With a number of cases in the news lately about overdoses of radiation, the US FDA has decided to take action on radiation exposure. Three California hospitals are currently being investigated for exposing patients to excessive and dangerous levels of radiation, including Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Excessive radiation exposure can cause burning of the skin, hair loss, cataracts, cancer, and in some cases, even death.

Computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies, and fluoroscopy, three widely-used imaging techniques, contribute to a large percentage of Americans' total radiation exposure. While standard X-rays, dental X-rays, and mammography are also used extensively for imaging, such scans use much lower doses of radiation and do not contribute as heavily to accumulated radiation exposure and cancer risk. To put it in perspective, the FDA explains that the amount of radiation from an abdominal CT scan is equal to about 400 chest X-rays, or roughly 800 dental X-rays.

Medical imaging has seen great advancements in the last 25 years, and with those technological advancements has come greatly increased use. The FDA's goal is "to support the benefits associated with medical imaging while minimizing the risks," according to Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, the director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

CT scans, nuclear medicine, and fluoroscopy can lead to earlier diagnoses, and improved and more targeted treatment therapies. However, the FDA would like physicians to discuss the use of medical imaging with patients and weigh the risks and benefits of using imaging in each case. The FDA's initiative includes two main principles: to have every imaging procedure be justified for the particular case, and to use the minimum dose of radiation required whenever imaging is used.

While some of the burden is on physicians to make the correct call as to whether imaging is needed, the FDA also has plans to require certain safeguards built into CT and fluoroscopic devices to prevent accidental radiation overdoses. Users of these devices should also be properly and highly trained before operating them. Another facet of the FDA plan is to get patients more aware of their total lifetime radiation exposure, through education initiatives and by developing a medical imaging history card for patients to track their radiation exposure and share with their physicians.