Pacemaker Exposure to High-Power Microwave Ultrawideband Radiation

One fundamental issue of the use of high-power microwave (HPM) sources is the health impact, in particular for patients who wear active implantable medical devices (AIMDs). This paper presents the effects of HPM ultrawideband (HPM/UWB) radiation on a pacemaker exposed to them, which is one aspect of the compatibility between HPM sources and AIMDs. The pacemaker was placed inside a phantom and exposed to a pulsed electromagnetic field with a rise time of the order of 100 ps and with an amplitude ranging between 350 kV/m and 1 MV/m. These electromagnetic field amplitudes are much higher than those used in classical scenarios involving HPM/UWB sources. Different configurations and programming modes of the pacemaker were tested. On the whole, the results of the experiments show the relative hardness and reliability of the pacemaker subjected to HPM/UWB radiation. A few nonpermanent disruptions occurred when the pulse repetition frequency and the exposure duration reached 100 Hz and 10 s, respectively.