The electromagnetic radiation caused by wireless technology can interfere with electronic medical equipment and lead to serious clinical consequences for patients. New research from Concordia University helps to define safety parameters for health-care workers carrying Wi-Fi devices.

Using existing measurement tools and mathematical models, the researchers from Concordia's Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science assessed how radio waves emanating from portable technologies, including a hospital room's tablet computers, impact the functionality of medical devices.

Hospitals often specify that staff members carrying wireless transmitters not approach sensitive electronic medical devices any closer than a designated minimum separation distance (MSD). The research team set out to study if the policy truly affects the risk of electromagnetic interference.

“We found that MSD policy really does work. If hospital staff comply fully with the policy, they can have a tablet in the same room as the patient and medical equipment without posing a danger,” said Mehdi Ardavan Ardavan, the study's lead author.

According to the study, the risk reduces rapidly by increasing the MSD from zero to a small value. The risk does not decrease further, however, with larger minimum separation distances.

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