Pacemaker and slot cars

[DManley]

My Mother has a new pacemaker, now. I have a temporary track set up in the other room, about 20 feet and a couple of walls and doors away. I want to make sure I am not doing anything that will hurt her. Right now, I have just run stock Scalextric or Carrera type cars with all of the RF noise suppression intact. I do have some slightly less proper equipment, including some cars with Slot.it motors, and some modified racers I bought in a lot. With the power set at 12v, is there any real risk of problems with the pacemaker at that distance? I plan to contact the Doctor Monday to get their opinion, but I was hoping somebody here could expound a bit. Also, does the risk go up if we run the H.O. track at the same distance with 18v. and four cars running at once? I would like to try hosting a race this winter, but I sure don't want to cause her any problems. Anybody know how good the signal rejection is on a modern pacemaker? She can use cell phones, and even use a microwave, so I think they are getting pretty safe. I just want to be sure, before I start changing her settings every lap! :o

[valie]

Our oldest member at our club is 76 and he races with us every Friday night without any problems to his pacemaker. We run six four minute stints, always twice a night, on a six laner 40 metre Fleischmann track on 12v. Before that we run a Qualifying session of one minute per driver. So, I do not think that you would have any problems there, mate.

[RichD]

If you have an AM radio you might see if it picks up any interference when the cars without RF suppressors are running. If there is any interference you might have your mother's doctor check with the manufacturer of her pacemaker. Power tools like drills and hedge trimmers also have motors that spark.

[4424ever]

What an excellent question thanks for asking it. I would be very interested to here if there's a definitive answer!

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Pacemakers can be messed up by superheterodyne devices that have a broadcast capability, like radar installations, CAT scan and MRI diagnostic imaging equipment, old microwaves, etc. Essentially, it takes a powerful electromagnetic wave at a particular frequency to disturb them. Most pacemakers these days are programmable from outside the body, and they will communicate reports to the Dr. in the office when checking the program. It is done from the distance between the reader and the pacemaker body, which is the thickness of the skin and other tissue that covers the pacemaker itself. Much more important is that the blood thinning drugs and dietary restrictions are very carefully observed. A pacemaker has a tiny delay before stimulating the heart, that would make for clots if the blood thinners weren't in place. The same with the dietary restrictions- too much greens thin the blood, and if you are already on blood thinners, it will throw everything out of whack and can be very dangerous. The Dr. will have given your mother a pile of paperwork or even a booklet to go with the pacemaker. READ IT CAREFULLY. All of this info is there, plus more.