Diabetes devices may interfere with avalanche beacon signals

[Wireless News]

By Janice Rapaport (Reuters Health) - - Hikers and winter sports aficionados who venture deep into snow country and get caught in an avalanche may find emergency beacons are less effective if the searcher is also using a diabetes monitor or insulin pump, according to a small study. "The potential for interference between a diabetes device and an avalanche beacon (in search mode) is increased if both devices are held in close proximity and reduced if they are separated," said lead author Dr. Steven Miller, a researcher at North Shore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. So-called avalanche beacons both transmit and receive signals that can be used to locate and rescue a person buried under the snow by an avalanche. Previous research has shown that the transceiver searching for a signal from another beacon can be rendered less effective by interference from cell phones, MP3 players and other electronic devices, Miller and colleagues note in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.

More... (http://news.yahoo.com/diabetes-devices-may-interfere-avalanche-beacon-signals-184855921--spt.html)