On Jan 8, 12:45*am, Don Foreman wrote:
On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:01:56 GMT, (Doug White)
wrote:





Keywords:
In article , Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:13:38 -0500, "Steve W."
wrote:
Don Foreman wrote:

Does an implanted cardiac defibrillator preclude use of MIG and TIG,
particularly TIG with HF? * *

My limited web research indicates not but I'd like to see more data.
Here's what I've found thus far: *

http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.c...article/PII073....
1477/abstract

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/j...stract?CRETRY=....
0

Contact the manufacturer of the ACTUAL unit. Talk to the folks who do
the testing and see what they say. You don't want to talk to the normal
customer service script readers.

The doctors will likely say NO because they don't know and want to cover
their asses.

*Seconded - When in doubt, they will say No. *Especially if their
malpractice insurance provider hears about the question. *

*You need someone who can say Yes if at all possible. *Most likely
you need a team approach, probably your doctor and the research staff
at the pacemaker manufacturer. *They need to analyze the exact body
(yours) the exact equipment installed, and be very familiar with the
exact usage you want to do, and come up with a list of things to
mitigate the risks.

*Or analyze it enough to say what is Absolutely Verboten, probably
the only thing would be TIG with HF. *That stuff will jump gaps and
"Reach out and Touch you" but good.

*And what you can do, which is probably everything else - as long as
you take extra precautions to not be part of the circuit.

*IMHO the minimum precautions would be Class 0 or better (tested and
rated) Electrical insulating gloves under your welding gauntlets,
standing on rubber or vinyl insulating mats, no resting your elbows on
a grounded welding table.

*And if you weld Stick, rig up a foot switch and a contactor so the
stinger is dead except when you want to weld. *That's why I never
bought a Tombstone Welder - I don't like the thought of the stinger
staying hot, too many chances for a big OOPS!

*The thing to avoid at all costs is current through the body trunk -
arm to legs going right past the heart & pacemaker would be the worst.

The doctors might suggest a chain-mail vest or coverlet, or something
lighter like a vest made of the woven Kevlar and Stainless fabric used
for butcher's cut-protective gloves and clothing - something to cut
down the RF radiation making it to the upper body.

*(A tinfoil vest would be too cliche, and probably ineffective. *And
copper foil or screen mesh would be a pain.)

One possible source for a torso sized Farraday cage is a fencing
"lame". *Modern fencing (as in: Touche!) uses electronic scoring. *When
the tip or blade of your weapon touches the metalized jacket of your
opponent, it completes a circuit to score a touch. *Foil uses a
conductive fabric vest that just covers the torso, and saber uses one
with conductive sleeves. *There are several technologies around. *The old
ones used to have silver plated copper wire woven into the fabric. *Newer
ones have stainless steel wires or conductive plastic coatings. *Because
of the physical activity & constant poking & thwacking, they tend to wear
out over time, or they corrode from sweat to the point where they develop
dead spots where a touch won't score. *The point is that a heavily used
one that you could get cheap may be suspect. *A good foil vest goes for
~$65 - $100.

Doug White

Mary has suggested cutting the bottom out of a garbage can and putting
shoulder straps on it. *I think she just wants the photos. *

Stuff I've read so far seems to indicate that E-fields are usually not
an issue. *The ICD device inputs are differential input, *E-fields are
significantly attenuated by our bodies and the ICD's themselves have
effective shielding. *If there is an issue it'll be due to magnetic
fields *and their first time derivative. *Lame, foil, etc would have
negligible effect on B-fields of frequencies that would matter. *- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Funny..the lady has a good sense of humor.

Tell Mary to post them. ;)

No pants allowed.

If B-fields are the concern, then mu-metal will do the job...darn
expensive though.

TMT