Commission K
Electromagnetics in Biology and Medicine

Chair : Professor P. Bernardi (Italy)
Vice-Chair : Professor J.C. Lin (U.S.A.)

The Commission held a single Open Commission Meeting, on 3 September.

14 member representatives and several observers were present at the meeting. The chairman welcomed the members and briefed the representatives on the activities of the Commission during the past three years.

Among the decisions were:

1. Election of Professor Shoogo Ueno of Japan as Vice Chair for 1996-1999;
2. Inclusion of a new term of reference for Commission K, which reads, "g. Electromagnetic field interference with medical devices either implanted or connected to the human body."
3. Organisation and sponsorship of the "Third International Symposium on Electromagnetics in Medicine' to be held in Chicago, USA on November 3-5, 1997.

The meeting was concluded with a vote of thanks to Professor Paolo Bernardi for his excellent service as Commission Chair for 1993-1996.

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME

There were four sessions Organised by Commission K and three sessions Organised jointly with Commissions A, B, and E. The four Commission K sessions consisted of 14 invited presentations, 25 contributed papers and 29 poster papers. The topics were; biological effects and mechanisms of interaction, safety of ELF and LF Fields, safety of wireless communications, and medical applications of EM waves. The joint sessions had 17 invited presentations, 10 contributed papers and 2 posters on the topics of human exposure assessment and related measurement, EM modeling in bioelectromagnetics, and characterization of EM sources and design to minimize coupling to human body. In addition, Commission K was the sponsor of a tutorial lecture and it was attended by an estimated 600 participants. The number of participants at each session varied somewhat but very high and was estimated to range from 60 - 140. Clearly, the sessions were well attended and the participants were enthusiastic.

Resolution:

Commission K was instrumental in the URSI Council's adoption of a resolution to establish an Inter-Commission Working Group on the Safety of Medical Devices in the Presence of Electromagnetic Fields, during the General Assembly in Lille, France. The resolution notes that there is now increasing evidence that electromagnetic fields from wireless communication devices may affect the operation of some medical devices - either implanted or connected to the human body - and as a result may pose a problem to the operation and health. The Working Group will consist of representatives from Commissions K and E. It aims to study the specific behaviour of implanted equipment; the characteristic of connected medical equipment; modeling methods; specific measurements; and influence of the person on electromagnetic interference.

Commission K Organised four Scientific Sessions, namely :

• K1 Biological Effects and Mechanisms of Interactions (I+C+P)
  A. Chiabrera (Italy) and B. Veyret (France)

• K2 Safety of ELF and LF Applications (I+C+P)
  C. Polk (USA) and L. D. Szabo (Hungary)

• K3 Safety of Wireless Communication (I+C+P)
  N. Kuster (Switzerland) and J. C. Lin (USA)

• K4 Medical Applications of EM Waves (Diagnostic and Therapeutic) (I+C+P)
  K. M. Reineck (South Africa) and S. Ueno (Japan)

The Commission was also participated in the following joint sessions :

• KA Human Exposure Assessment and Related Measurements (I+C+P)
  K: L.E. Paulsson (Sweden) and A: S. Tofani (Italy)

• KB Electromagnetic Modelling in Bioelectromagnetics (I+C+P)
  K: O. P. Gandhi (USA) and B: P. Excell (UK)

• EK Characterization of EM-sources and design of equipment for minimum coupling with the human body. (I+P)
  E: R. De Leo (Italy) and K: H. Korniewicz (Poland)