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Electric fields in the human body resulting from 60-Hz contact currents
T W Dawson1, K Caputa, M A Stuchly
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Victoria, BC, Canada.
IEEE Transactions on Bio-Medical Engineering
|September 6, 2001
Summary
Contact currents, when touching different electrical potentials, can affect the body. Models show current density in the heart and spine can exceed safety limits, especially for the general public.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Computational Electromagnetics
Background:
- Contact currents represent an additional coupling mechanism to direct field effects from low-frequency fields.
- Understanding current flow through the body is crucial for assessing potential health risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess current density and electric field in human tissues due to contact currents.
- To compare exposure levels in adult and child models.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the scalar potential finite difference method for analysis.
- Modeled anatomically correct adult and child models.
- Simulated three distinct contact current pathways.
Main Results:
- Adult models exhibited lower electric field and current density per unit of contact current compared to child models.
- At 1 mA, current density exceeded ICNIRP restrictions in the spine and heart.
- At 0.5 mA, restrictions were exceeded several-fold in the spine and heart for the general public.
Conclusions:
- Contact currents can lead to significant current densities in critical tissues like the heart and spine.
- Exposure limits for the general public may be exceeded under certain contact current scenarios.
- Further research into the biological effects of contact currents is warranted.