rads gone bads

[neutron reaper]

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I thought this forum might find this bbc article interesting.

About pts receiving too much radiation in France

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7049319.stm

 

[Mulletfluf]

This has happened a few times before sadly. A few years ago in Florida and Colorado. Although, unrelated we did have the whole malfunction 54 incident 20 years ago too.

 

[stephew]

As per ACRO:
in early 2007 the WHO establied a world alliance for patient safely. In England's North Staffodshire Royal Infirmary, 1000 cancer patients had been receiving overdoses for 10 years because technicians were unable to use teh treatment computer properly.

 

[G'ville Nole]

The Therac 25 incidents are occasionally brought up as a cautionary tale in physics lectures (ours, at least). Not a bad idea to be passingly familiar with it.

Wiki has a reasonable summary; there are some pretty good "official" links at the bottom as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac_25

 

[Mulletfluf]

Malfunction 54 is what appeared on the computer screen during the therac-25 incidents. I actually have a picture of the cherenkov radiation in the water phantom generated by the AECL machine. If anyone is interested, i'll scan and post it.

 

[Mulletfluf]

I was reading fark tonight and came across this one:
http://www.news4jax.com/health/14455533/detail.html

 

[napoleondynamite]

I like how it's the physicists fault for misreading the CT

 

[Mulletfluf]

I wasn't aware that an MRI couch had enough travel to allow a head scan to be done feet first.

 

[stephew]

doesnt necessarily result in damage to the patient.. just an ablative procedure to the normal tissue. lets hope it was a noneloquent side and there is no symptomatic necrosis.