[schlotterbeck]

This summer I had on a heart rate monitor for my health walk when I needed to ride somewhere in the back of my dad's 04. During the ride I noticed that the HRM wasn't working so I vowed to get another. Further on the ride I looked at the HRM again and it was working, then later it wasn't, etc. I came to the realization that when the car was in stealth mode, the electromagnetic field interfered with the function of the HRM. This leads me to wonder if there are other more vital medical aides that a person could be wearing, such as a pacemaker, that could cause a passenger dire consequences due to the battery's EM field. What do you all think? Potential problem or merely an aggravation to those wearing heart rate monitors? :shock:

 

[melgish]

Hmm... Since noone is going to report it if their pacemaker fails while riding in a Prius maybe we need to be watching for accidents with suspicious circumstances?

 

[DanMan32]

The Prius may affect monitors, that are trying to read very tiny electrical signals from our bodies, but pacemakers have been well shielded for years.
Remember the dangers of pacemaker wearers being near microwave ovens? The danger is minimal now, both because of the better construction of the pacemaker and the oven.

I wonder if your heart monitor is affected by nearby high voltage powerlines. But then, they are operating at 60Hz, where the Prius does have high frequency transients in its HV power distribution.

 

[RSnyder]

. . . I came to the realization that when the car was in stealth mode, the electromagnetic field interfered with the function of the HRM. . . .

You know, I'm having a really hard time believing this story. Mom always told me not to believe everything I read on the internet.

 

[mrv]

and when my father was in the heart unit at Mass. Gen., it was pretty obvious when walking down the hall that someone had forgotten to turn off their cell phone when they came in - lots of blinking lights and beeping from the monitors. Couldn't even use a laptop there, either.

 

[wfjw]

EM Concern

EMI is a concern for all persons with a pacemaker or similar device. Just check the following notice from a major producer of such implants.
http://www.guidant.com/patient/living/

wfjw

 

[kirby]

Most of those stories are pure BS these days. I have a friend who is a director at a local hospital and they have stopped banning the use of cell phones or any electronics. They did studies and found no impact on any equipment. The only thing they see is it will effect a pacemaker if you have the phone sitting on a person's chest while it is on - no problem if it is by the persons head.

 

[DanMan32]

I looked at that site, some of the items listed as cautionary seem strange.
Watch out for induction stoves, but not microwaves? I suppose, since microwave ovens themselves are supposed to be shielded, while induction stoves are supposed to heat the pan through open magnetics.

For toothbrushes, I believe they are targetting the 'sonic' ones, and not the ones that use a simple DC motor.
Arcwelder makes sense, there's a lot of random, high current, open noise there.

One of the problems monitors had was the frequency band that was chosen for the wireless monitors. When HDTV transmitters went online, the monitors went nuts, from what I have heard. Same band.

 

[KURT]

Pacemaker

I have a pacemaker and I'm driving my Prius right now. I've never had any pr

 

[Astrowoman]

Re: Pacemaker

I have a pacemaker and I'm driving my Prius right now. I've never had any pr

You see what comes of using a laptop while you drive??????????

 

[RSnyder]

One of the problems monitors had was the frequency band that was chosen for the wireless monitors. When HDTV transmitters went online, the monitors went nuts, from what I have heard. Same band.

Alright Dan, stop that. HDTV uses exactly the same bands for its transmitters as regular TV, namely 6 MHz bands in the VHF or UHF range. No new spectrum was allocated for HDTV.

 

[DanMan32]

That's not possible, as doing so would interfere with existing TV transmissions. Now once NTSC transmissions are done away with, then HDTV can move in. Not before.

 

[RSnyder]

All major broadcast markets had (still have) plenty of open UHF slots. Most even have a few VHF slots open. The broadcasters will be expected to return their current NTSC channels once ATSC (the standard for digital TV, including HDTV, in the US) is established.