Protection of Medical Equipment against Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP): phase I

The purpose of Phase I was to examine EMP vulnerabilities of medical equipment and to form a technical basis for definition of hardening options. To accomplish this, 1. site surveys were conducted of the deployable MUST and MASH filed hospitals, 2. equipment manuals were obtained, 3. shielding effectiveness of shelters was examined, 4. EMP vulnerability screens were carried out on critical equipment, 5. summaries of vulnerabilities were documented, and 6. feasible hardening options were identified. Findings of this study are that many units of medical equipment are vulnerable to EMP. All vulnerable equipment does not need to be hardened, if it is to be deployed in hardened shelters. Of the 145 units considered for deployment by the Army, it is likely that many will require hardening. This work has demonstrated a cost- effective approach to future assessments and EMP mitigation techniques.