User's Manual

be placed against t he head. On t he other hand, if t he phone is m ounted
against t he waist or ot her part of t he body during use, then t hat part of
the body will absorb m ore RF energy. Wireless phones m arketed in t he
U.S. are required t o m eet safet y requirem ents regardless of whether they
are used against the head or against the body. Either configuration should
result in com pliance with t he safet y lim it.
Do w ireless phone accessories t ha t cla im t o shield t he hea d fr om
RF r adia tion w ork ?
Since t here are no known risks from exposure to RF em issions from
wireless phones, there is no reason t o believe t hat accessories that claim
to shield t he head from t hose em issions reduce risks. Som e product s that
claim to shield the user from RF absorpt ion use special phone cases, while
others involve nothing m ore t han a m etallic accessory attached to the
phone. St udies have shown that t hese product s generally do not work as
advert ised. Unlike “ hand- free” kit s, t hese so-called “ shields” m ay int erfere
with proper operat ion of the phone. The phone m ay be forced t o boost its
power to com pensate, leading to an increase in RF absorption. I n
February 2002, t he Federal t rade Com m ission (FTC) charged two
com panies that sold devices t hat claim ed t o protect wireless phone users
from radiat ion with m aking false and unsubst antiated claim s. According to
FTC, t hese defendant s lacked a reasonable basis to substantiate t heir
claim .
W hat a bout w ireless phone interfer ence w it h m e dical e qu ipm en t?
Radio frequency energy (RF) from wireless phones can interact with som e
elect ronic devices. For t his reason, FDA helped develop a det ailed t est
m ethod t o m easure elect rom agnetic int erference ( EMI ) of im planted
cardiac pacem akers and defibrillators from wireless telephones. This t est
m ethod is now part of a standard sponsored by the Association for t he
Advancem ent of Medical inst rum entat ion (AAMI ) . The final draft , a j oint
effort by FDA, m edical device m anufact urers, and m any ot her groups,
was com pleted in lat e 2000. This st andard will allow m anufact urers to
ensure t hat cardiac pacem akers and defibrillators are safe from wireless
phone EMI . FDA has t est ed wireless phones and helped develop a
volunt ary st andard sponsored by the I nst itute of Elect rical and Electronic
Engineers (I EEE) . This st andard specifies test m et hods and perform ance
requirem ents for hearing aids and wireless phones so t hat no interference
occurs when a person uses a com patible phone and a com patible hearing
aid at the sam e tim e. This st andard was approved by the I EEE in 2000.
FDA continues to m onitor the use of wireless phones for possible
int eract ions wit h ot her m edical devices. Should harm ful interference be
found to occur, FDA will conduct t est ing to assess the int erference and
work t o resolve the problem .
Additional inform ation on t he safet y of RF exposures from various sources
can be obtained from the following organizations:
 FCC RF Safety Program :