AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 250, Issue 2 320-H324, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Improved technique for monitoring electrocardiograms during exposure to radio-frequency radiation
W. P. Watkinson and C. J. Gordon
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.
