A survey on electromagnetic risk assessment and evaluation mechanism for future wireless communication systems

2019 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

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UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 1737

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2019

Study typereview

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

A survey on electromagnetic risk assessment and evaluation mechanism for future wireless communication systems Jamshed MA, Heliot F, Brown T. A survey on electromagnetic risk assessment and evaluation mechanism for future wireless communication systems. IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology. May 20, 2019. DOI: 10.1109/JERM.2019.2917766 Abstract The accurate measurement of electromagnetic exposure and its application is expected to become more and more important in future wireless communication systems, given the explosion in both the number of wireless devices and equipments radiating electromagnetic-fields(EMF)and the growing concerns in the general public linked to it. Indeed, the next generation of wireless systems aims at providing a higher data rate,better quality of service(QoS), and lower latency to users by increasing the number of access points,i.e.densification, which in turn will increase EMF exposure. Similarly, the multiplication of future connected devices,e.g. internet of things(IoT)devices, will also contribute to an increase in EMF exposure. This paper provides a detailed survey relating to the potential health hazards linked with EMF exposure and the different metrics that are currently used for evaluating,limiting and mitigating the effects of this type of exposure on the general public. This paper also reviews the possible impacts of new wireless technologies on EMF exposure and proposes some novel research directions for updating the EMF exposure evaluation framework and addressing these impacts in future wireless communication systems. For instance, the impact of mmWave or massive-MIMO/beamforming on EMF exposure has yet to be fully understood and included in the exposure evaluation framework. Conclusions A thorough survey on exposure risk assessment, evaluation, limitation and mitigation for current and future wireless devices and equipments has been provided in this paper. From the human health point of view, it seems that the possibility of brain tumor is still the main cause of concerns related to the extensive use of wireless devices, even though the effects of EMF exposure is now being investigated in new parts of the body (e.g. eyes). Meanwhile, with the advent of 5G, more efforts are now been made to understand the thermal and non-thermal effects of mmWave exposure on the human body. When it comes to the evaluation of EMF exposure, we have presented the most common evaluation frameworks and metrics that are utilized in wireless communications to measure the exposure. We have also explained how new more generic metrics have been defined by combining existing metrics to better reflect the exposure of large geographical areas and have argued that a generic metric for measuring the individual exposure would also be of interest. We have also reviewed the existing exposure guidelines and have explained how they can be updated for better reflecting the true nature of EMF exposure, i.e. by better taking into account the duration of exposure. Finally, we have provided some views on how key 5G enabling technologies such as densification, massive MIMO and mmWave will impact the EMF exposure in the near future; for instance, the dense deployment of small cells and IoT devices is very likely to increase the overall ambient exposure. We also believe that there could be some technical opportunities in 5G to increase the exposure awareness of wireless system users and to let them decide if they want to reduce it at the cost of, for instance, a lower QoS. 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 typereview

Effect directionunclear

Populationgeneral public

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

This paper surveys potential health hazards linked with EMF exposure and reviews metrics/frameworks used to evaluate, limit, and mitigate exposure for current and future wireless systems. It notes that impacts of 5G-enabling technologies (densification, massive MIMO/beamforming, mmWave) on exposure are not yet fully understood within existing evaluation frameworks and argues guidelines/metrics may need updating, including better accounting for exposure duration; it also suggests densification and IoT proliferation are likely to increase overall ambient exposure.

Outcomes measured

EMF exposure assessment metrics/frameworks
Exposure limitation and mitigation approaches
Potential health hazards (e.g., brain tumor concerns; effects on eyes)
Thermal and non-thermal effects of mmWave exposure

Limitations

Survey/review article; no original study design, sample size, or quantitative effect estimates reported in the provided abstract
Specific exposure parameters (frequencies, SAR, durations) are not provided in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "future wireless communication systems (e.g., 5G, IoT devices, small cells, massive MIMO/beamforming, mmWave)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "general public",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "EMF exposure assessment metrics/frameworks",
    "Exposure limitation and mitigation approaches",
    "Potential health hazards (e.g., brain tumor concerns; effects on eyes)",
    "Thermal and non-thermal effects of mmWave exposure"
  ],
  "main_findings": "This paper surveys potential health hazards linked with EMF exposure and reviews metrics/frameworks used to evaluate, limit, and mitigate exposure for current and future wireless systems. It notes that impacts of 5G-enabling technologies (densification, massive MIMO/beamforming, mmWave) on exposure are not yet fully understood within existing evaluation frameworks and argues guidelines/metrics may need updating, including better accounting for exposure duration; it also suggests densification and IoT proliferation are likely to increase overall ambient exposure.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Survey/review article; no original study design, sample size, or quantitative effect estimates reported in the provided abstract",
    "Specific exposure parameters (frequencies, SAR, durations) are not provided in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "electromagnetic exposure",
    "risk assessment",
    "exposure evaluation framework",
    "metrics",
    "guidelines",
    "5G",
    "mmWave",
    "massive MIMO",
    "beamforming",
    "densification",
    "IoT",
    "small cells",
    "ambient exposure",
    "brain tumor",
    "eyes",
    "thermal effects",
    "non-thermal effects"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.86,
      "reason": "Discusses 5G technologies (densification, massive MIMO/beamforming, mmWave) and implications for exposure evaluation/guidelines."
    }
  ]
}

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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/jerm.2019.2917766
PubMed: Not supplied

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