A review by the hospital also found that about 20 percent of the patients received exposure directly to the lens of their eyes, which puts them at a higher risk for cataracts, said Simi Singer, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles hospital. Of the newly identified cases, 47 had died by the time the hospital began contacting the victims -- a reflection, hospital officials said, of their serious illnesses and not the radiation exposure. Seven more patients were identified as a result of the ongoing investigation. Hospital officials could not immediately explain how the problem with lens exposure came to light. In a letter to affected patients sent Monday, the hospital's chief operating officer and chief medical officers apologized for the overdoses and stated that Cedars would pay for any medical care associated with them. The hospital also offered patients a chance to meet with a specialist to answer any questions or concerns. In addition, the hospital is telephoning the patients whose lenses may have been exposed, officials said. Hospital officials have said the overdoses began in February 2008 after the hospital made an error while reconfiguring a scanner. The mistake affected only patients undergoing CT brain perfusion scans, used to diagnose strokes. The error wasn't discovered until August 2009, when a patient who received a scan reported hair loss to the hospital. About 80 patients temporarily lost patches of hair as a result of the scans, which delivered eight times the necessary radiation. In the wake of the error, the hospital has established a chain of authority for making such reconfigurations to ensure that they do not result in excess radiation, hospital officials said. CT technologists, who run the machines, will receive extra on-the-job training. 