Bioelectromagnetics

Design and Dosimetric Analysis of an Exposure

Facility for Investigating Possible E¡ects of
2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi Signals on Human Sleep
Gernot Schmid ,1* Rene Hirtl,1 Ana Bueno‐Lopez,2 Hans Dorn,2
Torsten Eggert,2 and Heidi Danker‐Hopfe 2
1
Seibersdorf Laboratories, Seibersdorf, Austria
2
Competence Center of Sleep Medicine, Charité‐Universitaetsmedizin,
Berlin, Germany
A new head exposure system for double‐blind provocation studies investigating possible effects of
2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi exposure on human sleep was developed and dosimetrically analyzed. The
exposure system includes six simultaneously radiating directional antennas arranged along a circle
(radius 0.6 m) around the test subject's head, and enables a virtually uniform head exposure, i.e.
without any preferred direction of incidence, during sleep. The system is fully computer‐controlled
and applies a real wireless local area network (WLAN) signal representing different transmission
patterns as expected in real WLAN scenarios, i.e. phases of “beacon only” as well as phases of
different data transmission rates. Sham and verum are applied in a double‐blind crossover study
design and all relevant exposure data, i.e. forward and reverse power at all six antenna inputs, are
continuously recorded for quality control. For a total antenna input power (sum of all antennas) of
220 mW, typical specific absorption rate (SAR) in cortical brain regions is approximately
1–2 mW/kg (mass average SAR over respective brain region), which can be seen as a realistic
worst‐case exposure level in real WLAN scenarios. Taking into account variations of head positions
during the experiments, the resulting exposure of different brain regions may deviate from the given
average SAR levels up to 10 dB. Peak spatial 10 g average SAR in all brain and all head tissues is
between 1.5–3.5 and 10.4–25 mW/kg, respectively. Bioelectromagnetics. © 2020 Bioelectromag-
netics Society.
Keywords: Wi‐Fi; WLAN; EEG; sleep study; human study

INTRODUCTION 385 MHz [Danker‐Hopfe et al., 2019]. In most of these

studies signal characteristics and intensities typical for
Possible effects of radiofrequency (RF) electro-
using a handset close to the head were used, i.e. the
magnetic fields (EMF) on sleep have been investigated
resulting exposure in terms of peak spatial 10 g averaged
in numerous studies in the past. Such studies are of
specific absorption rate (psSAR10g) inside the test
particular interest because human sleep is commonly
subjects’ heads was typically in the range between 0.1
seen as a sensitive indicator for the impact of various
and 10 W/kg. Moreover, exposure of the head was
environmental factors on central nervous processes
applied either laterally or frontally or from the top in the
[Basner and McGuire, 2018; Harding et al., 2019].
However, so far RF EMF‐related sleep studies have
mainly focused on signals emitted by cellular mobile Grant sponsor: FSM—Swiss Research Foundation for Electricity
communication systems, such as the global system for and Mobile Communication.
mobile communication in frequency ranges around 900
and 1,800 MHz [Borbely et al., 1999; Huber et al., 2000; Conflicts of interest: None.
Loughran et al., 2005, 2012; Hinrichs et al., 2005; Hung
*Correspondence to: Gernot Schmid, Seibersdorf Laboratories,
et al., 2007; Regel et al., 2007; Arnetz et al., 2007; A‐2444 Seibersdorf, Austria. E‐mail: gernot.schmid@seibersdorf-
Danker‐Hopfe et al., 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019; Lowden laboratories.at
et al., 2011; Schmid et al., 2012a,b; Lustenberger
et al., 2013, 2015], the universal mobile telecommunica- Received for review 30 September 2019; Accepted 12 February
tions system in the frequency range between 1,900 and 2020
2,000 MHz [Danker‐Hopfe et al., 2011, 2016; Nakatani‐ DOI:10.1002/bem.22256
Enomoto et al., 2013; Lowden et al., 2019], and the Published online 2020 in Wiley Online Library
terrestrial trunked radio in the frequency range around (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

