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The Therac-25 was a medical linear accelerator developed in the 1980s that was plagued by software problems leading to patient deaths. It was an example of system engineering failure because the engineers did not properly consider the software and safety aspects. While the hardware was advanced, the software was not properly designed or tested and had bugs that could cause massive radiation overdoses. Additionally, the machine lacked adequate safety features to prevent accidents. The Therac-25 case highlights the importance of careful software testing and safety design in system engineering to ensure patient safety and reliability.

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32 views

Essay

The Therac-25 was a medical linear accelerator developed in the 1980s that was plagued by software problems leading to patient deaths. It was an example of system engineering failure because the engineers did not properly consider the software and safety aspects. While the hardware was advanced, the software was not properly designed or tested and had bugs that could cause massive radiation overdoses. Additionally, the machine lacked adequate safety features to prevent accidents. The Therac-25 case highlights the importance of careful software testing and safety design in system engineering to ensure patient safety and reliability.

Uploaded by

Nurullah Mertel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ANKARA UNIVERSITY

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS


ENGINEERING

Assignment #2

EEE0403 Systems Engineering

27.10.2023

Student
Nurullah MERTEL
18290219

Lecturer
Dr. M. Koray AKKAYA

1
Case 1: Radiation Therapy
The Therac‐25 was a medical linear accelerator, or linac, developed by Atomic Energy of
Canada Limited (AECL) and CGR MeV in the early 1980s. It was the most advanced linac of
its time, offering a variety of features that made it more versatile and efficient than previous
models. However, the Therac‐25 was also plagued by software problems that led to several
serious accidents, including at least three deaths.

The Therac‐25 case is a classic example of a system engineering failure. System engineering
is a discipline that applies engineering principles to the design and development of complex
systems. The goal of system engineering is to ensure that all of the components of a system
work together smoothly to achieve the desired outcome. In the case of the Therac‐25, the
system engineers failed to properly consider the software and safety aspects of the machine.
The software was not properly designed or tested, and the machine did not have adequate
safety features. As a result, the Therac‐25 was tend to deliver massive overdoses of radiation
to patients.

One of the few successful aspects of the Therac‐25 project was the development of the
hardware itself. The Therac‐25 was a very advanced machine for its time, and the hardware
was generally reliable. However, the software and safety aspects of the machine were a
complete failure. The software was responsible for controlling all aspects of the machine's
operation, including the delivery of radiation to patients, whereas the software contained
several bugs that could cause the machine to deliver massive overdoses of radiation. Another
problem with the Therac‐25 was that it did not have adequate safety features. The machine
did have some safety interlocks, but these could be easily bypassed by operators. Lastly, the
machine did not have any way to detect or prevent overdoses.

The Therac‐25 case highlights the importance of software design and testing in system
engineering projects. Its software should have been subjected to careful testing before the
machine was released for clinical use. Additionally, the machine should have been designed
with more safety features to prevent overdoses.

The Therac‐25 case is a sobering reminder of the importance of system engineering. System
engineers must carefully consider all aspects of a system, including the software and safety
aspects, in order to ensure that the system is safe and reliable.

References
 incose.org/publications/products/se-handbook-v4
 therac.pdf (mit.edu)
 An investigation of the Therac-25 accidents | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE
Xplore
 Medical Device Recalls: Examination of Selected Cases (dtic.mil)

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