Biomedical subjects

Om P Gandhi

Publications and source records attributed to Om P Gandhi.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Calculation of magnetic field-induced current densities for humans from EAS countertop activation/deactivation devices that use ferromagnetic cores.

Compliance testing of electronic article surveillance (EAS) devices requires that induced current densities in central nervous system (CNS) tissues, i.e. brain and the spinal cord, be less than the prescribed safety limits. Even though ferromagnetic cores are mostly used for activation/deactivation of embedded magnetic tags, assumed equivalent air-core coils with guessed increased number of ampere turns have always been used to calculate the magnetic fields for the proximal region to which a customer is exposed. We show that at low frequencies up to several kilohertz, duality of electric and magnetic circuits may be exploited such that the shaped high reluctance core is modelled as though it was a higher conductivity electric circuit of the corresponding shape. The proposed procedure is tested by examples of two magnetic cores typical of countertop activation/deactivation devices. The equivalent exposure magnetic fields obtained from the dual electric fields are shown to be in excellent agreement (within +/-5%) with those measured for these ferromagnetic EAS devices. The previously proposed impedance method is then used to calculate the induced current densities for a 1.974 x 1.974 x 2.93 mm resolution anatomic model of a human. For the two considered EAS systems using excitation currents of 5000 A turns at 200 Hz, the maximum 1 cm2 area-averaged induced current densities in the CNS tissues are calculated and found to be less than the ICNIRP safety limits.

Body Burden↗

PubMed2004

An open-ended waveguide system for SAR system validation or probe calibration for frequencies above 3 GHz.

Compliance with safety guidelines prescribed in terms of maximum electromagnetic power absorption (specific absorption rate or SAR) for any 1- or 10-g of tissue is required for all newly introduced personal wireless devices such as wireless PCs. The prescribed SAR measuring system is a planar phantom with a relatively thin base of thickness 2.0 mm filled with a lossy fluid to simulate dielectric properties of the tissues. A well-characterized, broadband irradiator is required for SAR system validation or submerged E-field probe calibration for the Wi-Fi frequencies in the 5-6 GHz band. We describe an open-ended waveguide system that may be used for this purpose. Using a fourth-order polynomial least-squares fit to the experimental data gives SAR variations close to the bottom surface of the phantom that are in excellent agreement with those obtained using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical method. The experimentally determined peak 1- and 10-g SARs are within 1 to 2% of those obtained using the FDTD both at 5.25 and 5.8 GHz.

Absorption↗

PubMed2003

Comparison of various safety guidelines for electronic article surveillance devices with pulsed magnetic fields.

The paper uses the two methods suggested in both the ICNIRP and proposed IEEE safety guidelines for compliance testing of security systems based on time-varying magnetic fields being introduced for electronic article surveillance (EAS), radiofrequency identification, and other applications. For nonsinusoidal pulses that are often used, the two procedures are to treat the exposure as a multifrequency exposure with various frequency components or to calculate the peak induced current densities or electric fields treating the highest of the pulses of duration t(p) as a single frequency, half sinusoid of the same duration and frequency 1/(2t(p)). Using either of the procedures, the induced current densities (J) or electric fields (E) are compared to the basic restrictions on J or E for compliance testing. Using a heterogeneous, tissue-classified anatomic model of the human body, we calculate the induced J and E for the various tissues for a realistic, EAS system for two typical nonsinusoidal pulses to show that the two methods give substantially different results. While the approximate but simpler method of treating the pulse as a half sinusoid results in peak induced J or E that may be compliant with safety guidelines, the rigorous method of treating such exposures as multifrequency exposures gives induced current densities or electric fields that may be up to twice as large, thus making such systems potentially noncompliant with the safety guidelines. Since it is more accurate, it is suggested that safety assessment based on the Fourier analysis leading to multifrequency components be used for compliance testing of such devices.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMed2003

Computation of electric and magnetic stimulation in human head using the 3-D impedance method.

