title: Decibel attenuation of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) in blood and cortical bone determined experimentally and from the theory of ohmic losses.
abstract: We studied the PEMF power attenuation in tissues representative of clinical applications (blood and cortical bone) to determine the amount of power available for PEMF purported biological effects. The experimental system consisted of a pair of nearly circular, parallel and coaxial coils separated by a distance of one coil diameter. The power attenuation was measured using a small search coil connected to a digital oscilloscope. The coils were powered by a voltage switch operating at two different frequencies (3.8 and 63 kHz) producing bursts of pulses (numbering 21 and 1619) and triggered at two different frequencies (1.5 and 15 Hz, respectively). The tissue samples were placed inside the coils so as to expose them to either transverse electric field (at the center of coils) or the transverse magnetic field (at the coil wire). The cylindrical coil geometry yielded closed-form expressions for power attenuation based on magnetic diffusion equation and ohmic losses due to bulk tissue magnetic permeability and electrical conductivity. The measured power attenuation at these PEMF frequencies of not more than one decibel (1 dB) was well explained by the theory for the 3.8 kHz but less so for the 63 kHz frequency PEMF. The results provide important insights regarding physical mechanism of weak PEMF power dissipation in tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering/ND20, Lerner Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, OH 44195, USA. zborowm@ccf.org
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zborowski
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kligman
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Midura
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolfman
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ibiwoye
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grabiner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001790:Blood Physiological Phenomena; D001822:Body Burden; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000502:physiology*; D002417:Cattle; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008954:Models, Biological; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D012542:Scattering, Radiation