An iPhone 12 Can Shut Down a Pacemaker Just by Being Near It
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Runaway1956_:
An iPhone 12 can shut down a pacemaker just by being near it:
According to a new study published last week in the journal Heart Rhythm, placing an iPhone 12 over a pacemaker can shut the lifesaving unit down.
That's in large part due to the magnetic field put out by the Apple device's MagSafe charging technology, a magnetic array on the back of the device designed to make wireless charging easier.
The researchers from the Henry Ford Heart and Vascular Institute found, chillingly, that the circular array of rare earth magnets around a central charging coil were able to completely suspend the operations of a Medtronic pacemaker.
"Once the iPhone was brought close to the ICD[*] over the left chest area, immediate suspension of ICD therapies was noted which persisted for the duration of the test," the paper reads. "This was reproduced multiple times with different positions of the phone over the pocket."
[*] ICD: Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.