Analysis of magnetic field profiles in electric blanket users

A theoretical analysis is presented of the magnetic field produced by electric blankets that provide one of the strongest magnetic field exposures among the commonly encountered household sources of power frequency magnetic field. Comparisons between the calculated and measured magnetic fields show that the analytical method based on the Biot-Savart law gives reasonable prediction of magnetic-field exposures associated with an electric blanket use. Experiments with a saline cylinder show that power-frequency magnetic fields penetrate the human body with no significant perturbation, which means that an external current, i.e. a blanket heating element current, is the only source of the magnetic fields in the blanket user´s body