A comparative, computational study of the modeling of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is presented using a human head model. The magnetic fields from a typical TMS coil of figure-eight type is modeled using the Biot-Savart law. The TMS coil is placed in a position used clinically for treatment of depression. Induced current densities and electric field distributions are calculated in the model using the impedance method. The calculations are made using driving currents and wave forms typical in the clinical setting. The obtained results are compared and contrasted with the corresponding ECT results. In the ECT case, a uniform current density is injected on one side of the head and extracted from the equal area on the opposite side of the head. The area of the injected currents corresponds to the electrode placement used in the clinic. The currents and electric fields, thus, produced within the model are computed using the same three-dimensional impedance method as used for the TMS case. The ECT calculations are made using currents and wave forms typical in the clinic. The electrical tissue properties are obtained from a 4-Cole-Cole model. The numerical results obtained are shown on a two-dimenaional cross section of the model. In this study, we find that the current densities and electric fields in the ECT case are stronger and deeper penetrating than the corresponding TMS quantities but both methods show biologically interesting current levels deep inside the brain.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

SARs for pocket-mounted mobile telephones at 835 and 1900 MHz.

Increasingly, mobile telephones are becoming pocket-sized and are being left in the shirt pocket with a connection to the ear for hands-free operation. We have considered an anatomic model of the chest and a planar phantom recommended by US FCC to compare the peak 1 and 10 g SARs for four typical cellular telephones, two each at 835 and 1900 MHz. An agreement within +/- 10% is obtained between calculated and experimental 1 and 10 g SARs for various separations (2-8 mm) from the planar phantom used to represent different thicknesses of the clothing both for the antenna away from or turned back towards the body. Because of the closer placement of the antennas relative to the body, the peak 1 and 10 g SARs are considerably higher (by a factor of 2-7) for pocket-mounted telephones as compared to the SARs obtained using a 6 mm thick plastic ear head model--a procedure presently accepted both in the US and Europe. This implies that a telephone tested for SAR compliance against the model of the head may be severely out of compliance if it were placed in the shirt pocket.

Cell Phone↗

PubMed2002

Some present problems and a proposed experimental phantom for SAR compliance testing of cellular telephones at 835 and 1900 MHz.

This paper compares the maximum allowable powers of some typical cellular telephones at 835 and 1900 MHz for compliance with the limits of specific absorption rates (SAR) given in ANSI/IEEE, ICNIRP and the proposed modification of ANSI/IEEE safety guidelines. It is shown that the present ANSI/IEEE guideline is the most conservative with the ICNIRP guidelines allowing a maximum radiated powerthat is 2.5-3 times higher, and the proposed IEEE modification of treating pinna as an extremity tissue the least conservative allowing even higher radiated powers by up to 50%. The paper also expands the previously reported study of energy deposition in models of adults versus children to two different and distinct anatomically-based models of the adult head, namely the Utah model and the 'Visible Man' model, each of which is increased or reduced by the voxel size to obtain additional head models larger or smaller in all dimensions by 11.1% or -9.1%, respectively. The peak 1 g body-tissue SAR calculated using the widely accepted FDTD method for smaller models is up to 56% higher at 1900 MHz and up to 20% higher at 835 MHz compared to the larger models, with the average models giving intermediate SARs. Also given in the paper is a comparison of the peak 1 g and 10 g SARs for two different anatomically-based models with 6 mm thick smooth plastic ear models used for SAR compliance testing. The SARs obtained with the insulating plastic ear models are up to two or more times smaller than realistic anatomic models. We propose a 2 mm thin shell phantom with lossy ear that should give SARs within +/- 15% of those of anatomic models.

Cell Phone↗

PubMed2002

Electromagnetic fields: human safety issues.

Most of the recently revised safety standards worldwide are set in terms of internal rates of electromagnetic energy deposition (specific absorption rates or SAR) at radio frequencies (RF) and microwave frequencies, and of induced electric fields or current densities at lower frequencies up to 10 MHz. Numerical methods have been developed that use millimeter resolution anatomically based models of the human body to determine SAR or the induced electric fields and current densities for real-life EM exposure conditions. A popular method for use at RF and microwave frequencies is the finite-difference time-domain method. This method is described and illustrated for SAR distributions due to cellular telephones for head models based on human anatomy. A method often used for calculations of induced electric fields and current densities at low frequencies is the impedance method. Use of this method is illustrated by an example of an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system for anatomic models of an adult and 10- and 5-year-old children. Experimental phantoms using a fluid to simulate the dielectric properties of the brain may be used for determination of peak 1- or 10-g SAR needed for compliance with the various safety standards.

Adult↗