Abstract

Abstract Summary: Assessment of ELF Exposure in Mobile and Cordless Phones

Overview

This paper targets the measurement and modeling assessments conducted in the MOBI-Kids study to understand the extremely low frequency (ELF) exposure of the brain from mobile and cordless phone use.

Methodology

• Investigation of four communication systems: GSM, UMTS, DECT, Wi-Fi VoIP.
• Measurements of magnetic fields under controlled conditions and computational modeling to extrapolate three-dimensional field distributions.
• Use of human voxel phantoms across four age groups (8, 11, 14, and adults) to calculate induced current densities and electric field strengths.

Findings

The induced current densities in the brain varied significantly across different communication technologies. DECT calls induced significantly lower current densities than GSM, but higher than UMTS calls. Variability was high in the case of Wi-Fi VoIP calls. Notable is the spectral contribution affecting the current density, especially in DECT phones.

Conclusion

The study provides crucial data on how physical characteristics of phones and communication systems influence ELF exposure levels. While limited by the small number of phantoms, the results underscore potential age-related differences in ELF exposure, albeit small.