Fatal Dose – Radiation Deaths linked to AECL Computer Errors (1994)
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Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment order>>As a result of the Therac-25 accidents, the FDA now requires documentation on software for new medical and other products: a paper trail, in other words, that can be examined by an independent body and retraced for flaws.<< Anyone have any idea if this can be looked at by the end user? I'm not a radiation technologist of the flavour mentioned in the article, I'm on the diagnostic side. I use an MR scanner with numerous software bugs that I…
> She verified everything else and turned on the beam. The machine stopped and the computer screen flashed "Malfunction 54," a mysterious message not even mentioned in the Therac-25 manual. > [...] the Therac-25 typically issued up to four error messages a day. It did so by displaying "Malfunction" plus a number, from 1 through 64. No explanation was offered by the computer nor was there any reference to the malfunction codes in the operator's manual. Technicians could, in most…
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 218
- Total comments
- 119
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-07-05 | Fatal Dose – Radiation Deaths linked to AECL Computer Errors (1994)First breakout · Best thread | agopinath | 120 | 40 |
| 2018-01-26 | Radiation Therapy Gone Wrong | joering2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019-06-04 | Fatal Dose – Radiation Deaths linked to AECL Computer Errors (1994)Latest 20+ point return | pionerkotik | 96 | 79 |