User's Manual

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and teenagers. If you want to take steps to lower
exposure to radiofrequency energy (RF), the
measures described above would apply to children
and teenagers using wireless phones. Reducing
the time of wireless phone use and increasing
the distance between the user and the RF source
will reduce RF exposure. Some groups sponsored
by other national governments have advised that
children be discouraged from using wireless phones
at all. For example, the government in the United
Kingdom distributed leaflets containing such a
recommendation in December 2000. They noted
that no evidence exists that using a wireless phone
causes brain tumors or other ill effects. Their
recommendation to limit wireless phone use by
children was strictly precautionary; it was not based
on scientific evidence that any health hazard exists.
11. What about wireless phone interference with
medical equipment?
Radio frequency energy (RF) from wireless phones
can interact with some electronic devices. For this
reason, the FDA helped develop a detailed test
method to measure electromagnetic 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 at the same time. 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 conduct testing to assess the interference
and work to resolve the problem.
12. Where can I find additional information?
For additional information, please refer to the following
resources:
FDA web page on wireless phones
(http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/
RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/
HomeBusinessandEntertainment/CellPhones/default.htm)