Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Sport

Comparison of energy expenditure in adolescents when playing new generation and sedentary computer games: cross sectional study

BMJ 2007; 335 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39415.632951.80 (Published 20 December 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:1282

Rapid Response:

A Wii for Christmas ?

In 2006 Nintendo released their 7th generation gaming console, the Wii.
Within 12 months this became the best selling games console in history and
outstripped global sales of both the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony
Playstation 3.

Despite its popularity, concerns exist regarding the safety of the Wii console
in patients with cardiac pacemakers. The Nintendo Wii utilises a remote
control that utilises Bluetooth technology (2.4 GHz) to communicate with the
gaming console. This frequency falls within electromagnetic interference
(EMI) testing to the Association for the Advancement of Medical
Instrumentation (450 MHz to 3 GHz), (AAMI PC69). Since cardiac pacemakers
often incorporate similar technology, EMI may occur. Nintendo accordingly
advise that the console, or remote, should not be operated within 9 inches of
a pacemaker, and that prior to use, patients should consult their doctor or
the manufacturer of their medical device.

We approached Nintendo and consulted with various pacemaker device
companies to investigate this further. Nintendo were unhappy to issue a
generalised statement whilst Table 1 summarizes the advice received from
BIOTRONIK GmbH & Co. KG (Berlin, Germany), the Sorin Group (Milan, Italy),
Medtronic, Inc. (Minneapolis, USA) and Boston Scientific (Massachusetts, USA).

Note: ? in the table above stands for a greater than or equal to symbol.

Despite EMI concerns, there have been no reported incidences of Wii gaming
consoles interfering with cardiac pacemaker function. Precautionary advice
appears based either on theoretical interaction or translational evidence from
mobile phone use. The Nintendo Wii appears safe for use by patients with
pacemakers. EMI is unlikely, provided that a distance 9 inches or more is
maintained.

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

12 December 2008
Ronak Rajani
Cardiology Specialist Registrar
Alexander Kumar, Mateem Jiwani
Royal Sussex County Hospital, Eastern Road, Brighton. BN2 5BE. United Kingdom