Can body-worn devices be used for measuring personal exposure to mm waves?

2017 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

← Research stream

UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 1379

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017

Study typeengineering

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Can body-worn devices be used for measuring personal exposure to mm waves? Thielens A, Martens L, Joseph W. Can body-worn devices be used for measuring personal exposure to mm waves? Bioelectromagnetics. 2017 Jan 20. doi: 10.1002/bem.22036. Abstract Fifth generation (5G) telecommunication networks will require more bandwidth and will use mm waves (30- 300 GHz). Consequently, the aperture of antennas that are used for electromagnetic field measurements will be reduced in comparison to the ones currently used for lower frequencies (0.1-6 GHz). In combination with existing limits on incident power density prescribed by exposure guidelines, this provides an upper limit to received powers during exposure measurements. Simultaneously, an increase in the noise floor of transmitted signals will occur. These effects limit the dynamic range of measurements to 53 dB (2 × 105 ) at 300 GHz and 73 dB (2 × 107 ) at 30 GHz, which are determined using a simplified model. Additional propagation losses that exceed this dynamic range can occur during on-body measurements. Therefore, in future wireless networks, an on-body measurement of the incident power density cannot be guaranteed using a single antenna. This effect is problematic for both occupational measurements and epidemiological studies. We propose to use multiple, dynamic antennas on the body instead. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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 typeengineering

Effect directionunclear

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposuremmWave

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Using a simplified model, the authors estimate measurement dynamic range limits of 53 dB at 300 GHz and 73 dB at 30 GHz due to reduced antenna aperture, exposure guideline limits on incident power density, and increased noise floor. They state that additional on-body propagation losses can exceed this dynamic range, so on-body measurement of incident power density cannot be guaranteed using a single antenna; they propose multiple dynamic antennas on the body instead.

Outcomes measured

Feasibility/limitations of on-body personal exposure measurements at mmWave frequencies
Dynamic range limits for incident power density measurements (model-based)

Limitations

Results are based on a simplified model (as stated)
No empirical measurement data described in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "engineering",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "mmWave",
    "source": "5G telecommunication networks",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Feasibility/limitations of on-body personal exposure measurements at mmWave frequencies",
    "Dynamic range limits for incident power density measurements (model-based)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Using a simplified model, the authors estimate measurement dynamic range limits of 53 dB at 300 GHz and 73 dB at 30 GHz due to reduced antenna aperture, exposure guideline limits on incident power density, and increased noise floor. They state that additional on-body propagation losses can exceed this dynamic range, so on-body measurement of incident power density cannot be guaranteed using a single antenna; they propose multiple dynamic antennas on the body instead.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Results are based on a simplified model (as stated)",
    "No empirical measurement data described in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "5G",
    "millimeter waves",
    "mmWave",
    "30-300 GHz",
    "personal exposure",
    "body-worn devices",
    "on-body measurements",
    "incident power density",
    "dynamic range",
    "antenna aperture",
    "occupational measurements",
    "epidemiological studies"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.62,
      "reason": "Discusses mmWave (30–300 GHz) exposure measurement challenges in the context of future 5G networks."
    },
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.55,
      "reason": "Abstract explicitly notes the issue is problematic for occupational measurements."
    }
  ]
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

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: 10.1002/bem.22036
PubMed: Not supplied

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library