Mauro Feliziani

Prediction of Temperature Increase in Human Eyes Due to RF Sources

A numerical study is proposed to investigate the effects of different RF sources on the specific absorption rate (SAR) and maximum temperature increase in the human eye at different frequencies. In particular, a new model of the human head is presented and compared with an anatomical model of the visible human. The high resolution (0.5 mm) of the proposed model allows to consider more eye tissues than previous studies distinguishing the sclera from the retina and choroid. New values of blood perfusion and metabolic rate of these tissues are derived. A plane-wave field is considered as far-field exposure, while realistic models of mobile phone and dipole antennas are used as primary sources for near-field exposure. The obtained results show that the distributions of the SAR and temperature increase depend on the frequency, position, and kind of sources. Finally, attention is paid to the maximum temperature increase in the lens for the SAR values prescribed by the Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. To this aim, a scaling approach is proposed, and significant values of temperature increase are found (about C for general public exposure and about 1.5 degC for occupational exposure) for the most critical cases of near-field exposures.

Field analysis of penetrable conductive shields by the finite-difference time-domain method with impedance network boundary conditions (INBCs)

Impedance network boundary conditions (INBCs) are implemented in the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method to analyze the electromagnetic field around penetrable shield structures. The shield region is eliminated from the computational domain and the INBCs are applied on the new boundary surfaces, i.e., shield surfaces, to take into account the field discontinuity produced by the shield. The INBCs represent an important extension of the well-known surface impedance boundary conditions (SIBCs) since the INBCs model accurately the coupling of the electromagnetic fields through penetrable shields and lead to a significant reduction of the number of the FDTD unknowns. The INBC expressions are given analytically in both frequency and time domains, and the INBC implementation in a FDTD code is discussed. The proposed INBC-FDTD method is numerically efficient because the resulting convolution integrals are recursively solved. Furthermore, approximate time-constant INBCs are proposed which are valid for many practical applications. The analysis of transient electromagnetic fields around penetrable conductive shields in simple test configurations are presented and compared with the analytical solutions.

Detection and localization of defects in shielded cables by time-domain measurements with UWB pulse injection and clean algorithm postprocessing

An experimental procedure to detect and localize defects in shielded cables is presented. First, time-domain measurements are carried out by injecting a short rise time pulse in the input section of the shielded cable. Then, the clean algorithm is applied to the measurement results to identify possible damages in the cable line. The localization of the cable section with defects is finally obtained in a very simple way due to the adopted method of measurement in time domain using a ultrawide-band pulser with a very fast rise time. The proposed method is validated by detecting and localizing known defects purposely introduced in test cables.

Wireless Power Transfer Charging System for AIMDs and Pacemakers

This paper deals with the electric and magnetic field (EMF) safety aspects of a wireless power transfer (WPT) system based on magnetic resonant coupling between two coils. The primary coil is assumed to be on-body, while the secondary coil is assumed to be inside the human body and connected to a battery recharge system of an active implantable medical device such as a pacemaker. This study allows us to identify a good preliminary solution of the WPT coil configuration, compensation capacitor topology, and operational frequency. Demonstrative WPT systems operating at two different frequencies are proposed in order to verify the WPT performances. The EMF safety has been finally assessed by numerical dosimetry studies using anatomically realistic human body models revealing no particular concerns about this application.

EMF Safety and Thermal Aspects in a Pacemaker Equipped With a Wireless Power Transfer System Working at Low Frequency

A wireless power transfer (WPT) system based on magnetic resonant coupling is applied to a pacemaker for recharge its battery. The primary coil is assumed to be on-body, while the secondary coil is in-body. Three different configurations of the secondary coil are hereby investigated placing it inside the titanium case of the pacemaker, on the top surface of the case, or being part of the top surface case. The operational frequency is fixed to be at a relatively low frequency (20 kHz) in order to allow field penetration through the case and to limit the electric and magnetic field safety and thermal increase issues. For each examined configuration, these aspects are investigated by numerical and experimental techniques. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed solutions highlighting their advantages and disadvantages.

Safety Assessment of UWB Radio Systems for Body Area Network by the

The paper deals with the numerical prediction of the specific absorption (SA) of ultra wideband (UWB) radio systems for wireless body area network (BAN). The electro-magnetic analysis is performed by a frequency-dependent finite difference time domain (FD2TD) method here proposed with a new formulation based on a total current density approach. A first order Debye approximation is used to model the frequency-dependent properties of the human body in the frequency range of the UWB signals. The proposed method permits to assess the specific absorption and power loss in the human body exposed to an UWB pulsed source. Different numerical models of the human bodies are finally considered in order to investigate safety aspects.

{\rm FD}^{2}{\rm TD}

A general circuit-oriented, full-wave, finite-element method (FEM) is proposed to analyze the coupled problem between circuits and fields both in frequency and in time domains. The electromagnetic field problem is modeled by an equivalent electrical network obtained by the Whitney finite-element equations. The presence of circuit components in the field domain is easily taken into account introducing the lumped circuit components directly in the field equivalent electrical network. Simple test configurations are analyzed by a CAD circuit simulator to show the performances of the proposed circuit-oriented method.

Method

This paper deals with contact currents that may occur when the human body is in contact with two electrodes at different electrical potentials, e.g., an electrical/electronic device and the floor. Actually, any device must comply not only with electromagnetic compatibility and safety requirements, but also with specific electromagnetic field exposure recommendations in order to prevent health hazards for the occupational and general public population. Since the contact currents depend on the applied voltage and on the human body impedance, this last parameter has been measured for several configurations in a broadband frequency range, from 40 Hz to 110 MHz. From the measurement results, a new equivalent circuit of the human body impedance is derived by using a vector-fitting procedure. This equivalent circuit is very easy and can be adopted for compliance tests against contact currents.

Circuit-oriented FEM: solution of circuit-field coupled problems by circuit equations

A three-dimensional edge element procedure is presented to analyze the magnetic field around thin shields embedded in a physically large domain. The shield region is eliminated from the computational domain and coupled boundary conditions named impedance network boundary conditions are imposed on the new boundary surfaces to take into account the field discontinuity produced by the eliminated shield. An experimental setup is built and the measured magnetic fields are compared to the results obtained by the proposed procedure.

Assessment of Human Body Impedance for Safety Requirements Against Contact Currents for Frequencies up to 110 MHz

The reduction of extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field in an area excited by power frequency currents is investigated by active shielding techniques. The magnetic field inside a shielded area is measured in simple test configurations. The performances of the proposed field-controlled active shield are showed.