The new research project aims at determining the impact of handhelds on consumers' health

Apr 25, 2008 15:11 GMT  ·  By

Ever since mobile phones got popular on the worldwide markets, researchers have been trying to find a link between their emitted radiation and brain cancer conditions. However, given the fact that the achieved results are absolutely irrelevant, anti-mobile phone groups started to pinch other sensitive chords: gonad cancer.

The researchers' explanations would always detail on the fact that, while using the mobile phone, users get the device dangerously close to the parietal bone. Moreover, while holding it inside the pocket, the handheld device spreads radiation fields around, which could trigger miscellaneous conditions related to the crotch area.

However, all the studies conducted by now omitted an essential aspect of using mobile phones: the device almost always rests in the palm of the user's hand, and transfers the largest amount of radiation. A group of scientists at the Mobile and Satellite Communications Research Center with the University of Bradford are now studying the effect of cellular radiation on the hand.

In order to test the side effects of using modern technology, they have built an $1,590,000 'anechoic chamber' that isolate other types of radio signals. According to the project's manager, Professor Raed Abd-Alhameed, the project focuses on how mobile radiation affects people.

"The EPSRC is funding research here into the design of new antennas for mobile phone handsets to reduce 'coupling' between the hand and the handset," he stated. "

The newly-built 100 cubic meters chamber will play an important role in some of MSCRC's research related to mobile use. The Bradford researchers are not only investigating the impact of mobile phones on the human, but they are also looking to improve designs and especially the antennas in such a manner to deliver more throughput at lower radiation.

What that basically means is that we are looking at how a different sort of antenna could reduce the amount of radiation that passes into your hand when you hold a mobile phone, which not only might have health implications but also impairs the performance of the handset," he continued.