My mom got a Medtronic pacemaker implanted yesterday that is supposed to be communicating with her iPhone app and transmitting data to her cardiology clinic. Unfortunately, it is not transmitting data. The clinic says this is truly very rare, and Medtronic has thus far not been able to identify what the problem is. They had her restart her phone and app, make sure she’s connected to wifi, and filed an IT ticket. Meanwhile, I wear a Dexcom G6 and Omnipod 5 and also have my iPhone and PDM near me. I’ve been sitting a few feet away from her on the couch since she came home from per procedure yesterday, and I’m wondering, is there a chance that my devices are somehow interfering with hers? I was unable to find any definitive information online, and my mom refuses to ask Medtronic about it.
Normally my first instinct would be to say, “no way!”, but I’ve been reading the user guide for Tandem’s new pump and it specifically says not to expose it to a pacemaker. I don’t know if there’s real risk of interference or if that’s just a liability thing to cover their tail. Given how similar the internal components of various pumps are, the warning could very well apply to Omnipod, too.
Have you tried disconnecting the pump and leaving it elsewhere? Bluetooth can only travel about 32 feet, so it shouldn’t be hard to get it out of range.
Oh no! I was worried about that. Unfortunately since my mom is in recovery mode I haven’t been able to be that far away from her for the amount of time it would supposedly take to transmit the data. Hopefully when she is feeling a little better in a couple of days I can leave the house for a day and see if that helps. But I’m not sure what the long term solution would be in that case! I guess I won’t be getting the Mobi that’s for sure
Hi Holly. The warning says “Pacemaker…placement or reprograming”.
You’ll see when your mom has a follow-up appointment there’s a dohicky they use to get data from and program the pacemaker. Also, the scope of warning is for people with both pacemakers (or the rest) AND the a Tandem pump.
Bluetooth is designed to work next to other devices using bluetooth. The Omnipod uses bluetooth to communicate with both the CGM and PDM. Your devices cannot be the cause of the problem. Imagine anywhere lots of people gather i.e. an airport. Bluetooth works there.
Putting on my IT helpdesk hat for you, is the problem the phone isn’t connecting to the pacemaker or the app isn’t sending data to Medtronic?
I had this exact pacemaker implanted last year. I am also a Type 1 Diabetic, with a Dexcom G7 (new, used G6 until this month). There is no problem with interference. I place the G7 on my upper right arm. As far as I know the pacemaker communicates to the device set by the bedside with updates sent to the cardiology department every three months. This must be a new development. Please tell me more about the iPhone app that transmits data to her clinic.
Update: it turns out the problem has nothing to do with my devices. Medtronic had failed to properly pair her device with her iPhone app. They walked her through how to fix it over the phone this morning after many frustrating phone calls with clueless Medtronic representatives. This is one of the reasons why I avoid Medtronic devices myself!!
Susan, the app is called MyCareLink Heart. My understanding is that your device must be paired with either the in-home remote device OR the app, but cannot be paired with both. Maybe you can start by contacting your cardiology clinic and letting them know you’d like to be using the phone app instead. Ask if they can connect you with the local Medtronic rep, they will probably need to take your old in-home device and walk you through pairing in the app instead. It’s definitely not something you can just do on your own without guidance from Medtronic.
So glad it resolved so quickly. I am curious, if you could answer, why did you choose the app over the in-home remote device. Is your mom active, travel a lot? I can see the app as a feature then, but I wonder about a lost or stolen iPhone. If you can share how you made the decision it may help me make the choice. Thanks (I did ask the cardiac team, but they were not particularly helpful other than to tell me that the information transmitted to the cardiology office is the same, and that no more information is available to the user on either device.
Yes, my mom is very active and uses her iPhone for everything. Having a separate device would be less convenient. She’s never lost a phone and always has it with her, but if it were ever stolen she would just lock it via her laptop, get a new one the next day, and download all of her apps onto her new phone from her icloud backup. It’s not a hard process to pair the pacemaker with the app but you do need Medtronic to initiate the changeover from using the other device to the phone instead, if it’s even possible (not sure about older models of the pacemaker).
It really doesn’t feel like a separate device, it just sits by your bedside, you don’t do a thing except download the readings once every three months. Same as you would need to do with the app.
Good luck to your mom, the pacemaker has been a game changer for me, I bike, 30 miles a day, weather permitting, xc ski, hike, travel, and I feel good. So much better than before.
Wishing the same for your mom.
If she has a questions, please let her know she can feel comfortable asking them to me.
Best,
Susan
BTW, I checked if one can use an omnipod with an implanted pacemaker. Medtronic said fine, it just needed to be placed 6 inches from the Pacemaker. In my case, the CGM is on my right arm, the omnipod would be high up on my left arm. The electrophysiologist’s office contacted Medtronic directly on my behalf.
A little late on this topic. As people said, there is no chance of direct interference between the PM and an insulin pump/CGM. The BT communication is coded so the device only picks up the specific paired device. I would have guessed that the issue was one of pairing the PM to the phone, which you can check under settings, BT, paired devices.
I have had a Medtronic PM and now a Boston Scientific PM and have had no issues. I use a home base device to communicate with the clinic every 3 months. Be aware that there may be issues when the iOS updates. I have a MM 780g, and since the latest android OS update the app on my phone no longer works.
They use a magnetic puck to program the PM. Just don’t put the puck on your pump :: I have never had an issue with my pump sitting on my belt when they program and read the PM in the clinic. It appears to be short range.
Mike
Let me give you a couple examples of when I have actually witnessed interference with my medical devices, or was afraid that I would witness it - just so you have a frame of reference. Also, upfront, you should be aware, more broadly, that Bluetooth is a ‘flaky’ wireless signal (its a weak signal that a greater number of devices use). It will be MUCH MORE affected by interference than Radio Frequency (RF) that my Omnipod classic pump runs on. Dexcom uses bluetooth, so that is much more susceptible to interference.
Example #1.) If you were walking around Minneapolis (or working as a photographer, a reporter, a medic, or a police officer) during the civil unrest here, there were times when the police were actively blocking cell phone & wireless communications in order to perform crowd control. That’s a situation where you might see a problem.
Example #2.) When I was a medic at the Minnesota State Fair, I would see a higher incidence of medical device failure due to interference. Certain locations are ‘hot spots’ where I would see multiple devices, of different types - pump AND Dex - go down repeatedly. It wasn’t everyday, but over many years, I’m know that interference was a problem. That’s a pretty unique situation that you are unlikely to encounter, but its good to be aware of. Minnesota has the 2nd largest state fair in the country (TX is the biggest). You can think of our fair as having the population of a small city in a very small geographic area at once. There are thousands of people in a small physical space. There are hundreds of police and firefighters walking around with radios (radios are a strong wireless signal that will contribute to interference). Every TV station in town is there broadcasting. Their equipment contributes to interference. Even in that situation, you’ll probably be fine. But, if your there working everyday for 2 weeks straight, you might have a failure attributable to interference and its good to have backup supplies. If you travelled with the fair throughout the country and that was your job everyday, you would have a noticeably higher incidence of device failure due to interference.
Don’t join the circus. You’ll be fine. 
You’ve just popped my bubble here with saying not to join the circus LOL I guess I’ll go back to MDI when and if that perfect clown nose comes into my possession!
@hollymateluber - glad everything got sorted out for your Mum!