MASSDEVICE ON CALL — A new study finds that the small magnets inside iPads and other tablet devices may interfere with the settings on programmable shunt valves.
The study was launched after doctors discovered altered settings on a 4-month-old girl’s programmable shunt, a device used to regulate the flow of cerebral spinal fluid.
The devices are programmed externally using magnets, much like the ones used by iPads to work with the devices’ smart-covers, MedGadget reported.
The iPad magnets altered shunt settings more than half the time when within 1cm of the medical devices, but the effect dropped off very quickly beyond that distance.
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