The California Senate last week passed legislation designed to protect patients from excess medical radiation through measures such as recording the radiation dose from CT scans.
SB 1237 passed the Senate on May 28 on a bipartisan 24-5 vote. The bill, authored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-San Fernando Valley), would establish protocols and safeguards to protect patients from radiation overdoses such as those that occurred at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from 2008 to 2009.
The legislation requires radiation dose levels to be recorded on CT images and in a patient's health records.
Related Reading
Calif. radiation bill up for Senate discussion, May 24, 2010
Settlement reached in Mad River pediatric CT radiation case, May 24, 2010
JACC special issue tackles radiation dose in cardiac imaging, May 14, 2010
FDA hearings rise above medical radiation rhetoric, March 31, 2010
Radiology gears up for FDA radiation hearings, March 30, 2010
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![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
