Cell Phones Less Disruptive in Hospitals, Study Says
Posted on: Wednesday, 12 October 2005, 15:00 CDT
By Jeremy Olson, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Oct. 12--Hospitals have banned cell phones in sensitive areas for years because their transmissions can disrupt lifesaving medical equipment, but new research suggests the threat is decreasing.
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., tested six different cell phones to see if they disrupted the performance of 16 medical devices. Researchers noticed problems in only 44 percent of the tests and determined that most of the disruptions would not harm patients.
New upgrades to cell phones and medical technology will require further testing, though, to monitor for potential interference, said Dr. David Hayes, one of the researchers and chairman of Mayo's division of cardiovascular diseases.
"Technology changes in both cellular telephones and medical equipment may continue to mitigate or may worsen clinical-relevant interference," Hayes said in a statement.
The devices most affected were monitors that tracked the electrical activity of the brain and heart. Researchers placed phones receiving calls near medical devices. They verified that the phones had to be within 3 feet to have an effect.
Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota bans cell-phone use in sensitive areas such as its intensive care units in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Cell phones also must be turned off anywhere in the pediatric hospitals when people are 3 feet or closer to active medical equipment.
Regions Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital, both in St. Paul, have similar restrictions.
United Hospital in St. Paul once banned cell phones entirely, said spokeswoman Terri Dresen. The hospital relaxed the standards, banning them only in critical areas, in response to improving cell-phone technology, she said, and removed many of the no-cell-phone signs throughout the hospital.
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Source: Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)
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