title: A prospective pediatric clinical trial of digital music players: do they interfere with pacemakers?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There has been recent concern in the media about iPod interference with pacemakers. We systematically tested two types of digital music players (DMP) on pacemaker or ICD function in children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients were monitored by a 6-lead ECG and programmer telemetry. The pacemaker was tested in bipolar and unipolar sensing at normal and maximal sensitivities. The order of DMP tested was randomized. Each DMP was placed on top of the pacemaker pocket, put into "play" mode three times (5 seconds each), with and without programmer wand placed one cm adjacent to DMP. Pacemaker interference was defined as: pacing inhibition, inappropriate pacing, oversensing, or detection of high-rate episodes associated with the use of DMP. Of the 67 patients (mean age 12 +/- 5 years), 62 had pacemakers and five had ICDs; 39 endocardial and 28 epicardial systems. Patients were tested with Sansa (67), iPod 30 GB (51), and other DMPs (43). There was no evidence of interference with pacemaker function by any DMP under any of the study conditions (each performed in triplicate). Reproducible programmer telemetry interference was shown in 11 cases (Medtronic 6/47, St. Jude Medical 5/18, Guidant 0/2) related to use of iPod (6), Sansa (1), or others (4). None of these were associated with any evidence of pacemaker malfunction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interference with pacemaker function could not be shown with iPod or MP3 players. No additional precaution beyond standard is necessary for patients with pacemakers when they are using these players.
authors.affiliation: Labatt Family Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Souza
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alfaro-Ramirez
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clegg
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fenwick
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kirsh
authors.forename: Gil J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Stephenson
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D055539:MP3-Player; D008297:Male; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D011446:Prospective Studies