EMC Characterization of Implantable Cardiac Medical Devices in an Anechoic Chamber

A novel electromagnetic characterization of Implantable Cardiac Medical Devices (ICMDs) is presented in this paper. It has been developed in order to determine the immunity level of ICMDs against Radio-Frequency (RF) interference and consists of several Sensitivity Tests, which have been performed in accordance with EMC international standards. The tests have been carried out in an anechoic RF chamber, which guarantees an appropriate management of noise signal injection, shielding against external RF noise sources at the same time. In this way, the operating thresholds of an Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD) have been achieved at different heartbeat frequency, with and without high-frequency noise. As a result, the comparison between the operating thresholds highlight the electromagnetic susceptibility of the ICD under test.