Is Bluetooth® safe to use in a hospital environment?
• The Bluetooth® system employed by the Littmann® Model 3200 stethoscope and software is a Bluetooth Class 2 wireless data link that operates at a frequency of 2.4GHz and with a maximum transmit power of 2.5mW. The maximum radio frequency field strength generated by the stethoscope is below three volts per meter, a level that is considered safe to use with other medical devices. Many scientific Bluetooth® coexistence studies performed by 3M and other institutions and have shown that Bluetooth does not interfere with other wireless devices/technologies. In addition, Bluetooth is strongly supported by Continua (SIG group for Telemedicine) and a new Bluetooth Health Device Profile (plug-and-play BT communication protocol for medical apps) was just recently established and the first compliant products are now available. Further, devices with similar technology to ours have been approved in other critical-care settings, including OR suites and ICU floors.
