Electromagnetic field environment in a typical hospital

The increase of electromagnetic fields sources in susceptible environments, such as hospitals, has led to researchers around the world to quantify the potential risk of electromagnetic interference on medical equipment. To reduce risks in these equipments, it is important to know the electromagnetic field environment that can be found in the hospitals and clinics. In this paper, the results of electromagnetic field measurements, both low and high frequency, carried out in different departments of a large hospital are presented. The results show that power frequency magnetic field in some rooms was higher than immunity test levels established by international standard for medical devices. However, the high frequency electric field environment in all rooms measured was lower than international standard.