Diagnosis: too Much Diagnosis

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1,300 Radiation dose, in millirems (mrem), from a single full-body computed tomography (CT) scan


1.5 Miles Distance you’d need to have been from the Hiroshima atomic explosion to receive an equivalent dose


29 Radiation dose, in mrem, from smoking a pack of cigarettes


.08% Increase in risk of death from cancer after a full-body CT scan


3.75% Increase in risk of death from cancer if you receive a full-body CT scan annually starting at age 25


300 Average annual radiation dose from natural sources, in mrem, per person in the U.S.


1 Average annual radiation dose, in mrem, from eating one or two bananas a week


57 MILLION Number of full-body CT scans performed in 2003


$16 BILLION Estimated annual cost of unnecessary diagnostic imaging


7 Percentage of patients informed of the risks of their CT scans


Sources: American College of Radiology, David J. Brenner/Columbia University Medical Center, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, David C. Levin/Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, National Institutes of Health, Nuclear Energy Institute, Yale University School of Medicine