Originally Posted by
alexmt
Why would they make pacemakers not adequately shielded to handle the field of a metal detector?
Originally Posted by
Loren Pechtel
My thought, also.
Well, here's what the American Heart Association says (
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Condit..._Article.jsp):
Originally Posted by AHA
Modern pacemakers have built-in features to protect them from most types of interference produced by other electrical devices you might encounter in your daily routine.
Note: "modern" pacemakers. I don't know much about pacemakers, but I suspect that some folks have pacemakers that were designed before the advent of modern metal detectors, and may not have been designed with those in mind.
Continuing:
Originally Posted by AHA
Metal detectors for security: Interactions with metal detectors are unlikely to cause clinically significant symptoms in most patients. However, the American Heart Association recommends that you:
- Don't stay near the metal detector longer than is necessary.
- Don't lean against the system.
- If scanning with a hand-held metal detector is necessary, tell the security personnel that you have a pacemaker. Ask them not to hold the metal detector near the device any longer than is absolutely necessary. Or ask for an alternative form of personal search.
Again, notice the implicit disclaimers: "unlikely", "in most patients", etc..
In short, it's hard for technology to keep up with developments in other technological fields ... especially when upgrading a pacemaker is a lot more complicated than running Windows Update.