Medical scans can deliver dangerous levels of radiation exposure, according to a doctor.Optometrist Royland Samms sounded the warning as part of a debate over soaring healthcare costs.“There is a danger of lifetime exposure to ionising radiation through some forms of diagnostic imaging,” Dr Samms said.Nuclear scans, PET scans and CT scans can involve radiation levels “significantly higher” than those of standard X-rays.A nuclear heart scan, for example, could deliver the radiation equivalent of “2,000 chest X-rays”.Said Dr Samms: “These scans serve a necessary, and often critical, purpose — but given the risks, what are we doing to insure lifetime cumulative exposure is tracked, or that patients fully understand the relative degree of exposure?“Radiation exposure badges exist for the protection of professionals working with these technologies, but what about the patient? What about those whose diagnosis may mean many such scans in their future?”Dr Samms said he’d raised the issue with both the Bermuda Health Council and the Ministry of Health.“Should we all have a personal radiation exposure badge?” he asked. “I don’t know. But at the very least, we ought to be keeping better track.”Cutting down on the duplication of scans, tracking usage and providing “consistent disclosure of the risks” could provide the necessary “chilling effect” on the demands by patients for the use of scans, he added.