ICD Archives - EMFSA

Henry Ford Cardiologists Find Apple iPhone 12 Magnet Deactivates Implantable Cardiac Devices

Editor — Tue, 11 May 2021 13:33:38 +0000

Source https://www.henryford.com/news/2021/02/iphone-12-deactivates-defibrillator

February 04, 2021

DETROIT (February 4, 2021) – One of the newest features of the Apple iPhone 12 series of mobile devices is a strong magnet that helps align the phone on Apple’s MagSafe accessory to maximize charging – a feature that raised the curiosity of Henry Ford Heart & Vascular Institute cardiologist Gurjit Singh, M.D., and his colleagues.

Dr. Singh is an expert in cardiac electrophysiology, a specialty which deals with various electrical and rhythm disorders. He is an expert in the use of devices such as implantable defibrillators that detect an irregular heartbeat and shock the heart back into a normal rhythm, and pacemakers that use electricity to keep the heart beating. Combined, more than 300,000 people in the United States undergo surgery to implant one of these devices each year. Additionally, approximately one in four cell phones sold last year was an iPhone 12.

These cardiac devices have switches which respond to an external magnet to change how the device functions. For a defibrillator, a magnet can be used to turn the device off. For a pacemaker, a strong magnet can make the device deliver electrical impulses that cause the heart to beat out of sync, which can bring about a potentially lethal condition called ventricular fibrillation.

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Letter to the Editor—Lifesaving Therapy Inhibition by Phones Containing Magnets

Editor — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 14:02:27 +0000

Joshua C. Greenberg, Mahmoud R. Altawil, Gurjit Singh,
Letter to the Editor—Lifesaving Therapy Inhibition by Phones Containing Magnets, Heart Rhythm, 2021, ISSN 1547-5271,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2020.12.032.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1547527120312273)

Extract:

We hereby report an important public health issue concerning the newer-generation iPhone 12, which potentially can inhibit lifesaving therapy in a patient, particularly when the phone is carried in an upper chest pocket. Contemporary studies have shown minimal risk of electromagnetic interference from ICDs and older-generation smartphones not having a magnetic array.²^,³ A recent case report highlighted magnetic interference from a fitness tracker wrist band that deactivated an ICD up to distances of 2.4 cm.⁴ The Apple Inc. website does mention magnetic interference with medical devices and consultations with physicians and medical device manufacturers.⁵ Medical device manufacturers and implanting physicians should remain vigilant about making patients aware of this significant interaction of the iPhone 12 and other smart wearables with their cardiac implantable electronic devices.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1547527120312273

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Life Saving Therapy Inhibition by Phones Containing Magnets

Editor — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 12:02:37 +0000

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) remains the cornerstone therapy in the management of malignant ventricular arrythmia’s for patients with high risk cardiac conditions. An ICD system contains a battery, capacitors, sensing/ pacing circuit together with an intra-or extra-cardiac lead. All ICD’s have an in-built switch (Reed switch, Hall-effect sensors, Giant magneto sensitive resistors or coils) which respond to an externally applied magnetic field. When an external magnet is applied to a defibrillator, high voltage shock therapy for ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation is suspended. It has been estimated that a magnetic field stronger than 10 Gauss is strong enough to activate these switches. (1)

Recently, Apple Inc. launched the iPhone 12 series which has a circular array of magnets around a central charging coil for the phone to be compatible with “MagSafe” accessories. MagSafe technology contains a magnetometer and single coil Near Field Communications (NFC) reader. The magnets aids in properly aligning the iPhone on a wireless charger and other peripheral accessories and increases wireless charging speeds (up to 15 Watts). The first author (JG) raised the concerns for possible device-device interaction due to presence of a strong magnetic array in the iPhone and MagSafe compatible cases. We thus tested this interaction on a patient with a Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis, MN, USA) ICD. Institutional Review Board approved the study. Once the iPhone was brought close to the ICD over the left chest area, immediate suspension of ICD therapies was noted which persisted for the duration of the test. (Figure 1) This was reproduced multiple times with different positions of the phone over the pocket.

After IRB approval, the authors demonstrate that an Apple iPhone 12 brought into immediate proximity to Medtronic ICD will suspend tachy therapies (figure).

The ICD community should be aware of this interaction, and include this in pt counseling. https://t.co/HQUbaHQnkS pic.twitter.com/vWm0s0WxOe
— HeartRhythm (@hrs_journal) January 5, 2021

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