Medical
devices, while designed to improve the lives of patients,
can cause injury or death because of malfunction or improper
instructions to the patient. For example, insulin pump infusion
devices can be faulty in their programming causing hypoglycemic
comas and death. Patient controlled pain pumps in the hospital
can lead to suppressed breathing and coma or death. Heart
catheters can be improperly used in angioplasties, damaging
coronary arteries and leading to serious complications and
heart attacks.
