Questionnaire-based evaluation of mobile phone interference with medical-electrical equipment in Swedish hospitals

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wiinberg, Stig^{a; *} | Samuelsson, Göran^a | Larsson, Stefan^a | Nilsson, Barbro^a | Jönsson, Patrik X.^a | Ivarsson, Bodil^{a; b} | Olofsson, Per-Åke^a

Affiliations: [a] Office of Medicinal Service, Region Skåne, Sweden | [b] Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Stig Wiinberg, Office of Medicinal Service, Kioskgatan 19, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. Tel.: +46 70 6661767; Fax: +46 46176025; E-mail: stig.wiinberg@skane.se.

Abstract: National recommendations in Sweden recommend a safety distance of 3 meter (m) between mobile phones and medical-electrical (ME) equipment in hospitals. A questionnaire was used to investigate how often mobile phones were reported to interfere with ME products in clinical practice across Sweden. The results confirmed that ME equipment can be affected by mobile phone use but, the risk of the patient’s outcome being affected were minimal; no cases were identified which led to injury or death. In conclusion, the results support recommendations for a general safety distance of 0.5 m between mobile phones and ME equipment in care environments.

Keywords: Medical devices, cellular phone, mobile phone, patient safety, safety distance

DOI: 10.3233/THC-170810

Journal: Technology and Health Care, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 791-796, 2017