Pacemakers, Implantable Defibrillators, and 5G Technology: What We Need to Know.

ABSTRACT: Pacemakers (PM) and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) are active implantable medical devices (AIMD) needed in case of cardiac arrhythmias. Given their potentially life-sustaining nature, the interaction between any source of electromagnetic field and these AIMDs is an ongoing concern of patients, industry, and regulators. According to the current regulatory framework, the required immunity of PM and ICD provides a reasonable unperturbed behavior in the presence of cell phones and base stations that use pre-5G technologies. PM/ICD international standards do not consider some peculiar characteristics of 5G technology and some of the 5G technology frequency bands (those above 3 GHz), since these frequencies are considered not to add risks to the AIMD functioning. Here we analyze the theoretical issues about the interference between 5G technology and PM/ICD and propose an experimental approach to perform a measurement campaign.

AN ALTERNATIVE CALIBRATION OF CR-39 DETECTORS FOR RADON DETECTION BEYOND THE SATURATION LIMIT.

Time-integrated measurements of indoor radon levels are commonly carried out using solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs), due to the numerous advantages offered by this radiation detection technique. However, the use of SSNTD also presents some problems that may affect the accuracy of the results. The effect of overlapping tracks often results in the underestimation of the detected track density, which leads to the reduction of the counting efficiency for increasing radon exposure. This article aims to address the effect of overlapping tracks by proposing an alternative calibration technique based on the measurement of the fraction of the detector surface covered by alpha tracks. The method has been tested against a set of Monte Carlo data and then applied to a set of experimental data collected at the radon chamber of the Istituto Nazionale di Metrologia delle Radiazioni Ionizzanti, at the ENEA centre in Casaccia, using CR-39 detectors. It has been proved that the method allows to extend the detectable range of radon exposure far beyond the intrinsic limit imposed by the standard calibration based on the track density.

Study of ageing and fading in CR-39 detectors for different storage conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ageing and fading on PADC detector response, as a function of the storage time and temperature. Several groups of CR-39 detectors provided by Radosys, Ltd. were exposed at the reference radon chamber of the Istituto Nazionale di Metrologia delle Radiazioni Ionizzanti, at the ENEA centre in Casaccia. The results indicate that low-temperature storage inhibits the effect of both ageing and fading. Finally, the overall reduction in CR-39 sensitivity due to the combined ageing/fading effect was estimated. In particular, the sensitivity of the detectors continuously exposed in air at room temperature over 6 and 3 months was reduced, respectively, by 7.5 and 4 %.

Long- and short-term indoor radon survey in the Ardea municipality, south Rome.

The indoor radon concentration was measured in 16 schools and 6 public departments in the Ardea municipality, using both active and passive detectors. The annual concentration of radon has been determined as the mean of two consecutive 6-month periods of sampling from January 2012 to January 2013. The indoor radon level measured in the monitored buildings ranged from 17 to 918 Bq·m(-3), with a mean value of 154 Bq·m(-3). In addition, the correlation between short-term and long-term measurements was studied. Experimental data demonstrate that the deviation of short-term measurements with respect to polyallyl diglycol carbonate data does not exceed ±40 % in a very extended range of radon concentrations.

A method to account for track overlap in CR-39 detectors.

Solid-state nuclear track detectors are commonly used for the detection of indoor radon levels. However, despite numerous advantages, this technique still presents many unsolved problems. An important source of error is represented by the reduction in the detection efficiency due to overlapping tracks, which results in a sensible underestimation of the radon levels. This paper presents a new experimental procedure to address the effect of overlapping tracks by establishing a relationship between the detection efficiency and the number of detected tracks. Experimental data have been collected at the radon chamber of the Istituto Nazionale di Metrologia delle Radiazioni Ionizzanti (INMRI), at the ENEA centre in Casaccia, using CR-39 detectors provided by Radosys Ltd. It has been proved that the method, applied to the experimental settings of this study, gives reliable results up to 7607 kBq h m(-3). Finally, the method has been validated through a Monte Carlo simulation, exploring a wide range of radon exposure.