Your conviction notice

Heating and the safety of medical ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Mobile Phones

Francis Duck, professor at the University of Bath and Honorary Medical Physics professor at the Royal United Hospital, Bath.

BRLSI Wednesday 18^th May 2011

Francis Duck graduated from Nottingham and obtained a PhD from London University.

Ultrasound 2 - 20MHz radio frequency.

MRI and Mobile Phones 50MHz – 2GHZ radio frequency.

·      This can cause tissue heating via the same mechanism as microwave heating in a microwave oven. (He did not state this himself)

·      Blood travels through the capillaries to carry away heat.

[On the speaker:

I find he has a very annoying manner. He speaks very badly dithering with “um” and “err” to waste time. He also has a poor rapport with the audience. His presentation is disorganised and the gaps in his delivery seem as though he is thought disordered.]

The human body rigorously regulated temperature to +0.1°C and -0.4°C over a 24 hour period.

·      Core temperature of 43°C would cause death.

·      Exercise could raise body temperature to over 40°C.

[On the speaker and the talk:

Strange facts and numbers don’t seem to really tie together very well.

What he said about how MRI works earlier in the talk means I don’t think he is reliable.

I think he might be depressed. His attitude is bad – I think he is trying to act like a “quack” a phoney doctor.]

·      Heat is not a carcinogen

·      Heat CAN DAMAGE PREGNANCIES!

-          Very scientifically rigorous data he assures us

[On the speaker and his talk:

One problem with his style is that it is very watery he isn’t really saying anything and also one does not feel comfortable sitting back and listening to what he says – one would have better things to say than him generally on physics. It is really a 1 slide talk. As I said I was thinking of the ducks going “quack” and how I chased a sitting duck off its perch on the embankment by the river into waking up and jumping into the river the other day.]