Patricia Bath was an American ophthalmologist, inventor, and academic, a pioneer in many areas as a woman and as an African American.
She was the first African American woman to receive a patent for medical purposes. Its ” Laserphaco Probe ” is used for the treatment of cataracts. Owner of four patents, and founder of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in Washington , DC She is considered the mother of modern ophthalmology.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical data
- 2 Career
- 3 Laserphaco Cataract Probe
- 4 Inventions
- 5 Honors
- 6 Death
- 7 Sources
Biographical data
Patricia Bath was born on 4 of November of 1942 in Harlem , City of New York . His father Rupert was a newspaper columnist and merchant, and his mother Gladys was a housekeeper. Patricia and her brother attended Charles Evans Hughes High School in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York.
Career
Already at age 16, participating in scholarships and mentoring, Patricia was awarded for her scientific research. He studied chemistry and later medicine, and began working between Harlem Hospital and doing his residency at Columbia University , where he specialized in ophthalmology. It was while working in clinics in both New York City neighborhoods that she noticed that African-Americans and those from poorer neighborhoods had more vision problems. This is because they did not have ophthalmological health since childhood, and low-income communities had less access to this area of health.
At the Harlem Hospital Center, he focused on finding treatments for blindness and visual impairment. In 1969, she and several other doctors performed hospital eye surgery for the first time.
Bath used her personal experience as a medical professional to publish a paper demonstrating higher rates of blindness among African Americans. His observations led him to develop a new field of study known as “community ophthalmology;” It is based on their recognition that blindness was more common among underserved populations, both in the United States and around the world. Bath supports community health initiatives aimed at reducing blindness within these communities through preventive care and other measures.
Patricia started a series of exchanges, encouraging ophthalmologists to do free surgeries for low-income people, and more; his initiative was dubbed communal ophthalmology. In 1973 she went to UCLA, on the other coast of the United States, where she was the first black woman to be a member of the ophthalmology faculty. He continued to lead initiatives focused on improving the vision of people, especially those with less access to health. In 1976, she was one of the co-founders of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, which established that “vision is a basic human right.”
In 1977, he founded the American Bath Institute for the Prevention of Blindness (AIPB). The organization supports the training of medical professionals and the treatment of people with eye problems around the world. As a representative of the AIPB, Bath participated in humanitarian missions to developing countries, where she provided treatment to numerous people. One of her favorite experiences in this capacity, according to her, was traveling to North Africa and treating a woman who had been blind for 30 years. The AIPB also supports preventive care, including providing children around the world with protective eye drops, vitamin A supplements, and vaccines for diseases that can cause blindness.
Laserphaco cataract probe
Bath’s dedication to the treatment and prevention of blindness led her to develop the Laserphaco Cataract Probe. Patented in 1988, the probe was designed to use the power of a laser to quickly and painlessly vaporize cataracts from patients’ eyes, replacing the more common method of using a drill-like grinding device to eliminate afflictions. The toilet device is now used throughout the world to treat blind patients. Patricia served on the UCLA faculty for many years before retiring in 1993. She lectured at many medical institutions, including Howard University School of Medicine, and published numerous articles on her research and inventions.
Inventions
Bath was the holder of four patents in the United States:
- In 1981, he conceived the Laserphaco probe, a medical device that enhances the use of lasers for removing cataracts, and “for ablation and removal of cataract lenses.” The device was completed in 1986, after Bath researched lasers in Berlin, and patented it in 1988, making her the first African-American to receive a patent for medical use. The device – which dissolves the cataract with a laser quickly and almost painlessly, irrigates and cleanses the eye, and allows easy insertion of a new lens – is used internationally to treat this condition. Bath continued to improve the device and successfully restored the vision of disabled people for decades.
- Three of Bath’s four patents are related to the Laserphaco probe. In 2000, he was granted a patent for a method devised to use ultrasound technology to treat cataracts.
Honors
Bath received honors from two of its universities. Hunter College placed her in their “hall of fame” in 1988 and Howard University named her a “Howard University Pioneer in Academic Medicine” in 1993. An illustrated book about her life and work in science was published. published in 2017, which was cited by both the National Association of Science Teachers and the Chicago Public Library’s list of the best books of the year.
Death
Passes away 30 of maypole of 2019 at UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco , California , United States , to consecuancia of cancer.
