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Problems of using a thermocouple for measurements of skin temperature rise during the exposure to millimeter waves

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Abstract

The possibility of using thermocouples for artifact-free measurement of skin temperature during millimeter-wave exposure was studied. The distributions of the specific absorption rate (SAR) in the human skin were calculated for different orientations of the thermocouple relative to the E vector of the electromagnetic field. It was shown that, at the parallel orientation of the thermocouple relative to the E-field, SAR significantly increased about the tip of the thermocouple, which could lead to overheating. At the perpendicular orientation of the thermocouple, SAR distortions were insignificant. The data obtained confirm that the skin temperature can be measured with a thermocouple during exposure, provided that the thermocouple is perpendicular to the E-field. For accurate determination of SAR from the initial rate of temperature rise, the kinetics measured with the thermocouple must be fitted with the bio-heat transfer equation.

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Abbreviations

EMF:

electromagnetic field

PFD:

power flux density

SAR:

specific absorption rate

TC:

thermocouple

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Correspondence to S. I. Alekseev.

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Original Russian Text © S.I. Alekseev, M.C. Ziskin, E.E. Fesenko, 2011, published in Biofizika, 2011, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 561–565.

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Alekseev, S.I., Ziskin, M.C. & Fesenko, E.E. Problems of using a thermocouple for measurements of skin temperature rise during the exposure to millimeter waves. BIOPHYSICS 56, 525–528 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S000635091103002X

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S000635091103002X

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