May 12th, 2007
iPods won't make your grandparents sick: but the music on them could
On our sister site News.com's NewsBlog, colleague Margaret Kane "ably" makes the case that even if it is true that iPod's can interfere with pacemakers, we are highly unlikely to witness the effects of this in the real world.
To brief you, the study found that electrical interference was detected half of the time when the iPod was held just 2 inches from the patient's chest for 5 to 10 seconds. The mean age of particpants was 77.
First, read what some other blogs had to say. Then I will tell you what I think.
"We'd really liked to have been there to see him try and pitch this study of his to the variety of seniors with heart problems who participated (they averaged 77 years of age), but don't get alarmed, we have a feeling your grandparents — who've probably never even heard of that newfangled iPoddie doohickie — won't find out first hand whether this is the real deal."- Engadget
"So what have we learned? It's not that electronics produce electromagnetic frequencies capable of killing grandpa. No, the moral of the story remains the same as always: Don't strap electronics to the chests of people with pacemakers." Crunchgear
"At one point or another, it seems like every new technology or gadget gets a story where it's either deemed safe or harmful to pacemakers — such as when some mobile phones were said to interfere with some older pacemakers, while a flimsy-sounding study said WiFi was safe."Techdirt.
OK, I dare you to bring an iPod into an assisted living center, and blast some hip-hop racket like Ne-Yo within 20 feet of where some residents have gathered. Not 2 inches, not 20 inches. 20 feet.
The interference is sure to kick in- not for those residents who have pacemakers.
For those residents who have ears.
Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
