[Web Feed] When you're strapping a patient to an electron gun capable of delivering a 25...

..MeV particle beam, following procedure is vitally important. Th



When you're strapping a patient to an electron gun capable of delivering a 25MeV particle beam, _following procedure_ is vitally important. The technician operating the Therac-25 radiotherapy machine at the East Texas Cancer Center (ETCC) had been running this machine, and those like it, long enough that she had the routine down.

On March 21, 1986, the technician brought a patient into the treatment room. She checked their prescription, and positioned them onto the bed of the Therac-25. Above the patient was the end-point of the emitter, a turntable which allowed her to select what kind of beam the device would emit. First, she set the turntable to a simple optical laser mode, and used that to position the patient so that the beam struck a small section of his upper back, just to one side of his spine...




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The Therac-25 Incident - The Daily WTF: https://thedailywtf.com/articles/the-therac-25-incident