MysteRIous

I've been reading Stephen Galloway's Leading Lady, about Sherry Lansing, the first woman to head a major studio.

It's going along fine and then in chapter 6, Lansing is struck by a car while crossing Wilshire Boulevard.  The year is 1978.  She's rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center:

After an MRI revealed her skull was fractured, a four-hour surgery ensued...

Really?  In the late 70s, MRIs were still in the experimental stage.  I don't think they became regularly available in hospitals until the 1980s, and even then they were rare. I recognize Cedars-Sinai is a leading hospital, and a studio executive like Lansing would have gotten the best care available, but still.

So, unless I'm mistaken, either some source gave Galloway bad information or he just assumed they used an MRI.  Either way, someone should have looked into it before it got into print.