Analysis of radiofrequency energy stored in the altered shapes: Stomatocyte–echinocyte of human erythrocytes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the electromagnetic energy stored in stomatocyte, erythrocyte and echinocyte cells exposed to a linearly polarized electromagnetic plane wave at 900, 1800 and 2450 MHz radiofrequency signals. This analysis can provide a better understanding of the order of appearance of altered shapes of erythrocytes (RBC) in the stomatocyte–echinocyte transition under radiofrequency exposure in terms of the deposited electromagnetic energy. For this purpose we use a realistic geometrical cell model based on parametric equations that allow for continuous transformations between normal erythrocytes and three stomatocyte subclasses with different degree of invagination and also between normal erythrocytes and echinocytes with an arbitrary number of spicules. We use a finite element technique with adaptive meshing for calculating the electromagnetic energy deposited on the different regions of the cell models. It is found that the echinocyte cell stores the minimum electromagnetic energy and therefore from an energetic point of view it would be the most stable and preferred cell state when this electromagnetic energy is the predominant energy component.