DALLAS, March 1, 2022 — Magnet technology is increasingly being used in portable electronic devices, such as the Apple AirPods Pro charging case, the Apple Pencil 2nd Generation and the Microsoft Surface Pen. However, if the devices are carried in pockets near the chest, and the individual has an implanted cardiac device (ICD), the magnets may interfere with the ICD’s ability to help regulate the heart, according to new research published today in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

“If you carry a portable electronic device close to your chest and have a history of tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) with an ICD, strong magnets in these devices could disable your cardioverter defibrillator,” said lead study author Corentin Féry, M.Sc., a research engineer at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Institute for Medical Engineering and Medical Informatics in Muttenz, Switzerland. “Heart patients should be aware of these risks, and their doctor should tell them to be careful with these electronic devices with magnets.”

Devices and machinery with magnets exhibit a vector field or area of magnetic influence that can inhibit pulse generators for implanted ICDs and pacemakers. In ICDs, magnets can activate a switch prohibiting the ICD from delivering lifesaving shocks. Newer portable electronic devices equipped with strong magnets can disrupt the ICD operation. Earlier research on the iPhone 12 Pro Max demonstrated that its magnetic field is strong enough to interfere with the normal operation of an implanted pacemaker or ICD when held within an inch.
In this study, researchers tested the magnetic field output of the wireless charging case of the Apple AirPods Pro, the Microsoft Surface Pen and the Apple Pencil 2nd Generation. Their magnetic field strength was measured and compared to the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Using a magnetic mapper with 64 magnetic sensors, researchers measured the magnetic field strength of these products at various distances. The portable electronic devices were also placed closer and closer to five defibrillators from two representative manufacturers until a therapy deactivation occurred. These distances then constitute the minimal safety distance at which an interaction has actually taken place.

The maximum distance for a possible interaction between the portable electronic devices and the implantable cardiac devices was:

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