Thief-stoppers jam pacemakers, shockers
Antitheft gates that electromagnetically scan customers can throw off cardiac pacemakers and spark unnecessary shocks from defibrillators.
References:
Harthorne, J.W. 1998. Theft deterrent systems: A threat for medical device recipients or an industry cat fight? Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology 21(October):1845.
McIvor, M.E., et al. 1998. Study of pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator triggering by electronic article surveillance devices (SPICED TEAS). Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology 21(October):1847.
McIvor, M.E., and S. Sridhar. 1998. Interactions between cardiac pacemakers and antishoplifting security systems. New England Journal of Medicine 339(Nov. 5):1394.
Santucci, P.A., et al. 1998. Interference with an implantable defibrillator by an electronic antitheft-surveillance device. New England Journal of Medicine 339(Nov. 5):1371.
Sources:
Checkpoint Systems, Inc.
101 Wolf Drive
P.O. Box 188
Thorofare, NJ 08086J. Warren Harthorne
Massachusetts General Hospital
Cardiac Unit, CC 478
55 Fruit Street
Boston, MA 02114Michael E. McIvor
Heart Institute of St. Petersburg
Research Section
603 Seventh Street South, Suite 400
St. Petersburg, FL 33701Peter A. Santucci
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center
Section of Cardiology
1753 West Congress Parkway
Chicago, IL 60612Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
951 Yamato Road
P.O. Box 310700
Boca Raton, FL 33431-0700Douglas P. Zipes
Indiana University School of Medicine
Krannert Institute of Cardiology, KI-A307
1111 West 10th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-4800
From Science News, Vol. 154, No. 19, November 7,
1998, p. 294.
Copyright Ó 1998 by Science Service.
copyright 1998 ScienceService
