US researchers are warning of the potential risks from CT scans, a standard method used to create detailed images of the body for diagnosing diseases.

Computed tomography (CT or CAT) scans use X-rays to create a three-dimensional image of a patient.

The scanner looks like a large tube. A patient lying on a table is moved inside the scanner, and X-ray instruments inside the machine are used to take hundreds of pictures of their body.

The method is different than magnetic imaging resonance (MRI) scans, although the tube-like equipment used to scan the patient is similar. MRI scanners instead use powerful magnets to send radio waves through the body to create images.

Both enable highly detailed pictures of the human body to be produced.

However, exposure to X-rays comes with risks.

"CT can save lives, but its potential harms are often overlooked," said Rebecca Smith-Bindman, a radiologist from University of California San Francisco, who was a lead researcher on the study.

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