The Therac-25 machine was a third-generation machine produced by the company AECL which specialized in manufacturing machines which provided radiation therapy to cancer patients. This machine accomplished this by emitting a beam of electrons or x-rays to the cancerous area. This amount of radiation interferes with the cancerous tissue’s ability to grow by disabling the genetic material in the cell. However, since cancerous cells are not the only cells in the body that grow very quickly, skin and hair cells may also become affected by this radiation by causing the hair to fall out and leave lesions on the skin. Fortunately, these cells are usually able to make a full recovery a while after the radiation treatment is ended. AECL improved upon the Therac-25’s predecessors, Therac-6 and
…show more content…
By having a “double pass” electron beam, the Therac-25 could produce much more energy in less amount of space than its predecessors. To put this into context, the normal dosage for an appointment of radiation treatment is around 200 rads (radiation absorbed dose). A dose of 500 rads exposed to the entire body will result in death 50% of the time. The …show more content…
The only part of which I slightly disagree with is that the “pre-market equivalence” route of approving an item into the market should have not have existed in the first place. I believe that if there are any “next-generation” machines or other items attempting to make their way onto the market, they should be subjected to the rigorous testing procedures conducted by the FDA. Even though the FDA did not have any sort of incidents with any devices before or recently afterwards, it could entice some companies to slack off on their safety procedures for updated machines, which could potentially put human lives at
By having a “double pass” electron beam, the Therac-25 could produce much more energy in less amount of space than its predecessors. To put this into context, the normal dosage for an appointment of radiation treatment is around 200 rads (radiation absorbed dose). A dose of 500 rads exposed to the entire body will result in death 50% of the time. The …show more content…
The only part of which I slightly disagree with is that the “pre-market equivalence” route of approving an item into the market should have not have existed in the first place. I believe that if there are any “next-generation” machines or other items attempting to make their way onto the market, they should be subjected to the rigorous testing procedures conducted by the FDA. Even though the FDA did not have any sort of incidents with any devices before or recently afterwards, it could entice some companies to slack off on their safety procedures for updated machines, which could potentially put human lives at