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Radios can jam patients' lifelines

By Barry Fox

23 November 2002

TETRA, a two-way radio system being adopted by many of the world’s emergency services, is even more likely to interfere with the safe operation of some life-critical medical devices than the cellphones which are banned from hospitals, says a British government safety regulator.

The warning comes from the Medical Devices Agency, which has found that Tetra radios can upset heart pacemakers, confuse defibrillators, and stop ventilators working. Tetra – the Terrestrial Trunked Radio System – is being adopted by emergency services in 50 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The MDA’s findings came as part of a wider study of the effects of radio interference on…

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