Case Analysis-Therac-25

Therac-25 Case

Therac-25 Radiation Overdoses

• Massive overdoses of radiation were given; the machine said no dose had been administered at all
• Caused severe and painful injuries and the death of three patients
• Important to study to avoid repeating errors
• Manufacturer, computer programmer, and hospitals/clinics all have some responsibility

Review this case from your textbook and search the Internet for additional resources on this case. Write a one page analysis addressing the following questions:

• What were the software & design problems? Identify and list them
• Why so many incidents?
• Who’s largely responsible or to blame?
• If you were a judge who had to assign responsibility in this case, how much responsibility would you assign to the programmer, the manufacturer, and the hospital or clinic using the machine?