Assessment of fetal exposure to 4G LTE tablet in realistic scenarios: Effect of position, gestational age and frequency

Abstract

Assessment of fetal exposure to 4G LTE tablet in realistic scenarios: Effect of position, gestational age and frequency Chiaramello E, Parazzini M, Fiocchi S, Ravazzani P, Wiart J. Assessment of fetal exposure to 4G LTE tablet in realistic scenarios: Effect of position, gestational age and frequency. IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology. PP:90. 2017. Abstract The continuous development of Radio-Frequency (RF) devices used in every-day life highlights the need of conducting appropriate health risk assessment due to Radio- Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) exposure, especially for the fetal exposure in realistic scenarios. In this study, we used stochastic dosimetry, an approach that combines electromagnetic computational techniques and statistics, to assess the fetal exposure to a 4G LTE tablet in realistic scenarios, assessing the influence of the position of the tablet, the gestational age of the fetus and the frequency of the emitting antenna. Results showed that the exposure in terms of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) was within the limits of the ICNIRP 1998 general public Guidelines in all the considered scenarios. The position of the tablet was very influential for the induced SAR in the fetus, resulting in Quartile Coefficient of Dispersion always higher than 40%. The level of exposure for the later pregnancy was found to be higher than those for the early pregnancy. As to the effect of the emitting frequency of the tablet, we found that the higher the frequency, the lower the induced SAR in the fetus. ieeexplore.ieee.org Excerpt Fig.2 shows, as example, some preliminary results referred to the exposure of the 9-months GA fetus to the 4G LTE tablet in a generic position among those described in Fig.1. All the reported SAR values have been normalized to a radiated power equal to 1 W. In this specific position, among all fetal tissues, adrenal gland, gallbladder and kidney showed SARWT values slightly higher than 5 mW/kg. Considering the pSAR1gT values, among all tissues skin, small intestine, muscle and kidney showed values higher than 10 mW/kg (with maximum of 22 mW/kg in the skin tissue).

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

Using stochastic dosimetry, fetal SAR from a 4G LTE tablet (normalized to 1 W radiated power) was reported to be within ICNIRP 1998 general public guideline limits across all considered scenarios. Tablet position strongly influenced fetal SAR (quartile coefficient of dispersion >40%); later gestational age had higher exposure than early pregnancy; higher emitting frequency was associated with lower induced fetal SAR.

Outcomes measured

• Fetal specific absorption rate (SAR)
• Tissue-specific SAR (e.g., SARWT, pSAR1gT)
• Comparison to ICNIRP 1998 general public limits
• Effect of tablet position on induced SAR
• Effect of gestational age on induced SAR
• Effect of emitting frequency on induced SAR

Suggested hubs

• who-icnirp (0.72)
  Exposure results are explicitly compared to ICNIRP 1998 general public guidelines.

{
    "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
    "exposure": {
        "band": "RF",
        "source": "4G LTE tablet",
        "frequency_mhz": null,
        "sar_wkg": null,
        "duration": null
    },
    "population": "Fetus (various gestational ages)",
    "sample_size": null,
    "outcomes": [
        "Fetal specific absorption rate (SAR)",
        "Tissue-specific SAR (e.g., SARWT, pSAR1gT)",
        "Comparison to ICNIRP 1998 general public limits",
        "Effect of tablet position on induced SAR",
        "Effect of gestational age on induced SAR",
        "Effect of emitting frequency on induced SAR"
    ],
    "main_findings": "Using stochastic dosimetry, fetal SAR from a 4G LTE tablet (normalized to 1 W radiated power) was reported to be within ICNIRP 1998 general public guideline limits across all considered scenarios. Tablet position strongly influenced fetal SAR (quartile coefficient of dispersion >40%); later gestational age had higher exposure than early pregnancy; higher emitting frequency was associated with lower induced fetal SAR.",
    "effect_direction": "no_effect",
    "limitations": [],
    "evidence_strength": "low",
    "confidence": 0.7399999999999999911182158029987476766109466552734375,
    "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
    "keywords": [
        "RF-EMF",
        "4G LTE",
        "tablet",
        "stochastic dosimetry",
        "computational modeling",
        "fetal exposure",
        "gestational age",
        "position",
        "frequency",
        "SAR",
        "ICNIRP 1998"
    ],
    "suggested_hubs": [
        {
            "slug": "who-icnirp",
            "weight": 0.7199999999999999733546474089962430298328399658203125,
            "reason": "Exposure results are explicitly compared to ICNIRP 1998 general public guidelines."
        }
    ]
}

Comments

Log in to comment.

No comments yet.