title: Numerical simulation of pressure waves in the cochlea induced by a microwave pulse.
abstract: The pressure waves developing at the cochlea by the irradiation of the body with a plane wave microwave pulse are obtained by numerical simulation, employing a two-step finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm. First, the specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution is obtained by solving the Maxwell equations on a FDTD grid. Second, the temperature rise due to this SAR distribution is used to formulate the thermoelastic equations of motion, which are discretized and solved by the FDTD method. The calculations are performed for anatomically based full body human models, as well as for a head model. The dependence of the pressure amplitude at the cochlea on the frequency, the direction of propagation, and the polarization of the incident electromagnetic radiation, as well as on the pulse width, was investigated.
authors.affiliation: Radiation Safety Division, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne, Israel.
authors.forename: Nir M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Yitzhak
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ruppin
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hareuveny
mesh_terms: D065638:Absorption, Radiation; D000465:Algorithms; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008872:Microwaves / Q000009:adverse effects; D008959:Models, Neurological; D011312:Pressure; D013696:Temperature
keywords: FDTD; auditory effect; finite-difference time-domain; thermoelastic