A 14-year-old girl found that "iPad 2" may be dangerous if heart disease patients use it

ByJohan Larsson

Gianna Chien (14) who attends Stockton's high school in California said that "more than 8,000 doctorsHeart Rhythm SocietyAt the meeting "The use of iPad 2 is at risk for heart disease patients using implantable cardioverter defibrillators"We made an announcement.

Heart Patient Risk From iPad 2 Found by 14-Year-Old - Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-09/heart-patient-risk-from-ipad2-found-by-14-year-old.html

When Gianna bought iPad 2 on her 2011 birthday, she saw the elderly receiving a lecture about the iPad and said, "Between the iPad and the medical device used by the heart disease people Is there anything to do with it? " This greatly influences that Gianna's father, Walter was a cardiac electrophysiologist.


Implantable defibrillatorOf the volunteers who used the volunteers to conduct experiments and found that 30% of those who placed iPad 2 on their chests exerted a magnet mode to emergency stop the defibrillator. At the same time, we conducted experiments with four pacemakers and one loop recorder that records electrocardiograms, but it seems that this was not affected.

Magnet mode is a function to stop the defibrillator when something happens, and it is controlled with a magnet. 30 pieces of magnets are embedded in the main body to attach a smart cover which is commonly referred to as "lid of a bath", iPad 2 does not happen when using iPad 2 with it, It will be affected if it is in a state like a little to the body.

In most defibrillators, when the magnet is removed from the device, the magnet mode is automatically released and the original operation is resumed, but some defibrillators require a manual restart. "Patients should be informed of this risk and doctors should check whether they return properly when entering magnet mode due to unforeseen circumstances," Gianna points out.


In Bloomberg I asked a spokesperson from Apple about comments about this research, but comment was refused as to the safety as stated in the product guide. The product guide states that people using pacemakers should use the iPad at least 6 inches (about 15 cm) apart, at medical facilities they turn off the power according to staff and display.

Being a leading manufacturer of defibrillatorsMedtronicAlthough it seems that no danger was found even when using the iPad at the time of the examination, it is taught that the magnet should not be placed near the defibrillator for the patient, and this research presentation is excluded For those using fibrillators and pacemakers comment that it is good attention not to forget to keep 6 inches or more away from the body when using the iPad.

Utah StateIntermountain Medical CenterJohn Dey who also worked at the Heart Rhythm Society and chairman of the Heart Rhythm Society also said, "People who use defibrillators can still use the iPad as they are, but do not put it on the chest Please call "attention."