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A practical procedure to prevent electromagnetic interference with electronic medical equipment.

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Hanada E, Takano K, Antoku Y, Matsumura K, Watanabe Y, Nose Y. · 2002

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Hospitals need systematic EMF control procedures because electromagnetic interference can disrupt life-critical medical equipment.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Japanese researchers systematically investigated electromagnetic interference (EMI) in hospitals, examining how radio waves, cell phones, and other electromagnetic sources disrupt critical medical equipment like pacemakers and monitoring devices. They identified seven key interference sources and developed a five-step procedure for hospitals to measure, control, and prevent EMI problems. This research matters because electromagnetic interference can cause life-threatening malfunctions in medical devices that patients depend on.

Why This Matters

This study highlights a critical safety issue that receives far too little attention: electromagnetic fields don't just potentially affect human biology, they demonstrably interfere with the electronic medical devices we rely on to save lives. The researchers found that hospitals face EMI from multiple sources, including external radio waves, cell phones, and even the building's own steel infrastructure. What this means for you is that the same electromagnetic environment affecting sensitive medical equipment in hospitals is the environment we all live in daily. The difference is that hospitals are now developing systematic procedures to measure and control EMF exposure to protect critical equipment. If electromagnetic fields can disrupt sophisticated medical devices designed with interference protections, we should take seriously their potential effects on the bioelectric systems in our bodies, which have no such engineered protections.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

We have systematically investigated the causes of electromagnetic interference (EMI)

The factors involved in EMI were determined as follows: 1) Electric-field intensity induced by invas...

From the results of our investigation, we developed a following practical procedure to prevent EMI. ...

Cite This Study
Hanada E, Takano K, Antoku Y, Matsumura K, Watanabe Y, Nose Y. (2002). A practical procedure to prevent electromagnetic interference with electronic medical equipment. J Med Syst 26(1):61-65, 2002.
Show BibTeX
@article{e_2002_a_practical_procedure_to_2149,
  author = {Hanada E and Takano K and Antoku Y and Matsumura K and Watanabe Y and Nose Y.},
  title = {A practical procedure to prevent electromagnetic interference with electronic medical equipment.},
  year = {2002},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11777312/},
}
PubMed: 11777312

Cited By (17 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Hospitals can prevent electromagnetic interference with pacemakers using a five-step procedure developed by Japanese researchers. This includes measuring electric field intensity from radio waves, controlling electromagnetic environments through wall shielding, testing medical equipment immunity, and installing electronic gates to screen for cell phones at building entrances.
Seven key sources cause electromagnetic interference in hospitals according to 2002 research by Hanada and colleagues. These include invasive radio waves from outside the hospital, industrial systems within the hospital, residual magnetic flux from steel frame welding points, and various electromagnetic devices that can disrupt critical monitoring equipment.
Yes, steel frame hospital buildings can affect medical device performance through residual magnetic flux density at electric welding points. Japanese researchers identified this as a key interference source and developed measurement procedures to assess and control these electromagnetic effects on sensitive medical equipment like pacemakers.
Hospital walls do provide electromagnetic shielding for medical devices when properly utilized. Research shows hospitals can control electromagnetic environments by strategically using the natural shielding capacity of walls to protect sensitive equipment from radio wave interference and other electromagnetic sources both inside and outside facilities.
Yes, hospitals should install electronic gate equipment at building entrances to screen for handsets and other electromagnetic devices. This represents the fifth step in a systematic procedure developed by researchers to prevent electromagnetic interference that could cause life-threatening malfunctions in critical medical equipment.