Analyzing Exposures to Electromagnetic Fields in an Intensive Care Unit

• Published in: Turkish journal of anaesthesiology and reanimation 2016-10, Vol.44 (5), p.236
• Main Authors: Gökmen, Necati, Erdem, Sabri, Toker, Kadir Atilla, Öçmen, Elvan, Gökmen, Başak Ilgım, Özkurt, Ahmet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electromagnetism; Intensive care; Magnetic fields
• ISSN: 2667-677X; 2667-6370
• DOI: 10.5152/TJAR.2016.98470

Objective: In this study we conducted a numerical analysis of exposure to electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) in a hospital’s intensive care unit that is the one of the most crucial one in terms of hazardous areas among all service units. This study is new for measuring electromagnetic fields in an intensive care unit as well as other healthcare services in Turkey. Methods: We measure the electromagnetic field in the intensive care unit with SRM-3006 (selective radiation meter) which is used for measurement of the absolute and the limit values of high frequency electromagnetic field. The measurement point has been chosen to represent the highest levels of exposure to which a person might be subjected. We obtain dataset, which involves 5929 observations with 96 extreme values, through measuring the magnetic field in terms of V/m. Results: The measurements show the frequency varies from 47 MHz to 2.5 GHz as 17 frequency ranges at the measurement point as well. According to findings, the reference safety limit of maximum was not exceeded. However, it is also found that mobile telecommunication is the most critical one for causing magnetic fields. Conclusion: Further studies need to be performed with different frequency antennas to assess the electromagnetic fields in intensive care units.