Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure Scenarios

As data exchange demands increase also in widespread wearable technologies, transitioning to higher bandwidths and mmWave frequencies (30–300 GHz) is essential. This shift raises concerns about RF exposure. At such high frequencies, the most crucial human tissue for RF power absorption is the skin,...

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Main Authors: Silvia Gallucci, Martina Benini, Marta Bonato, Valentina Galletta, Emma Chiaramello, Serena Fiocchi, Gabriella Tognola, Marta Parazzini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4461
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author Silvia Gallucci
Martina Benini
Marta Bonato
Valentina Galletta
Emma Chiaramello
Serena Fiocchi
Gabriella Tognola
Marta Parazzini
author_facet Silvia Gallucci
Martina Benini
Marta Bonato
Valentina Galletta
Emma Chiaramello
Serena Fiocchi
Gabriella Tognola
Marta Parazzini
author_sort Silvia Gallucci
collection DOAJ
description As data exchange demands increase also in widespread wearable technologies, transitioning to higher bandwidths and mmWave frequencies (30–300 GHz) is essential. This shift raises concerns about RF exposure. At such high frequencies, the most crucial human tissue for RF power absorption is the skin, since EMF penetration is superficial. It becomes thus very important to assess how the model used to represent the skin in numerical dosimetry studies affects the estimated level of absorbed power. The present study, for the first time, assesses the absorbed power density (APD) using FDTD simulations on two realistic human models in which: (i) the skin has a two-layer structure made of the stratum corneum and the viable epidermis and dermis layers, and (ii) the skin is modelled as a homogeneous dermis stratum. These results were compared with ones using flat phantom models, with and without the stratified skin. The exposure assessment study was performed with two sources (a wearable patch antenna and a plane wave) tuned to 28 GHz. For the wearable antenna, the results evidence that the exposure levels obtained when using the homogeneous version of the models are always lower than the levels in the stratified skin version with percentage differences from 16% to 30%. This trend is more noticeable with the female model. In the case of plane wave exposure, these differences were less pronounced and lower than 11%.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2025-07-01
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spelling doaj-art-ad7bb325f2fa4f31bee7f1e47465dd3b2025-08-20T03:56:46ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-07-012514446110.3390/s25144461Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure ScenariosSilvia Gallucci0Martina Benini1Marta Bonato2Valentina Galletta3Emma Chiaramello4Serena Fiocchi5Gabriella Tognola6Marta Parazzini7Istituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 20133 Milan, ItalyAs data exchange demands increase also in widespread wearable technologies, transitioning to higher bandwidths and mmWave frequencies (30–300 GHz) is essential. This shift raises concerns about RF exposure. At such high frequencies, the most crucial human tissue for RF power absorption is the skin, since EMF penetration is superficial. It becomes thus very important to assess how the model used to represent the skin in numerical dosimetry studies affects the estimated level of absorbed power. The present study, for the first time, assesses the absorbed power density (APD) using FDTD simulations on two realistic human models in which: (i) the skin has a two-layer structure made of the stratum corneum and the viable epidermis and dermis layers, and (ii) the skin is modelled as a homogeneous dermis stratum. These results were compared with ones using flat phantom models, with and without the stratified skin. The exposure assessment study was performed with two sources (a wearable patch antenna and a plane wave) tuned to 28 GHz. For the wearable antenna, the results evidence that the exposure levels obtained when using the homogeneous version of the models are always lower than the levels in the stratified skin version with percentage differences from 16% to 30%. This trend is more noticeable with the female model. In the case of plane wave exposure, these differences were less pronounced and lower than 11%.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4461absorbed power densitycomputational dosimetrymmWave wearable devicemulti-layer modelsplane wave exposurerealistic human models
spellingShingle Silvia Gallucci
Martina Benini
Marta Bonato
Valentina Galletta
Emma Chiaramello
Serena Fiocchi
Gabriella Tognola
Marta Parazzini
Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure Scenarios
Sensors
absorbed power density
computational dosimetry
mmWave wearable device
multi-layer models
plane wave exposure
realistic human models
title Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure Scenarios
title_full Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure Scenarios
title_fullStr Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure Scenarios
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure Scenarios
title_short Impact of Anthropomorphic Shape and Skin Stratification on Absorbed Power Density in mmWaves Exposure Scenarios
title_sort impact of anthropomorphic shape and skin stratification on absorbed power density in mmwaves exposure scenarios
topic absorbed power density
computational dosimetry
mmWave wearable device
multi-layer models
plane wave exposure
realistic human models
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4461
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