iPad Affects Shunt Settings

The settings of programmable shunt devices used to treat brain swelling in children can be altered by magnetic fields, such as those given off by the Apple iPad 2.

Written byJef Akst

| 2 min read

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, MATTHEW DOWNEY

Children suffering from hydrocephalus, the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain, should be careful when using Apple’s popular tablet, the iPad 2: if held within 2 inches of the magnetically programmable shunt devices often used to treat the disorder, the computer’s magnets can change its settings, causing the shunt to malfunction, according to a study published in the August 2012 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

The authors initiated the study after having issues with a programmable shunt in a four-month-old girl patient who received a shunt with a magnetically programmable valve to regulate the flow of CSF. After the girl’s mother used an iPad 2 while holding her daughter, the doctors found that the patient’s shunt valve settings had been ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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