![]() ![]() Several universities use the case as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong, and how investigations can be lead astray. The case of the Therac-25 has become one of the most well-known killer software bugs in history. There were no hardware interlocks or supervisory circuits to ensure that software bugs couldn’t result in catastrophic failures. Secondly, the design of the machine relied on the controlling computer alone for safety. Firstly, the software controlling the machine contained bugs which proved to be fatal. During the investigation, it was determined that the root cause of the problem was twofold. For six unfortunate patients in 19, the Therac-25 did the unthinkable: it exposed them to massive overdoses of radiation, killing four and leaving two others with lifelong injuries. ![]() As with chemotherapy, the hope is that the net effect heals the patient more than it harms them. These room-sized medical devices would always cause some collateral damage to healthy tissue around the tumors. Using X-rays or a beam of electrons, radiation therapy machines kill cancerous tissue, even deep inside the body. In layman’s terms it was a “cancer zapper” a linear accelerator with a human as its target. The Therac-25 was not a device anyone was happy to see.
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