The Effect of Electromagnetic Field Generated by a Mobile Phone on the Performance of a SPECT Scanner: A Quantitative Study.

PURPOSE The aim of the current attempt was quantitative investigation of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) of a mobile phone with the function of a SPECT gamma camera during data acquisition. MATERIALS AND METHODS We tested the effect of a mobile phone, in both ringing mode and standby mode, on one SPECT gamma camera during scanning a cylindrical phantom containing 5.4 mCi (99m)Tc. The experiment was performed for different distances of 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 25, and 30 cm between mobile phone and head of the scanner, and for different head angles of 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 degrees. A RF-EMF meter measured strength of electromagnetic field throughout the study. Statistically significant decrease in count number was considered to be electromagnetic interference. RESULTS There was significant reduction in the recorded counts during ringing of the mobile phone in all studied distances. For gamma camera, fixed at a distance, there was no uniform pattern of reduction of the counts at different angles between two operation modes of the mobile phone. CONCLUSIONS A mobile phone, at close distance, can be a sensible source of electromagnetic field, disturbing the normal function of a gamma camera.