Some medical mechanisms are not compatible. Respiratory device manufacturers Dräger and Resmed have thus informed the Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) of the risk of interference between their masks with magnets for their respiratory devices and implanted metal medical devices, she said on Monday. . In November 2022, the Dutch company Philips had already reported such risks.
This interference “may occur when patients or any member of their household wear implanted metal devices” (e.g. pacemakers) “and are likely to be in close proximity to these masks containing magnets (at a distance less than at 15 cm),” explains the ANSM in a press release. They risk causing malfunction of the implanted devices.
Fourteen cases reported last year
Last year, fourteen cases were reported worldwide, mostly in the United States. Last September, a case was reported in France by Philips, without consequences for the patient. Since then, the respiratory device manufacturers Dräger (German) and Resmed (American) “have informed us of this same risk of interference with their masks with magnets,” writes the ANSM.
Patients using these masks with magnets have been or will soon be informed by home health providers (PSAD) about the implanted medical devices concerned and the course of action to follow, she adds.
Since June 2021, the Dutch group Philips has been forced to launch a massive global campaign to recall several defective models of respirators used in particular by patients suffering from sleep apnea. Users risked inhaling or swallowing pieces of toxic sound-absorbing foam that could cause irritation and headaches. Philips is the subject of numerous lawsuits linked to this affair in several countries.