The influence of smartphones’ operation modes on the superficial temperature distribution in the human auricle region

Abstract

In this study, the infrared thermography was used to examine heating effects in human auricle region due to short-duration use of smartphones in normal and flight mode operation by 20 healthy volunteers (age 19-24 years, 9 females and 11 males). Statistically significant differences in both modes were observed between mean temperatures of the auricle regions before and immediately after the use of the smartphone. The increase in tissue temperature resulted from a combined effect of conductive heat transfer caused by the non-microwave-related activity of the smartphone and the absorption of the radiofrequency microwaves. Furthermore, we observed the thermal effect even after 1 h of such short use of the smartphone. The transient temperature change in tissues due to smartphone use can contribute to the cumulative thermal effects and thus both short-and long-duration use of smartphones should be considered in future studies. The small study also showed a gender dimension in the thermal response, which also merits further investigation. The study confirmed the usefulness of using thermography for direct quantitative analyses of temperature changes related to smartphone usage, which can be exploited in future epidemiological studies in personalized and preventive medicine.

Thermal effects of mobile phones on human auricle region

“…Though, linking this with a mobile phone battery model a total overarching simulation for mobile phone thermal effects can be determined. These results will present a more comparable model with clinical test trials for mobile phone use, as in Bauer et al (2018).…”

“…We compared the simulated data with thermographic images taken by Bauer et al (2018) that examined heating effects of smartphones on the human auricle region. Fig.…”

“…a. The use of negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistors (Tahvanainen et al, 2007) b. Infrared (IR) thermography for quantitative analysis of local heating in ears at two different specific absorption rate (SAR) (Kargel et al, 2005) c. IR thermography to measure thermal change in both contact and non-contact use of mobile phones (Lahiri et al, 2015) and d. IR thermography to isolate quantitatively the respective effects of radiative and battery heating of the anatomical part in contact that can accumulate to a pathological development over the years (Bauer et al, 2018).…”

Skin Temperature Distribution over Human Head Due to Handheld Mobile Phone Call using Thermal Imaging Camera

“…Al-Mously (2010) measured the temperature increase in two mobile phone chases, candy bar type Motorola L71 and clamshell type Motorola RAZR V3i, after 60 min call, and then, the two mobile phones were simulated, using 3D EM simulation software, in close proximity to head at cheek position to measure the temperature increase in pinna tissue due to thermal conduction. Bauer, et al (2018) investigated the influence of smartphones' operation modes on the superficial temperature distribution in the human pinna region. He observed that there are statistically significant differences between mean temperatures of the pinna before and immediately after the use of the smartphone, independent of whether RF communication was on (normal mode) or off (flight mode).…”

Non-contact thermal imaging as potential tool for personalized diagnosis and prevention of cellulite

“…Infrared (IR) thermography, in contrast, does not require any direct contact with the patient and allows remote and non-contact assessment of the surface temperature distribution of the examined body [28,29]. The method is widely used for superficial temperature distribution' measurements in medicine, e.g., screening tests [30], prevention [31], diagnosis [32,33], treatment' assessment [34][35][36], physiotherapy [37,38] as well as personalized medicine [39,40].…”