This isn’t the best news if you have an iPhone with MagSafe accessories and either a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
An initial study has noted that Apple’s iPhone and MagSafe accessories on a comprehensive set of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators from all major manufacturers shows that the magnetic component of the iPhone 12 can inadvertently activate the magnetic switch of PMs and ICDs. This can be critically harmful if it happens outside a controlled environment or without the presence of medical practitioners. According to the authors, “for the first time, the magnetic interference phenomena accurately correlated to the magnetic field levels measured around the iPhone 12.”
The study was partially funded by the internal project of the Italian Institute of Health and made possible through a grant by the Italian Workers Compensation Authority and published in Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology. It aimed to investigate the effects of magnetic interference of the iPhone 12 and its MagSafe technologies on a large set of cardiac implantable devices such as PMs and ICDs.
The study also looked to propose possible adequate rules of conduct aside from Apple’s recommended safety distance of 15 centimeters between the iPhone 12 and cardiac implantable devices.
Apple introduced wireless charging technologies via a magnetic component inside the iPhone 12. The magnetic component inside the MagSafe charging base is aligned with the magnetic component inside the iPhone 12, thus enhancing the efficiency and reliability of wireless charging.
In the experiment conducted by the researchers, the iPhone 12 was placed at different distances from the cardiac implantable devices with intervals of 1 millimeter until such distance where the iPhone 12 can no longer activate the devices. The same method was done using an iPhone in a MagSafe case and in this scenario, the activation distance was found to be shorter.
The study also noted that the activation of implantable devices happens only in a few specific relative positions of the iPhone 12 with respect to the devices. The activation seems to only occur depending on the technology used, sensitivity area, and position of the magnetic switch.
Apple has previously stated that magnets in iPhone’s Magsafe technology may interfere with medical devices such as PMs and ICDs. The results of the study are in line with Apple’s generic instructions for use of the iPhone, stating that medical devices such as implanted pacemakers and defibrillators may contain sensors capable of reacting to magnets and radio frequencies when in close proximity. Apple has recommended keeping iPhone and MagSafe accessories more than 15 centimeters away from such devices.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.