The electromagnetic waves radiating from someone's phone caused a powered wheelchair to spin out of control and a woman's implant cardiac defibrillator to fire without cause. This fictional situation is based on a real life problem. Some European hospitals have already banned cellular phones from their buildings, and FDA has encouraged hospitals in the United States to take such action if warranted. But that doesn't mean these phones should be outlawed everywhere. Though a popular target for blame, cellular phones are likely a small part of the problem, says Don Witters, an FDA physicist and chairman of an agency working group examining the problem.
Cellular phones generate a very small amount of the total electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere.
But because of their mobility, these phones have the potential to get closer to most medical devices than, say, a radio station transmitter on top of a hill. Patients and doctors who routinely use sensitive medical devices should be aware of the problem and consider keeping cellular phones away from their equipment. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, concerned about the problem electromagnetic interference poses for cellular phones, has given seed money to start a research center at the University of Oklahoma to explore the issue.