A hospital in Missouri on Wednesday revealed that its 76 patients received too much radiation, the large majority with brain cancer, over a five-year period because powerful new radiation equipment had been established in a incorrect manner.

The hospital, CoxHealth in Springfield, posted that 50% of all patients undergoing a particular type of treatment, i. e., stereotactic radiation therapy, were overdosed by nearly 50 percent than it was prescribed.

In addition, CoxHealth administrators reported that the physicist who calibrated the machine in 2004 messed up, and 76 of the 152 patients who have received the treatment since then received an overdose

Stereotactic therapy delivers radiation in such high doses that usually only one treatment is needed. It is commonly used to treat small tumors in the head, which must be firmly stabilized, allowing radiation to be delivered to a precise location.

“We have also learned that the incident here at CoxHealth is, unfortunately, not an isolated occurrence. Rather, similar instances of medical overradiation have occurred at other hospitals throughout the country”, Robert H. Bezanson, the hospital’s President and Chief Executive quoted.

The hospital revealed that its stereotactic system is currently suspended indefinitely while the auditing of the entire program is in process.