© 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society

2 Schmid et al.
mentioned studies, i.e. there was always a predominant
direction of the incoming radiation, and hence, only a
part of the brain could be considered exposed during the
experiments. A relatively small fraction of RF‐related
sleep studies were designed as field studies, i.e. the
experiments took place at the residences of the test
subjects (e.g. Leitgeb et al., 2008; Danker‐Hopfe
et al., 2010), using RF fields emitted from a real or
experimental base station, respectively, as source of
exposure, resulting in significantly less psSAR10g inside
the head.
Interestingly, so far no study has been available
concerning possible effects of the RF EMF emitted by
wireless local area network (WLAN) signals on
human sleep, although this technology has been
tremendously deployed in recent years not only
in the public but also in the private environment. It
can be expected that the majority of households and
areas in the public domain (e.g. hotels, airports,
schools, universities, train stations, etc.) are presently
equipped with this technology for internet access and
similar purposes. WLAN technology has been stan-
dardized in IEEE 802.11 standard series, and devices
certified to comply with IEEE 802.11 standards are
also commonly known as Wi‐Fi devices. Starting
more than 20 years ago several different IEEE
801.11x standards have been published, specifying a
variety of different WLAN transmission methods in
different frequency bands. Presently, WLAN ac-
cording to IEEE 802.11‐2007, with operating fre-
quency bands around 2.45 GHz, are most common in
Europe. In such networks, various kinds of user
equipment (UE; e.g. mobile phones, computers, etc.)
can connect to the WLAN via an access point (AP).
All the UE connected to an AP share the same
transmission channel (of typically 20 MHz bandwidth)
in time domain by a carrier sense multiple access/
collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) access scheme, i.e.
UE connected to an AP (operating at the same WLAN
frequency channel) cannot transmit RF simulta-
neously, but only consecutively. A specific timing
algorithm and maximum length of data packets ensure
that the probability of getting access to the channel is
approximately the same for all devices in the network.
Moreover, both transmission from the UE to the AP
(uplink, UL) and transmission from the AP to the UE
(downlink, DL) take place in the same frequency
band. Consequently, WLAN devices (AP as well as
UE) are transmitting short RF bursts during their
operation and the burst lengths and burst repetition
rates are highly dependent on the actual amount and
direction of data (UL or DL) transmitted in the
network. In case of no data traffic at all, only the AP
transmits a short beacon signal, every 100 ms, to allow
Bioelectromagnetics
the UE to synchronize to the WLAN. In WLAN in the
2.45 GHz frequency band there is no transmit power
control, and maximum transmit power is limited to
100 mW equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP).
As a consequence of the above, the time averaged
RF power Pavg emitted by an AP can vary between
approximately 1% (beacon transmission only, see
Fig. 1a) and approximately 90% (heavy and prolonged
DL transmission, see Fig. 1b) of the burst power PBurst.
A Pavg of a single station (AP or UE) of substantially
more than 90% of PBurst is not possible due to the
timing characteristics of the WLAN technology
(remaining time is needed to acknowledge packets
from the receiving station and for timing and
synchronization purposes within the network). As
modulation scheme WLAN transmitters operating in
the 2.45 GHz band use either direct sequence spread
spectrum (DSSS) or orthogonal frequency division
multiplex (OFDM), both result in stochastic signal
characteristics during the radiated RF bursts.
In order to address the question of possible effects
of WLAN exposure on human sleep, a corresponding
study was created by the Swiss Research Foundation for
Electricity and Mobile Communication (FSM). In the
study, subjective (total sleep time, sleep onset latency,
wake after sleep onset, and number of awakening) and
objective information on sleep were collected. From
polysomnography, 24 parameters describing sleep macro-
structure were extracted, including those 14 variables that
are mandatory for describing patients according to the
standards of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
[Iber et al., 2007], in which the analysis of microstructure
comprises arousals, spindles, and power spectra for 19
electrode sites.
This paper describes the design and dosimetric
analysis of a new head exposure system for sleeping
subjects specially developed for this study.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Design Goals for the Exposure Setup
The basic requirement for the exposure system was
to enable RF exposure of the brain at realistic worst‐case
levels as they can be expected in real WLAN exposure
scenarios. Moreover, exposure should not be focused on a
specific brain region but should rather be distributed over
the cortex in the sense that there should be no preferred
direction of incoming radiation. The resulting exposure
should be well‐defined and reproducible for sleeping
subjects, and intra‐ and inter‐subject variability of
exposure, due to variations of head orientation during
sleep, should be kept low (no particular measures for
restricting head movements during sleep would be
 2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi Exposure Setup for Sleep Studies 3

