Abstract
The applications of terahertz (THz) waves have been increasing rapidly in different fields such as information and communication technology, homeland security and biomedical engineering. However, study on the possible health implications due to various biological effects induced by THz waves is relatively scarce. Previously, it has been reported that the human sweat ducts play a significant role in the interaction of the THz wave with human skin due to its coiled structure. This structure imposes on them the electromagnetic character of a helical antenna. To further understand these phenomena, we investigated the morphological features of human sweat ducts and the dielectric properties of their surrounding medium. Based upon these parameters, we estimated the frequency of the resonance of the human sweat duct in a normal mode of operation and our estimation showed that there is a broad resonance around 228 GHz. This result indicates that careful consideration should be given while designing electronic and photonic devices operating in the sub-terahertz frequency region in order to avoid various effects on human health due to these waves.
Highlights
The electromagnetic waves with the frequency range spanning from few hundreds of gigahertz (GHz) to few terahertz (THz) are known as terahertz waves
We found that the dimensions of the helical portion of sweat duct are comparable to the wavelength of terahertz wave and we reported the frequency of resonance in the axial mode of operation [28]
The helix has two modes of operation, in this paper we extended our previous research and studied the frequency of resonance of human sweat duct in normal mode of operation by investigating the various morphological features of sweat duct such as their diameter, length and number of turns
Summary
The electromagnetic waves with the frequency range spanning from few hundreds of gigahertz (GHz) to few terahertz (THz) are known as terahertz waves. The influence of a high peak electric field of the THz wave has been investigated and effects such as DNA damage have been reported [12] Besides these studies, Feldman et al have reported that the human sweat ducts in skin play a significant role in the interaction of THz wave with human skin [13,14]. We found that the dimensions of the helical portion of sweat duct are comparable to the wavelength of terahertz wave and we reported the frequency of resonance in the axial mode of operation [28]. In order to further investigate the influence of human sweat duct on the interaction of the THz wave with skin, it is essential to understand the various modes of operation of such a helical structure. The values are given for the sub-sets (men, women and children) as well as for the total set
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