My diabetes team has no special knowledge about the radiation resistance of modern electronics …
How many of us put our phones, tablets, and laptops through airport scanners? All of us. Has any of us ever heard of a documented case of damage in the millions of those devices that get scanned every day? Don’t they have smaller and more numerous transistors than anything found in our pumps, receivers, and transmitters … which are more likely to be adversely affected by radiation?
We all get to do what we want with our pumps and other diabetes technology.
I take my pump off before TSA, put it in a ZipLoc bag, and put it in my carry on or zipped pocket with my phone and put it through bag check. I’d rather not have some TSA agent who hasn’t changed his gloves all shift handling my pump …
While I’m retired now, and as a result, am no longer an expert in anything … I did do research for many years on microelectronic technology and actually built chips destined to be particle detectors in intense radiation environments such as found at the “collision end” of high-energy accelerators such as those found at CERN, SLAC, and a handful of other labs around the world.
The problem isn’t w the electronics. It’s with the stepper motor thst controls the insulin flow. The strong magnet can pull the stepper out of place and cause it to malfunction since the software keeps such a tight eye on the motor. If there is any anomaly, it will shut off your pump. The body scanners don’t seem to affect it at all.
Thst why I always keep my pump and sensor on, I walk through and they swab my hands, no issues at all. My extra sensors go through the baggage scanners. That’s what works for me.
I just avoid the magnets.
If I am to go through the scanner or magnetometer I lick my pump really well, leaving spit dripping off the pump. After doing that I am usually referred to the increased security detail.
Eventually I get to where I am going, usually in time to come home.
The scanners in which you enter, stand stationary, and you raise your arms above your head use millimeter waves and, as a result, should have no magnetic field.
The metal detectors that you walk through DO, I think create a pulsed, but comparatively weak, magnetic field to detect significant presence of metal. These are short bursts of magnetic field strength that I have read have a peak intensity of about 3800 milligauss. That sounds like a lot, but the static earth magnetic field that we all live in is about 500 milligauss.
Here is a reference to the magnetic field in walk-through and hand-held metal detectors:
The carry-on luggage, liquid, and coat scanners do use comparatively low intensity X-rays, but have no significant magnetic field. I am happy with my pump in there … but, clearly, others disagree.
As an aside: MRI machines create GINORMOUS magnetic fields in which any ferrous metal is a big problem. Note: many MRI machines create magnetic fields of between 5000 and 15000 gauss … that is 10000 to 30000 times greater than the earth’s magnetic field!
That’s right I was only talking about the magnet scanners thst I avoid. I had a pump fail after walking through one. When I called Medtronic, they told me it was the magnet. Then I researched myself and the motors use a magnet to home themselves and walking into a magnetic field can move that enough to cause an error.
It happened to me only once. And the manufacturers of all pumps warn against it.
However they also warn against the body scanners, so I can only suggest you weigh your risks and go with that.
You can’t know, we have to rely on others with the condition. And we get that here. Although there are differing opinions, I figured out a plan from talking to others.
I go through t body scanners with everything in tact. My dexcom doesn’t even alarm. My pump stays in my hand. I get swabbed and it’s never gone wrong.
I travel a lot between Seattle and LosAngeles so getting pat downs is just too disruptive every time.
Unfortunately the programs to get you through the line faster all use the damn magnet scanner and then I would need to move into the cattle lanes anyway.
I noticed on my last trip from Seattle to LA on Saturday, they stopped having us take our computers out of our bags and leaving shoes on. That’s a big time saver
