Mobile Phones: hospital equipment disruption

[LoungeLizard]

Have there ever been any actual incidents of mobile phones disrupting hospital / laboratory equipment operation, or setting alarms off, or igniting vapor & causing an explosion?

[rarll]

Top Gear did an experiment on the vapour side of this. The doused a caravan with petrol, (inside and out) then placed ten or twelve mobiles inside.Presenters and crew then all the mobiles and let them ring. Nothing happened. Same caravan then had a bare wire placed in it . At the same time a man, in a shell suit was made to dance in a plastic bucket. After a couple of minutes, the other end of the bare cable was offered to the dancer. When he touched the cable, the static charge he had produced, blew up said caravan.

What does that tell you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[twiglet4frog]

i have heard from 2 friends (one is a heart specialist the other a brain surgeon) that there is only one piece of equipment that they can affect and although it isnt life saving it can give false readings and errors if a phone is in operation nearby.

The only other thing they said is that they advise switching it off to stop nurses and doctors being annoyed by them

[LoungeLizard]

twiglet,

I know that your perception is widely accepted.

However, has there ever actually been an incident affecting the equipment you describe caused by a mobile phone being used?

[TEAK36]

I work for a Medical Company,and we have over 50 engineers visiting Hospitals on a daily basis.They all have mobile phones,and are supposed to switch them off whilst on site, but not many of them do.I have asked your question to many of them,and not a single one of them knows of any incident where a mobile has caused any of the things you have asked.

[fo3nix]

its the same in petrol stations. You're supposed to switch off your mobile when filling up your car.

The physics is proven and quite simple: essentially, the mobile phone can act as an inductor. So it could cause explosions at petrol stations. But, how many people turn off their phones when filling up their car, and how many explosions do you hear about?

[Hippy]

The exploding petrol station theory relies on the power from the battery rather than the radio waves induction etc etc.

The theory goes thus: phone on and in use, much current flowing from batery then whoops! the battery drops off causing that fatal spark and Boom! no more filling station.

If the phone were switced off then no current could flow and the same loose battery drops off with no sparks and safely drops to the ground with no danger. However the petrol fumes have made you so high you just sit cross legged and giggle.

[LoungeLizard]

Don't doubt the plausibility of the theory, hippy; but has there ever been an incident of this happening anywhere in the world ever?