Evaluation of the thermal effect of LTE 2600 MHz (4G) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure: Thermographic study on rats

Abstract

Exposure to LTE 2600 MHz microwaves is increasing very fast as new technologies and become accessible worldwide, and the smartphones being the main source of these waves. The aim of this study is to assess the thermal effect of 4G signals on rats. Forty adult Albino rats were used throughout the study, assigned as control and exposed groups, equally. Rats were kept in Plexiglas cages with intermittent exposure to LTE mobile-phone like signals at an average of 2h/day for up to 30 continuous days with SAR value of 0.982 W/kg. Infrared images were snapped immediately after the end of the exposure time, then one hour, two hours, and four hours later at a rate one collection/week during the study. IR images were analyzed by FLIR Tools software. The results exhibited variation in reflected skin temperatures in the exposed group compared to control images. Furthermore, the analysis of collected data revealed significant variations over the course of the study compared to the first week. The rise in skin temperature observed in response to exposure in the first week, which decreased gradually increased exposure and this drop in reflected skin temperature was significantly related to amount of exposure. The study concludes that the LTE 2600 MHz exposure under controlled laboratory conditions has a thermal effect on the rats.

Keywords

• lte 2600 mhz (4g) signals
• thermographic analysis
• ir images
• rats