RE: Short Wave Diathermy Treatment

["Eric Cowdrey" <ericc@cancercare.mb.ca>]

Short-wave diathermy appears to be a modality that is becoming less popular
with time. In Manitoba, these devices are usually found in the physiotherapy
or rehabilitation departments of hospitals.

It is not unusual to find RF fields that exceed occupational exposure limits
within 1 meter (occasionally more, depending on the RF power output) of the
applicator and cables. Also, from time-to-time, reports of operators getting
shocks are received by Manitoba Radiation Protection Officers.

Health Canada has a PDF report on a website:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ehp/ehd/catalogue/rpb.htm#technical

Look for:

Safety Code 25. Short-Wave Diathermy Guidelines for Limited Radiofrequency
Exposure, 1983,  19 p.

Provides general advice to the operators of short-wave diathermy devices,
that would assist them in limiting their exposure to radio-frequency
radiation. The document also provides data on field intensities for common
treatments, methods of measuring the exposure and a brief summary of
reported biological effects.

**************************************************************

Eric Cowdrey, M.Sc. (Physics)
Radiation Protection Officer
Department of Medical Physics
CancerCare Manitoba
100 Olivia Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba    R3E 0V9
CANADA

Tel (204) 787-2166
Fax (204) 775-1684
e-mail ericc@cancercare.mb.ca

Industrial hygiene in Manitoba: http://aiha.cancercare.mb.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
[mailto:radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu]On Behalf Of Moshe Levita
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2000 3:28 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Short Wave Diathermy Treatment


Dear Radsafers,

Does any one have information about possible occupational
health hazards in "Short Wave Diathermy Treatment" ?



Thanks,

Moshe Levita
Chief Radition Executive
Ministry of Health
Israel

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: Moshe Levita <mlevita@netvision.net.il>    :
: 07/27/00 23:05:02   ICQ = 523720           :
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