People with medical implants like pacemakers must not keep their cellphones in their shirt pockets.
The latest directive by the department of telecommunication says that "people having active medical implants should preferably keep the cellphone at least 15cm away from the implant" . An office memorandum circulated by the ministry of communications and IT on January 25 says manufacturer's mobile handset booklets will have to contain the safety precaution.
Sachin Pilot, MoS for communications and IT, said this was one of the recommendations made by the inter-ministerial panel that DoT has accepted . "Necessary changes in the design and packaging for compliance with this instruction will have to be in place by September 1," Pilot said.
Dr Aparna Jaswal, senior cardiologist at Escorts Heart Research Centre, said it is safe for patients with implants to talk on a cellphone, but they must avoid placing it directly over the pacemaker.
"The pacemaker could misinterpret the cellphone signal as a heartbeat and withhold pacing, producing symptoms such as sudden fatigue . The phone must be kept six inches away from pacemaker and the patient must talk on the phone from the ear not close to the site," he added.
According to the US FDA, radio frequency energy (RF) from cellphones can interact with pacemakers which are called electromagnetic interference (EMI). If EMI occur, it could affect a pacemaker in three ways: stopping the device from delivering the stimulating pulses that regulate heart's rhythm, cause it to deliver the pulses irregularly or cause the implant to ignore the heart's own rhythm.
The ministry's memorandum says cellphone manufacturers must mention the following : use wireless or handsfree with a low power bluetooth emitter, make sure phone has a low SAR, keep calls short or send SMS instead.
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