GE Healthcare CT Scanners Doing More Harm Than Good

A recent article in the New York Times cites an ongoing problem with CT scans and over exposure to radiation. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began investigating the occurrences of patients being overdosed with radiation. Primarily, patients were overdosed with radiation during a CT brain perfusion scan, usually performed after someone suffers a stroke. Dangerous side effects can result from an overdose of radiation, such as hair loss, memory loss, confusion, and burns to more long-term effects including brain-damage and cancer.

GE Healthcare, the maker of the CT scanners used when patients were overdosed, states that their is not a problem with their machine, rather, its operator error. However, medical experts believe that GE Healthcare should equip their scanners with controls that would prevent overdosing during CT scans. Toshiba scanners are also being looked at because the manufacturer suggested settings produced levels of radiation that were unhealthy, not necessarily operator error.

Sheller, P.C. is handling GE Healthcare CT Scanner cases. If you have been injured as a result of these scanners, please contact our office at 1-800-883-2299.