THE release of Apple’s newest technology — the iPhone 12 series — is reviving old concerns about the safety of cellphones near people with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). The cause for pause comes from the smart technology’s addition of a circular array of more powerful magnets around a central charging coil that makes the phone compatible with MagSafe accessories such as cases, wallets, and wireless chargers. Doctors say carrying the device in a shirt pocket, bra, chest mount, or wraparound purse could suspend your pacemaker and ICD’s ability to send high-voltage shock therapy when needed. They tested the safety of the device on a person with an ICD and found that once the iPhone was brought close to the ICD over the left chest area, an immediate suspension of ICD therapies occurred and persisted for the duration of the test.(SD-Agencies) | 