Volume-averaged SAR in adult and child head models when using mobile phones: a computational study with detailed CAD-based models of commercial mobile phones

Previous studies comparing SAR difference in the head of children and adults used highly simplified generic models or half-wave dipole antennas. The objective of this study was to investigate the SAR difference in the head of children and adults using realistic EMF sources based on CAD models of commercial mobile phones. Four MRI-based head phantoms were used in the study. CAD models of Nokia 8310 and 6630 mobile phones were used as exposure sources. Commercially available FDTD software was used for the SAR calculations. SAR values were simulated at frequencies 900 MHz and 1747 MHz for Nokia 8310, and 900 MHz, 1747 MHz and 1950 MHz for Nokia 6630. The main finding of this study was that the SAR distribution/variation in the head models highly depends on the structure of the antenna and phone model, which suggests that the type of the exposure source is the main parameter in EMF exposure studies to be focused on. Although the previous findings regarding significant role of the anatomy of the head, phone position, frequency, local tissue inhomogeneity and tissue composition specifically in the exposed area on SAR difference were confirmed, the SAR values and SAR distributions caused by generic source models cannot be extrapolated to the real device exposures. The general conclusion is that from a volume averaged SAR point of view, no systematic differences between child and adult heads were found.