Cat Scan Radiation Overexposure

A former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientist was eliminated from his position after expressing disapproval of a CT scanner for use in routine colon cancer screenings, said Healthier Talk, citing the Seattle Times. The scientist was concerned with the test’s health risks.

At a public hearing on the issue the scientist said he “objected to exposing otherwise healthy patients to the cancer risks of radiation” and that “scientific and regulatory review process for medical devices was being distorted by managers who were not following …

CT (CAT) scan machines manufactured by General Electric and Toshiba are at the center of a nationwide probe involving dangerous radiation overdoses

Update 8/2/2010

A New York Times investigation published in July 2010 found that the CT scan radiation overdose scandal was far worse than what the FDA reported. According to the Times, more than 400 people around the country received radiation overdoses during CT brain perfusion scans.

The botched scans occurred at other hospitals not previously mentioned in the FDA alerts. These included: Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center, where one patient received seven and a half times the amount generally used; Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, where 16 people received up to five and a half times too much; South Lake Hospital in central Florida, where an unknown number of …