GQ - Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous to Your Health To flip pages in this article you have to enter the next number in the little page number box you'll find at the bottom right. http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radia... and 15,000 will die from CT scans done in 1 year Scans have higher levels of radiation than thought, researchers say http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34420356/ns/health-cancehttp://www.nytimes.com/2... updated 2:14 p.m. PT, Mon., Dec . 14, 2009 CHICAGO - Radiation from CT scans done in 2007 will cause 29,000 cancers and kill nearly 15,000 Americans, researchers said Monday. The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, add to mounting evidence that Americans are overexposed to radiation from diagnostic tests, especially from a specialized kind of X-ray called a computed tomography, or CT, scan. "What we learned is there is a significant amount of radiation with these CT scans, more than what we thought, and there is a significant number of cancers," said Dr. Rita Redberg, editor of the Archives of Internal Medicine, where the studies were published. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here "It's estimated that just from the CT scans done in one year, just in 2007, there will be 15,000 excess deaths," Redberg said in a telephone interview. "We're doing millions of CT scans every year and the numbers are increasing. That is a lot of excess deaths." CT scans give doctors a view inside the body, often eliminating the need for exploratory surgery. But CT scans involve much higher radiation dose than conventional X-rays. A chest CT scan exposes the patient to more than 100 times the radiation dose of a chest X-ray. 70 million scans done in 2007 About 70 million CT scans were done on Americans in 2007, up from 3 million in 1980. Amy Berrington de Gonzalez of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues developed a computer model to estimate the impact of so many scans. Video Doctor: Radiation danger from CT scans 'serious' Dec. 14: Dr. Rita Redberg, a cardiologist at the University of California at San Francisco and the editor of the Archives of Internal Medicine, says commonly performed CT scans are exposing patients to more radiation than previously thought. Nightly News They estimated the scans done in 2007 will cause 29,000 cancers. A third of the projected cancers will occur in people who were ages 35 to 54 when they got their CT, two-thirds will occur in women and 15 percent will arise from scans done in children or teens. The researchers estimated there will be an extra 2,000 excess breast cancers just from CT scans done in 2007. Redberg, who wrote a commentary on the studies, said U.S. doctors' enthusiasm for the tests has led to an explosion in their use that is putting patients at risk. "While certainly some of the scans are incredibly important and life saving, it is also certain that some of them were not necessary," Redberg said. In a separate study, Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues analyzed data from 1,119 patients undergoing the 11 most common types of diagnostic CT scans at four institutions in 2008. They found radiation dosage varied widely between different types of CT studies, from a median or midpoint of 2 millisieverts for a routine head CT scan to 31 millisieverts for a scan of the abdomen and pelvis, which often involves taking multiple images of the same organ. By comparison, the average American is exposed to about 3 millisieverts of radiation a year from ground radon or flying in an airplane — a level not considered a risk to health. The researchers said efforts need to be taken to minimize CT radiation exposure, including reducing the number of unnecessary tests, cutting the dose per study, and standardizing the doses across facilities. Imaging equipment makers such as GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips and Toshiba Medical Systems are working to develop low-dose CT scanners. Understanding different types of scans CT scan Computed tomography (CT) scans use X-rays and computers to produce images of a cross-section of the body. Some patients are required to drink a contrast liquid before the scan or have it injected into a vein to help emphasize blood vessels, bowels or other structures. Patients lie still on a table as the donut-shaped X-ray tube rotates around them, sending doses of radiation through them at various angles. Most CT scans take just a few minutes. CT scans generally provide good detail about bony structures. MRI scan Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues within the body. Most MRI machines are large, tube-shaped magnets. The machine looks like a tunnel that has both ends open. Patients must lie very still during the scan, which can take about an hour. Inside the machine, patients hear repetitive tapping and thumping sounds made by the internal part of the magnet. During the scan, the magnetic field temporarily aligns the water molecules in the patient's body and radio waves cause them to produce faint signals that create cross sectional images that can be combined to produce a 3-D image. PET scan A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging test designed to show how a patient's tissues and organs are functioning. Patients inhale, swallow or receive an injection of a small amount of radioactive material, which usually accumulates in areas that have the highest chemical activity, often corresponding to areas of disease. PET scans can help evaluate heart disease, cancer and neurological problems. During the test, patients lie on a narrow table that slides into the opening of the PET scanner, which is similar to a CT machine. Patients must remain very still during the 30 minutes it often takes to complete the scan to prevent images from being blurred. Unlike a CT or MRI scan, a PET scan reveals cellular-level metabolic changes in an organ or tissue. X-ray A conventional X-ray exam uses electromagnetic radiation to make specific images of a patient's bones, teeth and internal organs. X-rays are used to assess conditions ranging from broken bones to pneumonia to cancer. Source: Mayoclinic.com, Clevelandclinic.org Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.