Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration is advising that upcoming changes to to radiofrequency spectra Down Under could affect "a small number" of medical devices.

The TGA said the changes, planned for next month, are being made by the Australian Communication & Media Authority to facilitate the changeover from analog to digital devices.

"Medical device sponsors, hospitals and health professionals are advised that changes to radio frequency spectrums in Australia could affect a small number of biomedical telemetry devices used in hospitals," the TGA said.

The shift will see some television services using the 608-614 MHz band, potentially affecting older medical telemetry equipment using the 520-820 MHz band, the agency said. Most modern medical devices use RF frequencies of 2.4 GHz, the TGA said.

"However, some telemetry equipment supplied in Australia and potentially still in use may operate in the 520-820 MHz band," the TGA said. "The ACMA has advised that new television services will soon fall across the 608-614 MHz band, which could disrupt some biomedical telemetry equipment, particularly older devices. These disruptions could cause the devices to stop working and/or become unstable."

The Australian health agency said it’s contacting medical device companies to make sure their products won’t be affected.