Calif. hospitals used manufacturer CT scan settings

Joshua W. Buckholtz and David H. Zald

This composite image of brain scans shows two traits of a highly impulsive individual. The cool colors in the midbrain are indicative of a decrease in dopamine receptor levels while the warm colors show elevated levels of dopamine in a different part of the brain called the striatum.

Two more California hospitals where patients were exposed to CT scan radiation overdoses say the scanners were programmed according to manufacturer specifications.

Officials at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center and Bakersfield Memorial Hospital say they followed protocols detailed by Toshiba, manufacturer of the scanners.

There were two patient radiation overdoses at County-USC and 16 at the Bakersfield hospital.

Toshiba says in a statement Monday that it cannot comment because of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation.

The discovery of the problem involving hundreds of patients led the FDA to issue an alert to hospitals nationwide to check scanner settings.

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.