She also helped bring eye surgery services to Harlem Hospital's Eye Clinic, which has since helped to treat and cure thousands of patients. She became the first African American resident at New York University, where she finished her medical training in Meanwhile, she also married and had a child, while completing a fellowship in in corneal and keratoporosthesis surgery.
Eventually, cataracts can lead to blindness. Her idea was very advanced for its time, thus it took more than five years for her to perfect the concept and apply for a patent. She received her first patent for the device in May , followed by another in December She holds four U. The Laserphaco Probe has been used overseas since and has been approved for safety by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.
Bath was the first woman in the country to hold such a position. Bath continued to advocate telemedicine, direct the AIPB, and dedicate time to her passion—the prevention, treatment, and cure of blindness, until she passed away on May 30, , due to complications from cancer. In , Bath became the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology. She moved to California the following year to work as an assistant professor of surgery at both Charles R. In , Bath began working on her most well-known invention: the Laserphaco Probe Harnessing laser technology, the device created a less painful and more precise treatment of cataracts.
She received a patent for the device in , becoming the first African American female doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. She also holds 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. Among her many roles in the medical field, Bath was a strong advocate of telemedicine, which uses technology to provide medical services in remote areas.
Bath died on May 30, , in San Francisco, California. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Marie M.
Daly is best known for being the first African American woman to receive a Ph. Entrepreneur and inventor Sarah E.
Goode was one of the first African American women to receive a United States patent. Bath was also instrumental in bringing ophthalmic surgical services to Harlem Hospital's Eye Clinic, which did not perform eye surgery in She persuaded her professors at Columbia to operate on blind patients for free, and she volunteered as an assistant surgeon.
The first major eye operation at Harlem Hospital was performed in as a result of her efforts. When she became the first woman faculty in the department, she was offered an office "in the basement next to the lab animals.
I said it was inappropriate and succeeded in getting acceptable office space. I decided I was just going to do my work. Despite university policies extolling equality and condemning discrimination, Professor Bath experienced numerous instances of sexism and racism throughout her tenure at both UCLA and Drew. Determined that her scientific endeavors not be obstructed by the "glass ceilings" in the US, she took her research abroad to Europe.
At those institutions she achieved her "personal best" in research and laser science, the fruits of which are evidenced by her laser patents on eye surgery. Bath's work and interests, however, always went beyond the confines of a university. In , she and three other colleagues founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, an organization whose mission is to protect, preserve, and restore the gift of sight.
The AIPB is based on the principle that eyesight is a basic human right and that primary eye care must be made available to all people, everywhere, regardless of their economic status. Much of the work of the AIPB is done though ophthalmic assistants, who are trained in programs at major universities. The institute supports global initiatives to provide newborn infants with protective anti-infection eye drops, to ensure that children who are malnourished receive vitamin A supplements essential for vision, and to vaccinate children against diseases such as measles that can lead to blindness.
On these travels she has performed surgery, taught new medical techniques, donated equipment, lectured, met with colleagues, and witnessed the disparity in health services available in industrial and developing countries. Bath was also a laser scientist and inventor. When she first conceived of the device in , her idea was more advanced than the technology available at the time. It took her nearly five years to complete the research and testing needed to make it work and apply for a patent.
Today the device is use worldwide. With the keratoprosthesis device, Dr. Bath was able to recover the sight of several individuals who had been blind for over 30 years.
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