Experimental verification of a modified Specific Anthropomorphic Mannequin (SAM) head used for SAR measurements

This paper investigates a method of facilitating Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) measurements in the head when using a 1800MHz radiation source placed in front of the face. A Specific Anthropomorphic Mannequin (SAM) head phantom is modified by removing the rear most part to enable fully-automated scanning of the face region by a DASY4 electric-field probe. Prior to the modification, simulations were carried out in FDTD to establish the optimum area to be removed. This paper compares predicted local SAR values behind the face with actual measurements carried out using the new modified SAM phantom head. Measurements show good agreement with simulations, indicating that the modified SAM head is suitable for SAR measurements when the source is placed in front of the face.