On Friday, experts told a congressional panel that the U. S. government needs to set up national guidelines for controlling the amount of radiation a patient gets from diagnostic exams and treatments and the level of training required by a medical technician who delivers it.

James Parks’ son Scott Jerome-Parks, 43, succumbed to death from a radiation overdose at a New York City hospital.

The House panel and the witnesses emphasized that medical radiation was overall very safe and in spite of some flaws in how it was sometimes administered, they did not want to frighten patients from getting the kinds of tests and treatments. For example, devices that produce 3D images inside the body had virtually eradicated exploratory surgery.

However, much of the hearing was focused on CT scans, which “delivers approximately the same radiation as getting 1,500 dental X-rays”, said one witness, Rebecca Smith-Bindman, a Professor of Radiology, Epidemiology and Biostatics at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Smith-Bindman said that knowing the hazards of too much radiation, it is essential that the lowest possible dose be given.

David Fisher, the Executive Director of the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, said major manufacturers had responded to reports of over-radiation by agreeing that new scans would include alerts and warnings when doses exceeded recommended levels.