Fig. 1. Time domain characteristics of a typical wireless local area network (WLAN) signal
according to IEEE 802.11‐2007 during “beacon only” transmission (a) and maximum data
transmission rate (b), measured at the radiofrequency (RF) output of the access point.

applied). The applied exposure signal should be in the
2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi frequency band and should represent
both “beacon only” transmission and other realistic time
domain transmission patterns.
Exposure and Sham condition must be applied
double‐blind in a randomized crossover study design,
and applied exposure data must be continuously
recorded during the experiments for quality control.
In order to avoid any noise or vibrations
perceptible by the subjects, all active components of
the exposure facility (signal generation, amplifier,
switches, control unit, etc.) had to be located outside
the sleeping room. Finally, the entire exposure
apparatus must be suitable for a clinical environment
(sleep laboratory).
Multi‐antenna Approach
To address the requirement of virtually uniform
incoming radiation around the head, the concept of
multiple simultaneously radiating directional antennas
was chosen. In order to determine a suitable number of
antennas, a series of simplified numerical computations
were carried out in first step, using the finite difference
time domain (FDTD)‐based full wave solver of the
SEMCAD X V14.8.6 simulation platform (Schmid &
Partner Engineering, Zurich, Switzerland) and the male
anatomical body model Duke of the virtual family
[Christ et al., 2010]. In these simulations the head of
the body model (uniform spatial resolution 1 mm) was
exposed by a plane wave with varying angles of
incidence (varied in steps of 15° around the head) and
vertical as well as horizontal polarization (Fig. 2a). The
dielectric properties of body tissues were assigned
according to an online resource provided by the IT'IS
Foundation [Hasgall et al., 2015].
On the basis of these simulations, the SAR inside
the different brain regions in dependence on the angle of
incidence was analyzed (Fig. 2b). The considered brain
regions were distinguished according to the stereotactic
brain atlas system of Talairach and Tournoux [1988].
From this analysis a number of six antennas, positioned
every 60° along a circle of radius 0.6 m around the head,
were found to be a reasonable compromise (Fig. 3). As
antennas, commercial WLAN patch antennas (Model
Digitus, Gain 10 dBi; Assmann Electronics, Lüdensc-
heid, Germany) with 10 dBi gain and a 3 dB beamwidth
of approximately 75° were chosen (Figs. 4 and 7).

Bioelectromagnetics
4 Schmid et al.

Fig. 2. Numerical computations with 2.45 GHz plane wave exposure with different angle of
incidence (varied in steps of 15°) and horizontal and vertical E‐field polarization (a).
Analysis of brain region specific absorption was carried out in order to find a reasonable
number of antennas for the exposure setup. Only example data of some brain regions in
right hemisphere are shown in the figure (b).

Electrical Design characteristics, i.e. WLAN standard 802.11b, frequency

A schematic block diagram of the exposure channel, and transmit power of this AP was controlled
facility is shown in Figure 5. A commercial WLAN by software. The AP was connected to the system
AP (Model WRT54GL v1.1; Linksys, Irvine, CA) was computer (with control and recording software) via
used as primary signal source. The main transmission ethernet. In order to use real WLAN signals for

Fig. 3. Arrangement of the six antennas around the head in a carrier frame at the head end
of the bed. Left: numerical model; center: as installed at the sleep laboratory (antennas
hidden behind a cotton cloth); right: detail of antenna mounting (cotton cloth removed).
Bioelectromagnetics
 2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi Exposure Setup for Sleep Studies 5

Fig. 4. A 2.45 GHz patch antenna as used (left), with cover removed (center), and
corresponding numerical model (right).

exposure of the test subjects, a short distance wireless
link between the AP and a Raspberry PI client (Model
3b; Raspberry PI Foundation, Cambridge, UK) placed
immediately next to the AP was automatically
established after system start, and a controlled data
transmission from the system computer to the client via
the AP was initiated. Part of the microwave signal from
the downlink antenna connector of the AP was
decoupled and fed to a 10 W linear power amplifier
with 40 dB gain (Model RF23002600‐10; RFPA,
Artigues pres Bordeaux, France). The microwave
signal from the output of the power amplifier was
then fed through a power divider (Model PD1060;
INSTOCK Wireless Components, Boonton, NJ) to the

Fig. 5. Schematic block diagram of the exposure facility.

