Several studies have demonstrated that mobile telephones that use different technologies, such as Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) or Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), have the potential to influence the functionality of active electronic implants, including cardiac pacemakers. According to these studies, a few safety measures, such as maintaining minimum distances of 25 cm between implants and transmitters, are sufficient to avoid such effects. Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) has become a well-established communication standard in many countries, including Germany and Austria. TETRA transmitters are typically used by police forces and emergency services. Employees and volunteers working for such institutions are often in close contact with patients, causing TETRA transmitters to potentially have an impact on the functionality of the implants of patients. Therefore, the main focus of our study was to investigate the functionality of several types of implants when exposed to TETRA transmitters. Moreover, we investigated the difference in the degree of exposure of users of TETRA transmitters when they carry the devices in different locations near the body, and when they use them in different positions near the head. Our results show that a compliance distance of 30 cm between implant and transmitter is sufficient to exclude any influence on the examined implants. All examined exposure conditions demonstrated that the levels were well below recommended limits. If a user wants to minimize their exposure, use of transmitters in front of the mouth leads to somewhat lower exposure when compared to typical mobile phone like use.
Keywords: ICD; SAR-simulation; TETRA; compliance distance; defibrillator; electronic implants; emergency services; pacemaker.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.