Improved technique for monitoring electrocardiograms during exposure to radio-frequency radiation

Studies were conducted utilizing improved methodology that examined the effects of radio-frequency (RF) radiation on heart rate (HR), deep body temperature (Tco), and electrocardiographic (ECG) waveform parameters in anesthetized rats. One group of animals was exposed to two power levels of continuous-wave RF radiation averaging 1.0 and 7.4 W/kg at a frequency of 600 MHz. A second group of animals, treated identically but not exposed to RF radiation, served as a control. The electrodes used for monitoring the ECG during RF exposure were fabricated from carbon-loaded Teflon wire, a semiconductor material that does not perturb the RF field. Analyses of the ECG were conducted by use of a recently developed computer-assisted procedure that quantitates HR and waveform intervals over 25-40 individual ECG complexes. There were no artifacts or arrhythmias in the ECGs of the animals exposed to RF radiation. There was a significant linear correlation between HR and Tco in the RF-exposed group that was not present in the control group.