Risk assessment for workers with pacemakers working in the near-field of a high-frequency EMF source

摘要

An important task of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IFA) is to carry out risk assessments at workplaces in order to protect workers with active implantable medical devices exposed to electromagnetic fields. For this purpose the induced voltages at the input stage of these devices must be determined. A problem in the high-frequency range arises from the fact that the formulae used to calculate these voltages are derived under far-field conditions. However, this is often not the case. Therefore, we investigated the induced voltage level during a near-field exposure in a high-frequency electromagnetic field. The results suggest that the measuring of the power density could be sufficient in the scope of a risk assessment.