use of cell phones, also called mobile phones
Glad they cleared that up. I’ve never heard of a so-called “cell phone.”
Oh good, another reason not to go to department stores.
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Right on number 8. Nail on the head my friend.
#6, Oh ya, there is a whole area in science called Celery. (My kid explained it to me) The companies are listed on the Stalk Market. If you don’t believe me, just leaf them alone.