Old Rocks
Diamond Member
Can Electric Cars & Hybrids Interfere With Pacemakers?
Some of those sources could be the increasing number of hybrid and electric cars we drive.
Thankfully, Mayo Clinic is working to nip this problem in the bud with a study of pacemakers and hybrid vehicles. There, researchers monitored 30 pacemaker recipients as they rode in a 2012 Toyota Prius.
Study participants rotated positions within the vehicle, moving from the driver's seat, to the passenger's seat, to both sides of the rear. Patients were also tested while standing in front of and behind the vehicle.
When all was said and done, researchers determined that the Prius "did not generate clinically relevant amounts of [electromagnetic interference] and that the car is safe for patients with implanted devices...". However, lead researchers Luis R. Scott, M.D. and Fernando Tondato, M.D. both agree that further research is necessary to verify the study's results. Presumably subsequent studies will include a broader range of vehicles, including some electric cars.
You can watch Dr. Scott discuss the study's findings in the video clip embedded above.
That might possibly be a problem. However, it does not seem to be with the testing at present.
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They conducted their studies under ideal conditions and most likely in brand new cars.
How about when the cars electric motor has been used for twenty years and is on it's last legs?
*****CHUCKLE*****
Given how recent the modern EV is, that would be a bit hard to find.