OBJECTIVE
To determine whether cellular telephones used in a normal way would cause interference
with medical devices located in patient care areas of hospitals.
METHODS
Two cellular telephones from different cellular carriers were tested in various patient
care areas between February 15, 2006, and June 29, 2006. To monitor the medical devices
and equipment in the patient care areas during testing, we observed the device displays
and alarms.
RESULTS
Interference of any type occurred in 0 of the 75 patient care rooms during the 300
tests performed. These 300 tests involved a total of 192 medical devices. The incidence
of clinically important interference was 0% (95% confidence interval, 0%-4.8%).
CONCLUSIONS
Although cellular telephone use in general has been prohibited in hospitals because
of concerns that these telephones would interfere with medical devices, this study
revealed that when cellular telephones are used in a normal way no noticeable interference
or interactions occurred with the medical devices.
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Article Info
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© 2007 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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