title: Thermal mechanisms of interaction of radiofrequency energy with biological systems with relevance to exposure guidelines.
abstract: This article reviews thermal mechanisms of interaction between radiofrequency (RF) fields and biological systems, focusing on theoretical frameworks that are of potential use in setting guidelines for human exposure to RF energy. Several classes of thermal mechanisms are reviewed that depend on the temperature increase or rate of temperature increase and the relevant dosimetric considerations associated with these mechanisms. In addition, attention is drawn to possible molecular and physiological reactions that could be induced by temperature elevations below 0.1 degrees, which are normal physiological responses to heat, and to the so-called microwave auditory effect, which is a physiologically trivial effect resulting from thermally-induced acoustic stimuli. It is suggested that some reported "nonthermal" effects of RF energy may be thermal in nature; also that subtle thermal effects from RF energy exist but have no consequence to health or safety. It is proposed that future revisions of exposure guidelines make more explicit use of thermal models and empirical data on thermal effects in quantifying potential hazards of RF fields.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Department of Bioengineering, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. kfoster@seas.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Glaser
mesh_terms: D001822:Body Burden; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004735:Energy Transfer / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D020714:Maximum Tolerated Dose; D008954:Models, Biological; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011846:Radio Waves; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014915:Whole-Body Counting / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards