iPod Disrupts Pacemakers in Study

Can iPods interfere with pacemakers? A Michigan study's results support an affirmative answer to that question.A study carried out by a 17-year-old targeted 100 pacemaker recipients, with a mean age of 77. An iPod was held two inches away from each patient's chest, for up to 10 seconds. That action caused several pacemakers to malfunction and one to stop altogether.The study tested only iPods, not including MP3 players made by other manufacturers (although we suspect that brand doesn't make a difference). The study did not find a preponderance of interference. Yet in such cases, "some" is enough.Other electronics devices, such as microwave ovens, have been known to interfere with pacemakers. Apparently, the iPod can generate the same sort of "trouble."