Dr. patricia e. bath (1949-present)

The following year, she began a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia University as the first Black person at the school to train in the field. Through her studies there, she discovered that Black Americans were twice as likely to suffer from blindness than other patients to which she attended, and eight times more likely to develop glaucoma. Her research led to her development of a community ophthalmology system, which increased the amount of eye care given to people who were unable to afford treatment.

Bath completed her residency in ophthalmology at New York University in Bath moved to California in to work as an assistant professor of surgery at both Charles R. InBath began working on her most well-known invention: the Laserphaco Probe. Harnessing laser technology, the device, completed increated a less painful and more precise treatment of cataracts.

She received a patent for the Laserphaco Probe inbecoming the first African American female doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. She also secured patents in Japan, Canada, and Europe. With her Laserphaco Probe, Bath was able to help restore the sight of individuals who had been blind for more than 30 years. The device is used worldwide and has improved the vision of millions of people.

In total, Bath held five U. In Julyshe was granted a patent for a method of fragmenting and removing cataracts using pulsed ultrasonic energy. Three years later in Aprilher similar patent for combining ultrasound and laser technology to removed cataracts was also approved.

Dr. patricia e. bath (1949-present): Dr. Patricia Bath (–):

Bath made innovative contributions to the field of medicine which had long-lasting impacts on the communities she served. After completing an internship at Harlem Hospital and a fellowship at Columbia, Dr. Bath realized that the African American community of Harlem had disproportionately high cases of blindness compared to Caucasian communities, many of which were preventable.

This observation prompted her to create the discipline of community ophthalmology, where volunteers were trained to offer eye care to underserved communities. This allowed thousands of people to get early preventative care for conditions that would have otherwise been untreated or undiagnosed, saving the eyesight of many. Bath also pioneered a new technique to remove cataracts by inventing a device called the Laserphaco Probe.

This technique is still used around the world, and it has allowed doctors to restore eyesight in a more precise, and less painful, manner than the techniques before it. It was thanks to this device that people such as the woman mentioned above were able to regain their eyesight after experiencing years of blindness. Patricia E. Bath, an ophthalmologist and laser scientist, was an innovative research scientist and advocate for blindness prevention, treatment, and cure.

Her accomplishments include the invention of a new device and technique for cataract surgery known as laserphaco, the creation of a new discipline known as "community ophthalmology," and appointment as the first woman chair of ophthalmology in the United States, at Drew-UCLA in Patricia Bath's dedication to a life in medicine began in childhood, when she was first heard about Dr.

Albert Schweitzer's service to lepers in the Congo. After excelling in her studies in high school and university and earning awards for scientific research as early as age sixteen, Dr. Bath embarked on a career in medicine. Following her internship, Dr. Bath completed her training at New York University between andwhere she was the first African American resident in ophthalmology.

Bath married and had a daughter Eraka, born While motherhood became her priority, she also managed to complete a fellowship in corneal transplantation and keratoprosthesis replacing the human cornea with an artificial one. As a young intern shuttling between Harlem Hospital and Columbia University, Bath was quick to observe that at the eye clinic in Harlem half the patients were blind or visually impaired.

At the eye dr. patricia e. bath (1949-present) at Columbia, by contrast, there were very few obviously blind patients. This observation led her to conduct a retrospective epidemiological study, which documented that blindness among blacks was double that among whites. She reached the conclusion that the high prevalence of blindness among blacks was due to lack of access of ophthalmic care.

As a result, she proposed a new discipline, known as community ophthalmology, which is now operative worldwide. Community ophthalmology combines aspects of public health, community medicine, and clinical ophthalmology to offer primary care to underserved populations. Volunteers trained as eye workers visit senior centers and daycare programs to test vision and screen for cataracts, glaucoma, and other threatening eye conditions.

This outreach has saved the sight of thousands whose problems would otherwise have gone undiagnosed and untreated. Patricia E. Changing the Face of Medicine. Retrieved February 25, Inventors and Inventions. Marshall Cavendish: 69— Retrieved October 28, ABC News. Retrieved March 11, The New York Times. ISSN Retrieved March 24, Capstone Press.

Dr. patricia e. bath (1949-present): Dr. Patricia E. Bath

African American Inventors and Pioneers. Xlibris Corporation. Atlanta Daily World. December 31, ProQuest Retrieved May 10, Journal of the National Medical Association. PMC PMID Influential Women. Retrieved April 19, The Ophthalmologist. September 7, February 4, The Lancet Obituary. Patricia Bath Amazing Scientist. The Innovation Press.

Dr. patricia e. bath (1949-present): Patricia Bath was a groundbreaking Black

June S2CID February J Natl Med Assoc. October BMJ : l Ophthalmologist, Dr. Bath first defined the term community ophthalmology in her presentation to the American Public Health Association meeting in Miami, Florida. May