Bioelectromagnetics
6 Schmid et al.
six patch antennas via bidirectional couplers (Model
CS06‐05‐436/10; Pulsar Microwave, Clifton, NJ)
enabling simultaneous forward and reverse power
measurement on all six antenna inputs, using diode
detectors (Model DM 211; S‐Team Lab, Bratislava,
Slovakia). The insertion loss, amplitude balance, and
phase balance of the power divider in the frequency
range of interest were <1.1, <0.4 dB, and <6°,
respectively. Insertion loss and coupling directivity of
the directional couplers were <0.2 and >22 dB,
respectively. Flexible double‐shielded coaxial cables
of type RG‐400/U (attenuation 0.8 dB/m) were used as
cables between the power divider and directional
couplers immediately next to the antennas.
Mechanical Design
The six antennas were mounted in a carrier frame
made of white acrylic glass, which could be placed at the
head end of the bed (Fig. 3). The selected antenna
arrangement provided a minimum distance of approxi-
mately 40–50 cm between the subject's head and the
closest part of the exposure facility, and therefore avoided
significant impairment of the subjects when lying in the
bed. In order to avoid visual impairment and temptation to
touch the antennas, the inner side of the carrier frame was
covered by a thin cotton cloth. The directional couplers
and diode detectors for forward and reverse power
measurement were mounted directly behind the antennas
inside the carrier frame. All microwave antenna feeding
cables (from the output of the power divider to the
directional couplers) were guided within the carrier frame.
The main microwave feed line originating from the power
amplifier output was fed via the computer‐controlled
SHAM/VERUM switch into the shielded sleep laboratory
room to the input of the power divider (located below the
bed). The 12 analog signals delivered from the diode
detectors were fed via coaxial lines (guided inside the
carrier frame) to a shielded connector box (placed below
the bed), and from there via a shielded 12 twisted pair
cable to A/D conversion electronics (2 pieces of model
USB‐201; Measurement Computing, Norton, MA) con-
nected via USB‐interface to the system computer. The
WLAN AP, Raspberry PI, power amplifier, SHAM/
VERUM switch, and A/D conversion electronics were
housed inside a 19″ rack, installed together with the
system computer, at the study instructor's place outside
the experimental room.
T|me Domain Characteristics of Applied Exposure
Signal
According to the study design, phases with “beacon
only” transmissions (i.e. approximately 80–90 µs long
bursts, repeated every 100 ms) as well as phases with
Bioelectromagnetics
varying burst lengths and burst repetition times, as they
appear in real WLAN operation during data transmission,
were included in the exposure signal. For this reason the
exposure signal was composed of periodically repeated
6‐min intervals. Each of the 6‐min intervals were
subdivided into six 1‐min timeslots, in which different
data transmission conditions were created (controlled by
the system software). In the first 1‐min timeslot “beacon
only” transmission took place, while in each of the
remaining five 1‐min timeslots the signal corresponded to
the continuous transmission of data files of a particular
file size. The file size of the transmitted data files
increased from timeslot 2 to timeslot 6. Figure 6 shows
the corresponding time course of the antenna input power
over a 24‐min time interval.
Control and Recording Software
The control and recording software, developed
under LabView (Version 2010; National Instruments,
Austin, TX), was installed at the system computer and
provided an easy‐to‐understand graphical user interface
(GUI), which allowed the study instructor to create/
recall identifiers for the test subjects and to start,
interrupt/continue, and stop test sessions. After starting a
test session, the appropriate exposure condition was
automatically applied in a double‐blind manner, con-
trolled by the software, i.e. the SHAM/VERUM switch
was electrically set to the appropriate status by the
software without the possibility of acoustically or
visually identifying the status of the switch. The
appropriate condition (SHAM or VERUM) was auto-
matically and pseudorandomly selected by the control
software based on a balanced randomization scheme.
Peak and RMS values (of 300 ms intervals) of forward
and reverse microwave power were continuously (every
3 s) measured and stored in the system computer, in an
encoded form, during each experimental session.
Dosimetry and Exposure Uncertainty Analysis
Detailed RF dosimetry and exposure uncertainty
estimation was carried out based on FDTD computations
and experimental methods. All numerical computations
were performed using the SEMCAD X simulation
platform (Schmid & Partner Engineering). In the first
step, a numerical model of the used patch antenna was
developed and validated by free space measurements at
2.45 GHz in an anechoic chamber (Fig. 7). Second, the
impact of the wooden bed frame, mattress, and pillow on
the signals radiated from the two antennas located below
the bed was analyzed by measurements of incident
field strength in the volume of 20 × 20 × 25 cm3 above
the pillow where the head of test subject was located. For
the measurements, a broadband electric field meter
 2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi Exposure Setup for Sleep Studies 7

