High-Fidelity 3D Stray Magnetic Field Mapping of Smartphones to Address Safety Considerations with Active Implantable Electronic Medical Devices

2023 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 575

Using high-fidelity 3D magnetic field mapping (1 mm spatial resolution), the stray fields from the annular magnet array, wide-angle camera, and speaker of tested smartphones exceeded the 1 mT limit defined by ISO 14117:2019. The authors recommend keeping an i…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2023

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

High-Fidelity 3D Stray Magnetic Field Mapping of Smartphones to Address Safety Considerations with Active Implantable Electronic Medical Devices Saha N, Millward JM, Herrmann CJJ, Rahimi F, Han H, Lacour P, Blaschke F, Niendorf T. High-Fidelity 3D Stray Magnetic Field Mapping of Smartphones to Address Safety Considerations with Active Implantable Electronic Medical Devices. Sensors (Basel). 2023 Jan 20;23(3):1209. doi: 10.3390/s23031209. Abstract Case reports indicate that magnets in smartphones could be a source of electromagnetic interference (EMI) for active implantable medical devices (AIMD), which could lead to device malfunction, compromising patient safety. Recognizing this challenge, we implemented a high-fidelity 3D magnetic field mapping (spatial resolution 1 mm) setup using a three-axis Hall probe and teslameter, controlled by a robot (COSI Measure). With this setup, we examined the stray magnetic field of an iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 12, and MagSafe charger to identify sources of magnetic fields for the accurate risk assessment of potential interferences with AIMDs. Our measurements revealed that the stray fields of the annular array of magnets, the wide-angle camera, and the speaker of the smartphones exceeded the 1 mT limit defined by ISO 14117:2019. Our data-driven safety recommendation is that an iPhone 13 Pro should be kept at least 25 mm away from an AIMD to protect it from unwanted EMI interactions. Our study addresses safety concerns due to potential device-device interactions between smartphones and AIMDs and will help to define data-driven safety guidelines. We encourage vendors of electronic consumer products (ECP) to provide information on the magnetic fields of their products and advocate for the inclusion of smartphones in the risk assessment of EMI with AIMDs. Open access paper: mdpi.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeexposure_assessment

Effect directionharm

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

3D stray magnetic field mapping of smartphones and MagSafe charger
Magnetic field exceedance of 1 mT limit (ISO 14117:2019) relevant to electromagnetic interference risk for active implantable medical devices (AIMDs)
Recommended minimum separation distance between iPhone 13 Pro and AIMD (25 mm)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "smartphone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "3D stray magnetic field mapping of smartphones and MagSafe charger",
    "Magnetic field exceedance of 1 mT limit (ISO 14117:2019) relevant to electromagnetic interference risk for active implantable medical devices (AIMDs)",
    "Recommended minimum separation distance between iPhone 13 Pro and AIMD (25 mm)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Using high-fidelity 3D magnetic field mapping (1 mm spatial resolution), the stray fields from the annular magnet array, wide-angle camera, and speaker of tested smartphones exceeded the 1 mT limit defined by ISO 14117:2019. The authors recommend keeping an iPhone 13 Pro at least 25 mm away from an AIMD to reduce risk of unwanted EMI interactions.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "smartphones",
    "iPhone 13 Pro",
    "iPhone 12",
    "MagSafe charger",
    "stray magnetic field",
    "3D mapping",
    "electromagnetic interference",
    "EMI",
    "active implantable medical devices",
    "AIMD",
    "ISO 14117:2019",
    "Hall probe",
    "teslameter"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Mentions an international standard (ISO 14117:2019) related to EMI limits for implantable devices; no direct WHO/ICNIRP content stated."
    },
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0,
      "reason": null
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3390/s23031209
PubMed: Not supplied

Read the original paper →

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