RF-EMF Exposure Assessment of Fetus During The First Trimester of Pregnancy

IEEE Access · 2024 · No effect · Low evidence

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No effectLow evidencePaper 157

Study snapshot

PublicationIEEE Access · 2024

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionNo effect

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

RF-EMF Exposure Assessment of Fetus During The First Trimester of Pregnancy Sandeep S, Vard A, Guxens M, Bloch I, Wiart J. RF-EMF Exposure Assessment of Fetus During The First Trimester of Pregnancy. IEEE Access, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3404369. Abstract This article describes the computational analysis of Radio Frequency - Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) exposure of Uterus-Fetus Units (UFUs) embedded inside the body of a 26 year old human female. Realistic UFU models are obtained from ultrasound images acquired for different fetuses and at specific development stages (7 weeks, 9 weeks and 11 weeks old), for which a deep-learning based segmentation method is developed. Each UFU model is then inserted into a computational electromagnetic model of a 26 year old female. The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of the fetus at commonly used wireless communication frequencies is estimated using a commercially available numerical electromagnetic solver. The Inverted F antenna (IFA), which is a commonly used mobile phone antenna was used as the excitation source. Fetus SAR values are reported for different combinations of excitation frequencies, phone positions and UFU ages. It was found that the fetus SAR for all the cases is well below the maximum allowable exposure limit of 80 mW/kg, as prescribed by ICNIRP. Furthermore, we replaced the embryo with uterus tissues and calculated the SAR in the uterus tissues (i.e. uterus tissues with same volume and shape, and at the same location as that of UFU). The uterus SAR values were found to be only marginally different from that of fetus SAR. Open access paper: ieeexplore.ieee.org

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeexposure_assessment

Effect directionno_effect

PopulationComputational electromagnetic model of a 26-year-old human female with uterus-fetus units (7, 9, 11 weeks gestation) derived from ultrasound images.

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Using a computational model with an inverted-F antenna (mobile phone antenna) as the excitation source, estimated fetal SAR across combinations of excitation frequencies, phone positions, and UFU ages was reported to be well below the ICNIRP maximum allowable exposure limit of 80 mW/kg. SAR in uterus tissues (replacing the embryo with uterus tissue of the same volume/shape/location) was only marginally different from fetal SAR.

Outcomes measured

Fetal specific absorption rate (SAR) at commonly used wireless communication frequencies
Uterus tissue SAR (embryo replaced with uterus tissue of same volume/shape/location)
Comparison to ICNIRP maximum allowable exposure limit (80 mW/kg)

Limitations

Computational/simulation study (no direct measurements in humans reported)
Exposure frequencies described as 'commonly used wireless communication frequencies' but specific values not provided in the abstract
Results depend on modeled phone positions, antenna type (IFA), and anatomical models derived from ultrasound segmentation

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Computational electromagnetic model of a 26-year-old human female with uterus-fetus units (7, 9, 11 weeks gestation) derived from ultrasound images.",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Fetal specific absorption rate (SAR) at commonly used wireless communication frequencies",
    "Uterus tissue SAR (embryo replaced with uterus tissue of same volume/shape/location)",
    "Comparison to ICNIRP maximum allowable exposure limit (80 mW/kg)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Using a computational model with an inverted-F antenna (mobile phone antenna) as the excitation source, estimated fetal SAR across combinations of excitation frequencies, phone positions, and UFU ages was reported to be well below the ICNIRP maximum allowable exposure limit of 80 mW/kg. SAR in uterus tissues (replacing the embryo with uterus tissue of the same volume/shape/location) was only marginally different from fetal SAR.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "Computational/simulation study (no direct measurements in humans reported)",
    "Exposure frequencies described as 'commonly used wireless communication frequencies' but specific values not provided in the abstract",
    "Results depend on modeled phone positions, antenna type (IFA), and anatomical models derived from ultrasound segmentation"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "pregnancy",
    "first trimester",
    "fetus",
    "uterus-fetus unit",
    "ultrasound",
    "deep learning segmentation",
    "computational electromagnetic modeling",
    "specific absorption rate",
    "SAR",
    "mobile phone antenna",
    "inverted F antenna",
    "ICNIRP"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.72,
      "reason": "Findings are explicitly compared to ICNIRP exposure limit (80 mW/kg)."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1109/access.2024.3404369
PubMed: Not supplied

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