SAR exposure from UHF RFID reader in adult, child, pregnant woman, and fetus anatomical models

Abstract

The spread of radio frequency identification (RFID) devices in ubiquitous applications without their simultaneous exposure assessment could give rise to public concerns about their potential adverse health effects. Among the various RFID system categories, the ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID systems have recently started to be widely used in many applications. This study addresses a computational exposure assessment of the electromagnetic radiation generated by a realistic UHF RFID reader, quantifying the exposure levels in different exposure scenarios and subjects (two adults, four children, and two anatomical models of women 7 and 9 months pregnant). The results of the computations are presented in terms of the whole-body and peak spatial specific absorption rate (SAR) averaged over 10 g of tissue to allow comparison with the basic restrictions of the exposure guidelines. The SAR levels in the adults and children were below 0.02 and 0.8 W/kg in whole-body SAR and maximum peak SAR levels, respectively, for all tested positions of the antenna. On the contrary, exposure of pregnant women and fetuses resulted in maximum peak SAR(10 g) values close to the values suggested by the guidelines (2 W/kg) in some of the exposure scenarios with the antenna positioned in front of the abdomen and with a 100% duty cycle and 1 W radiated power.

Estimate of the fetal temperature increase due to UHF RFID exposure

“…Only the two worst case exposure scenarios in terms of SAR levels obtained in our previous EM computation [20] were studied. These coincide, in particular, with the RFID reader ground plane of the antenna (whose characteristics are detailed in [20]) positioned:…”

“…The models were obtained from partial deformations of the womb of the adult female model named "Ella" of the Virtual Family [21] and by integrating the segmented MRI images of pregnant women abdomens [22]. Only the two worst case exposure scenarios in terms of SAR levels obtained in our previous EM computation [20] were studied. These coincide, in particular, with the RFID reader ground plane of the antenna (whose characteristics are detailed in [20]) positioned:…”

“…In a previous paper [20], we focused on the assessment of exposure to UHF RFID devices of pregnant women; high levels of SAR values in some fetal tissues were found (the maximum peak SAR levels averaged over 10g and normalized to 1 W radiated power of the reader antenna and were close to the limit of 2 W/kg provided by the ICNIRP guidelines [6]). In order to better investigate any potential effects induced by such a high exposure, in this paper the temperature rise in the same exposure scenarios are estimated applying the classical approach based on the BHE numerical solution.…”

Intelligent Safety Transport Framework for Schools: A Review of Route Planning and Tracking Systems

“…Many student tracking systems have been developed in which mostly employ radio frequency based devices. Recent studies in radiation exposure [48], [49] reported that children are more likely to be vulnerable than healthy adults to radio frequency electromagnetic radiation. So the development of children tracking system with less or no radiation based methods will reduce the risk of a child's vulnerability towards radiations which is challenging.…”

Dosimetry for infant exposures to electronic article surveillance system: Posture, physical dimension and anatomy

“…Particular concerns regarding the minors' EMF safety evoked keen discussions on the standards' conservativeness [Gandhi and Kang, 2001;Martinéz-Búrdalo et al, 2010;Fiocchi et al, 2011a,b;Fiocchi et al, 2013]. Neonate and child models age of 5 or older were used in the studies.…”