The investigation of electromagnetic field influence generated by mobile phones on cardiac pacemakers with the anatomically based human model

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to investigate the coupling model which describes the relationship between the electromagnetic (EM) field emitted by a field source, in this case the mobile phone, and the interfering voltage at a cardiac pacemaker which is digitally implanted into the human body model. Design/methodology/approach - The research was carried out using two kinds of numerical phantoms with various configurations, i.e. the mobile placed in front of a trunk and the mobile placed near the human ear (totally 12 configurations). Moreover, the simplified homogeneous human model with numerically implanted cardiac pacemaker is considered (two configurations). The simulations are carried out using the finite difference time domain method according to international standards. Findings - From the investigation it was found that the interfering voltage at the cardiac pacemaker (for each of the considered models) was much smaller than the one proposed by IEC standard. A practical conclusion that can be drawn is that the highest interfering voltages occur when the mobile is in a vertical position. Research limitations/implications - The analysis was limited to the cardiac pacemaker with a unipolar electrode and could be carried out for other types of pacemakers. Practical implications - The evaluations such as those presented should be useful in the development of protection standards of human exposure to EM field with respect to humans with implants such as cardiac pacemakers. Furthermore, such a modeling allows for the evaluation of potential EM interference prior to an implantation of implants. Originality/value - Such a detailed analysis of a coupling model considering various configurations of mobile phone position to a human model has so far never been carried out.