Fig. 6. Radiofrequency (RF) forward power measured at the antenna input during a 24‐min
interval, i.e. four periods of the 6‐min signal sequence, starting with a 1‐min interval of “beacon
only” followed by another five 1‐min time intervals with stepwise changed data transmission rate.
Interestingly, the burst rms during “beacon only” is approximately 0.5 dB less than the bursts rms
during data transmission, which obviously is a characteristic (unspecified) of the access
point used.

(Model EMR 300 with probe type 18C; Narda Safety and
Test Solutions, Pfullingen, Germany) was used. Measure-
ments were taken repeatedly during separate transmission
of each antenna at constant net antenna input power at
grid steps of 5 cm in the volume indicated above.
In the next step, a validation of the entire antenna
arrangement was carried out by SAR measurements
(Fig. 8b) and corresponding numerical computation
(Fig. 8a) using the homogeneous SAM phantom (tissue
simulating liquid with εr = 39.0, σ = 1.80 S/m). For the
measurements, both the whole carrier frame (including
antennas, couplers, power detectors, and cabling) and bed
were flipped by 90° (head end of bed downwards) in
order to enable insertion of the SAR probe into the SAM
phantom via the neck (Fig. 8b). Finally, computational
brain region specific exposure analysis and corresponding
uncertainty analysis were carried out using the anatomical
body models Duke, Ella, and Louis [Christ et al., 2010;
IT'IS Foundation, 2012] with tissue properties according
to Hasgall et al. [2015], taking into account the variations
of head position during sleep and impact of the
electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes and cables
present during exposure. During all computations, the
computational grid resolution was kept constant at 1 mm
inside the anatomical model and the SAM head phantom,
respectively.
Suppression of Potential Interference of Applied RF
Signal With EEG Measurements
When EEG measurements are carried out
during exposure of the head to RF signals with a

Fig. 7. Results of the antenna model validation in free space (1 m distance).

Bioelectromagnetics
8 Schmid et al.

Fig. 8. Numerical model (a) and the corresponding experimental setup (b) with
homogeneous SAM head phantom used for validation of the exposure system. The
comparison of measured and computed specific absorption rate (SAR) inside the Sam
head phantom shows reasonable agreement within 1.8 dB (c, d).

non‐constant envelope, significant electromagnetic
interference (EMI) on the EEG recording may occur.
This effect, even when purely passive EEG elec-
trodes are used, can be explained by (unwanted)
demodulation of the RF signal (coupled into the EEG
electrode leads) at nonlinear components of the EEG
amplifier stages. Once this occurs, the low frequency
(LF) components of the RF signal envelope are
demodulated into a lower frequency band, and the
recorded EEG signal spectrum may be significantly
corrupted by the RF exposure, and may therefore
also break the double blinding.
Therefore, utmost care had to be taken to
strictly avoid infiltration of the RF signal at any

Fig. 9. Parameters and corresponding ranges considered for brain region specific
exposure and uncertainty analysis. (a): considered variations in lateral and longitudinal
head position and axial rotation; (b): considered electroencefalography electrodes on the
scalp as arranged during the experiments.
Bioelectromagnetics
 2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi Exposure Setup for Sleep Studies 9

TABLE 1. Result of Brain Region Specific Absorption Analysis Taking Into Account Uncertainties Due to Variations of Head
Position and Rotation as Well as Electroencephalography Electrodes Present on the Scalp

Mass Averaged SAR [mW/kg]

During Burst @ PBurst = 220 mW
Talairach Level (Sum of All Antennas)

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Mean Max. Min.

Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Inferior occipital gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 17 2.06 3.23 0.46
Left cerebrum Frontal lobe Middle frontal gyrus Gray matter * 1.99 4.44 0.27
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Inferior occipital gyrus * * 1.78 4.51 0.66
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Superior occipital gyrus * * 1.71 5.36 0.41
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Fusiform gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 18 1.63 3.37 0.45
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Cuneus Gray matter * 1.62 2.86 0.23
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Lingual gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 17 1.61 2.51 0.16
Left cerebrum Temporal lobe Angular gyrus * * 1.58 3.75 0.21
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Middle occipital gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 18 1.47 3.37 0.57
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Middle occipital gyrus * * 1.45 2.91 0.61
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Inferior occipital gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 18 1.45 4.61 0.32
Left cerebrum Frontal lobe Inferior frontal gyrus Gray matter * 1.43 4.15 0.24
Left cerebrum Frontal lobe Sub‐gyral Gray matter Brodmann area 10 1.42 4.36 0.15
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Superior occipital gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.42 4.65 0.26
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Inferior temporal gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.42 2.59 0.22
Left cerebrum Temporal lobe Fusiform gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.41 2.27 0.11
Left cerebrum Frontal lobe Inferior frontal gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 10 1.40 4.35 0.14
Left cerebrum Temporal lobe Angular gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 39 1.34 3.51 0.29
Left cerebrum Temporal lobe Middle temporal gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.33 4.53 0.08
Left cerebrum Parietal lobe Precuneus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.31 3.38 0.37
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Superior occipital gyrus White matter * 1.29 4.55 0.14
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Inferior occipital gyrus White matter * 1.28 3.72 0.40
Left cerebrum Frontal lobe Inferior frontal gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 46 1.28 2.58 0.16
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Inferior temporal gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 37 1.26 2.45 0.17
Left cerebrum Frontal lobe Middle frontal gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 46 1.26 2.33 0.13
Left cerebrum Temporal lobe Inferior temporal gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.25 2.40 0.20
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Middle occipital gyrus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.21 2.80 0.36
Left cerebrum Frontal lobe Sub‐gyral Gray matter * 1.18 3.23 0.06
Left cerebrum Parietal lobe Inferior parietal lobule Gray matter Brodmann area 39 1.17 2.54 0.33
Left cerebrum Occipital lobe Cuneus Gray matter Brodmann area 19 1.16 1.93 0.40
psSAR10g (all brain tissues) 2.06 3.50 1.36
psSAR10g (all head tissues) 15.7 25.0 9.46
Data for the 30 brain regions of left hemisphere with highest exposure are shown. *All subregions contained within the next lower level.

stage of the EEG signal amplification by appropriate RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

filtering techniques. In this particular study, this was
done by double‐shielding the analogue electronics
of the biosignal recording system, and by feeding all
bio signal lines into this double‐shielded box via
fifth order RF‐suppressing feedthrough filters. In
order to test the effectiveness of these measures, the
EEG recordings using a passive head dummy
(watermelon) were carried out once with the RF
signal switched on and once with the RF signal
switched off. Comparison of the recorded EEG
spectrum obtained during “RF ON” and “RF OFF”
did not show any significant difference, proving that
no relevant EMI from the exposure setup had to be
expected in the EEG recordings.
Validation of the Numerical Model of the Exposure
Facility
The numerical antenna model showed reason-
able agreement (within 2 dB) in main lobe direction
between simulations and measurements in free space
(Fig. 7). As the measurements showed systematically
(approximately 1–2 dB) lower field strength in main
lobe direction compared with the simulations, this
deviation was corrected by a corresponding correction
factor of 1.5 dB in the power budget.
Concerning the impact of the wooden bed frame,
mattress, and pillow on the signal radiated from the two
antennas located below the bed, comparison of volume

Bioelectromagnetics
10 Schmid et al.

