Commission K – Electromagnetics in Biology and Medicine

 

Chair: Professor James C. Lin (USA)

Vice-Chair: Professor Shoogo Ueno (Japan)

 

 

REPORT ON THE OPEN COMMISSION MEETING (BUSINESS MEETING)

Commission K held a business meting on August 16, 1999.

1. Election of a Vice-Chair

Three candidates were nominated for the position of Vice-Chair for the next triennium: Bernard Veyret (France), Niels Kuster (Switzerland) and Jitendra Behari (India). Of the 54 votes that were cast in the election, Bernard Veyret received the majority vote. Niels Kuster and Jitendra Behari followed respectively.

2. Resolution of Commission K

A resolution of Commission K, which calls for an increase in national support for research on the beneficial applications of electromagnetic fields in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine, was passed unanimously.

3. Resolution of the French National Committee

A resolution of the French National Committee, which proposes to create a network of research centres to distribute and to co-ordinate information distribution in relation to the bioeffects and hazards associated with electric and magnetic fields, was discussed. Also, the relationship with WHO and its large database were discussed. No action was taken in either case.

4. 2001 International Scientific Meeting on Electromagnetic Fields in Medicine

The next meeting of the International Scientific Meeting on Electromagnetic Fields in Medicine will be held in Tokyo, Japan in the spring of 2001.

5. Review of Radio Science and Disk of Reference

Five chapters were contributed to the Review of Radio Science 1996-1999, which was edited by Professor Shoogo Ueno, the editor of Commission K. Chapters included the biological effects and RF dosimetry of mobile communications, bioelectric and biomagnetic measurements, and biomedical applications.

About 800 references were collected for the Disk of collected references of Commission K, which was edited by Professor Masao Taki (Japan). 

6. Expression of Gratitude

The vice-Chair, Professor Shoogo Ueno, congratulated and expressed his sincerest gratitude to the outgoing chair, Professor James C. Lin, for his tremendous efforts and accomplishments in organising and promoting the Commission in the last triennium. 

7. Scientific Programme

7a. Commission K organised four sessions and four joint sessions with Commissions A, B, C and E.

K1 Mechanisms and modelling of electromagnetic interaction with biological systems
Conveners: C. Polk (USA) and G. D'Inzeo (Italy)
K2 Biological effects of electromagnetic fields
Conveners: L. Kheifets (USA) and R. Korenstein (Israel)
K3 Hazard assessment for wireless communications
Conveners: P. Bernardi (Italy) and B. Veyret (France)
K4 Biomedical applications of electromagnetic fields and waves
Conveners: C. Gabriel (UK) and S. Ueno (Japan)
KA Exposure assessment for cellular and personal telecommunications
Conveners: C. Chou (USA) and M. Taki (Japan)
KB Computation of electromagnetic fields in the human body
Conveners: O. Gandhi (USA) and Y. Rahmat-Samii (USA)
KC Health effects of mobile telephones
Conveners: R. Adey (USA), N. Kuster (Switzerland) and E. Bonek (Austria)
KE Electromagnetic interference with medical devices
Conveners: D. Witters (USA) and O. Fujiwara (Japan)

 

Session

Oral

No-Shows

Poster

No-Shows

Participants

K1

8

1

9

4

65

K2

10

0

9

7

80

K3

10

2

0

0

100

K4

11

0

25

12

160

KA

11

1

4

1

80

KB

11

0

11

2

80

KC

8

0

0

0

160

KE

8

0

0

0

40

TOTAL

77

4

58

26

765

 

 

7b. K-Tutorial: An Assessment of the Bioeffects Induced by Power-Line Frequency Electromagnetic Fields

Professor Russel J. Reiter (USA) reviewed studies related to the biological effects of power-line frequency electromagnetic fields as well as possible mechanisms including radical pair models. 160 people attended with great interest.