IPods OK with pacemakers: study

Concerns over iPods causing cardiac pacemakers to malfunction appear to be unfounded, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston said Monday.
Cardiac electrophysiologists at the hospital launched their study after widely reported research last May concluded iPods did in fact interfere with pacemakers. The specialists have seen hundreds of children, teens and young adults with heart conditions requiring pacemakers, and questioned the results of that study.
"Many of our pacemaker patients have iPods and other digital music players, and we've never seen any problem," Dr. Charles Berul, director of the pacemaker service at the hospital, said in a release. "But kids and parents bring up this concern all the time, prompting us to do our own study."
Between September and December 2007, Dr. Gregory Webster, a cardiac fellow in training, along with the electrophysiology nurses and physicians, ran tests on 51 patients.
While last year's study was done on patients averaging 77 years of age, the average age in the Boston study was 22 (ranging from six to 60). Their pacemakers were tested against four digital music players â?? two kinds of Apple iPod (Nano and Video), SanDisk Sansa and Microsoft Zune. Each digital player was placed directly over the pacemaker.