TABLE 2. Summary of Most Important Dosimetric System Parameters

Frequency range 2.40–2.48 GHz
Antenna system 6 patch antennas (10 dBi) arranged along a circle (r = 0.6 m) around the test
subjects head
Signal/modulation Real WLAN‐Signal (IEEE 802.11b)
Duty cycle (Pavg/PBurst) Systematically (computer‐controlled) varied between 1% and 90%, cyclic
repetition every 6 minutes
Total input power (sum of all antennas) 220 mW
maxSAR10g in head tissues <25 mW/kg (during burst), <6.4 mW/kg (6 minutes average)
maxSAR10g in brain tissues <3.5 mW/kg (during burst), <0.9 mW/kg (6 minutes average)
Mean mass averaged SAR in cortical brain regions typ. >1–2 mW/kg (during burst), typ. >0.3–0.5 mW/kg (6 minutes average)
SAR variations (max/mean)a typ. 2–5 dB
SAR variations (mean/min)a typ. 2–10 dB
Minimum mass averaged SAR in cortical brain regions typ. >0.1 mW/kg (during burst), typ. >0.03–0.05 mW/kg (6 minutes average)
SAR = specific absorption rate.
a
Mainly caused by variations of head position and rotation.

average and maximum field strength in the head region
indicated systematically lower incident field strengths
from the two antennas located below the bed, which was
finally compensated by appropriately adjusting the
antenna input power such that the deviation in incident
field strength over all antennas was less than 0.5 dB. This
adjustment of antenna input power for the two antennas
located below the bed was achieved by shorter cables
between the power divider and these two antennas,
compared with the other antenna cables (1 m shorter,
corresponding to 0.8 dB less attenuation).
The comparison of measured and computed SAR
inside the SAM head phantom shows reasonable
agreement within 1.8 dB (Fig. 8c and d).
Exposure Uncertainty Analysis
Based on the validated numerical model of the
exposure facility, numerical computations with the
anatomical body models Duke, Ella, and Louis
were carried out to quantify brain region specific exposure
and its uncertainty due to variations of head position and
head rotation, considering the head positions and
orientations depicted in Figure 9a, i.e. head rotations up
to ±90° in steps of 30° and axial and left/right shifts up to
±150 mm in steps of 50 mm. The indicated variation
ranges are considered realistic, because movements/
rotations over wider ranges are not possible due to the
“natural” restriction given by the EEG cables. Moreover,
the impact of the EEG electrodes on the test subjects’
scalps was analyzed (Fig. 9b).
Table 1 summarizes the results for the 30 brain
regions of highest absorption (data shown for left
hemisphere only; corresponding values in right hemi-
sphere are typically within 3 dB) in terms of mass
averaged SAR in the respective brain region for a total
antenna input power PBurst of 220 mW (sum of all
antennas). The range MAX‐MIN indicated in Table 1
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represents the overall uncertainty when taking into
account all the abovementioned uncertainty contributors.
The data show that SAR in the brain region may vary
considerably (up to 10 dB around the mean) during the
experiments, mainly caused by changes in the head
position and rotation. The impact of the EEG electrodes
is comparably small (typ. <4 dB). Minimum absorption
in cortical brain regions is >0.1 mW/kg at a total antenna
input power PBurst of 220 mW. The psSAR10g in all
brain and all head tissues varied between 1.4–3.5 and
9.5–25 mW/kg, respectively.
Table 2 gives a summary of the most important
dosimetric system parameters of the developed exposure
facility.
Although the described exposure setup was
designed for a particular transmission scheme (i.e.
considering a specific timing for data and beacon‐only
transmission), it can easily be adopted to other RF
exposure schemes in the same frequency range. In such a
case, all given SAR values can be linearly scaled with
antenna input power.
CONCLUSION
A newly developed computer‐controlled exposure
facility for double‐blind provocation studies investigating
possible effects of 2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi exposure on human
sleep has been described and dosimetrically analyzed. Six
simultaneously radiating antennas around the head
enabled virtually uniform head exposure, i.e. without
any preferred direction of incidence. The time domain
characteristics of the exposure signal were representing
both idle phases (“beacon only” transmission) and phases
of different data transmission rates. A total RF input
power of 220 mW yielded a typical SAR in cortical brain
regions of approximately 1–2 mW/kg (mass average SAR
over respective brain region). Variations of head positions

during the experiments could lead to deviations from the
indicated SAR values of up to 10 dB.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge FSM—
Swiss Research Foundation for Electricity and
Mobile Communication—for funding this work.
Moreover, thanks goes to Dr. Jürg Fröhlich, Institute
for Electromagnetic Fields, ETH Zürich, for valuable
discussions during the project design phase.
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