[pbronez]

> 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.

Yeah so if you have a pace maker, try not to put magnets near your heart. The main practical impact for smart phone users with pacemakers seems to be that you shouldn’t carry a phone with a magnet mount in your breast pocket.

The article also mentions WHY pacemakers are so sensitive to otherwise benign levels of magnetism:

> 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.

It’s not clear from the article what function these magnetic sensors provide. I suspect it’s either a way for the internal device to interface with an external control circuit or just a minimally invasive off switch.

[finnthehuman]

>just a minimally invasive off switch.

Yup. A safety mechanism that has to be low tech. And user training to avoid magnets is safer than a more complicated interface.

The reason this is news is that not all cellphones are magnets, nor is there any obvious indication which are magnets.

[rmu09]

IME all recent cell phones contain fairly strong magnets in their speakers. They tend to clog up with iron filings/dust in my workshop.

[sipos]

Speaker magnets tend to be strong but small, meaning they would have to be very close. Thanks s is for attaching a charger, so is likely a much larger magnet, so more likely to be an issue.

[sandworm101]

They turn off/disable the pacemaker. They are used in situations where the pacemaker is not functioning as intended. ERs have ring magnets specifically to activate this designed feature. Imagine if a pacemaker is triggering the heart out of sequence, or if an installed defibulator is constantly shocking the heart. The external magnet is a simple way of turning it off temporarily.

[linker3000]

Yes, the magnetic sensor allows the implant to be 'suspended' for tests or if other treatments need it 'off' for the duration.

[sildur]

Anything with strong magnets has a warning about not to use near a pacemaker. Does iPhone 12 come with such a warning?

[joezydeco]

Yes.

https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1964/en_US/iph...

[sildur]

Then it's fine, thanks.