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Thread ID: 98110	2009-03-11 18:33:00	Use of cell phones in public hospitals	R.M. (561)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
755628	2009-03-11 23:41:00	I would think it would be more of an annoyance factor than an interference factor. That was the nature of my 'conflicting' advice. Someone in the hospital (not Dunedin) - and someone who should know ie have the expertise to know - said that there wouldn't be interference with hospital electronic devices. I was just checking what the forum members thought. :thanks	R.M. (561)
755629	2009-03-12 00:49:00	Using cellphones in a hospital has one advantage - when those people with obnoxious and loud ringtones get a call which they are slow to answer, there are facilities available in most hospitals to retrieve the phone when bystanders use an undocumented mute technique. ;)	R2x1 (4628)
755630	2009-03-12 01:44:00	I was hospitallised for about a month at the end of 07, used my cell phone without a prob. They even got an extention cord for me to charge up on as the plug was far from where I was. I think most of us in my room had phones before we got our seperate rooms.	rob_on_guitar (4196)
755631	2009-03-12 03:56:00	Yes the nurses also plugged in my battery charger for me. :)	Trev (427)
755632	2009-03-12 04:18:00	Yep cellphones are all good. I often do work in the hospitals here in chch, I'm yet to be told not to be on the phone no matter where I am and I've been alot of places in hospitals that the public cant. Just respect people around you though is the best idea	hueybot3000 (3646)
755633	2009-03-12 08:07:00	Electrical interference is a hoax The problem with cellphones in an aircraft is the fact that there final stage RF (radio frequency) amplifier is a wide band amplifier (due to the requirement that the cellphone works on multiple frequencies). This means it has no tuned final stage and will pick up stray RF and mix it with their own RF. It's this mixing that generates a range of frequencies one of which may coincide with the RF of navigation equipment. If 2 frequencies mix you can end up with more that 14 unwanted frequencies (due to harmonics which are multiples of the original frequencies) With 3 frequencies its more like 196 unwanted and it grows exponentially with every frequency added. During landing the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) is so sensitive they make you turn off the every electronic device (all electronic devices radiate RF). The ILS is so sensitive that 75 microamps (75 millionths of one Amp) will drive the pointer off the scale (full deflection). A mere 20 microamps can cause a aircraft to crash more than 400 meters short of the runway. Not something that I'd want.... People often tell me that Aircraft equipment are shielded against that sort of thing - and they are, it all works wonderfully while they are new. But as they get older things come loose, corrode and generally deteriorate. How many people know that it always rains inside large aircraft as they descend for landing. All that pretty cabin plastic and the insulation ensure that it doesn't rain on the customers. I have worked in the aviation industry for 30 years as a technician, I've seen all sorts of interference problems and there is no way I will fly with an Airline that will allow cellphone use. Oh- and I'm quick to dob in anyone that uses one on any flight I'm on...	porkster (6331)
755634	2009-03-12 11:18:00	Don't people walk around in public with pacemakers? Therefore anyone with a cellphone around them would interfere if they really did, wouldn't it? Good point. That was an unthoughtful comment of mine :p	Renmoo (66)
755635	2009-03-12 19:05:00	Most of the instruments used in Hospitals will not be affected by cell phones any more due to electronic barriers/shields in the machines and therefore the use of cell phones are permitted - except in places like ICU, where there still exist some instruments without adequate barriers/shields. In our hospital the consultants have been using their own cell phones in the wards for years (who will tell them off?) without problem. I think the noise factor is the biggest problem and for that reason some hospitals may ban the use of cell phones in wards - they normally do have a cordless phone for those people who have to make an important call. Check with the hospital - Dunedin - and ask them. sarel	sarel (2490)
755636	2009-03-13 03:17:00	People often tell me that Aircraft equipment are shielded against that sort of thing - and they are, it all works wonderfully while they are new. But as they get older things come loose, corrode and generally deteriorate. Are you talking about a Faraday cage? If so, wouldn't the aircraft itself act as one? The term cage is pretty accurate (not "shell", for example). If a plane was corroded enough that it no longer worked as one, you'd have bigger problems. Actually, thinking about it a bit more, that's obviously not the case. Otherwhise phones wouldn't work inside the plane. Can you explain further?	shermo (12739)
755637	2009-03-13 04:14:00	I contacted the 'Biomedical electronic medical technician' at the hospital I work in - he says there are good reasons for the ban, and some hospitals are very lax... I said, that having been brought up with 'Evidence based practice' I needed documented evidence to back up his point of view. He feels that cell phones should be kept at least two meters away from ANY electronic machines used in the hospital, and most certainly in Critical Care. He quoted an International Standard' - can't remember the name, and it's not on the paperwork he has given me. It seems to be around 'radiated RF disturbances in an electromagnetic environment'.	R.M. (561)
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