Have you ever had cataracts (白内障) removed? Then you may see a bit more clearly due to the achievements made by Dr. Patricia Bath. She was born on November 4, 1942 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Different from girls of her time, she was fond of science as a young girl and greatly contributed to a cancer study while in high school. After earning a bachelor's degree from Hunter College in New York City in 1964, Bath attended Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C. and got a medical degree there in 1968.
After graduating from Howard University, Bath worked at Harlem Hospital; later she noticed that in her neighborhood, people leading a hard life suffered from blindness that could have been prevented. From then on, Bath determined to create a new field called "community ophthalmology (眼科学)". It aims to offer eye care to patients who have a hard time gaining regular eye care. Volunteers are trained to examine patients in senior centers or day care programs to test for serious eye conditions and to do vision (视力) testing. Community ophthalmology led to Bath and two others founding the non-profit American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in 1976. The purpose of the organization is to protect, preserve and restore the sight of patients all over the world.
Bath's work with patients with cataracts inspired her to develop a new surgical technique. Cataracts are cloudy things on the eyes that, if not removed, will lead to blindness. Bath wanted to use lasers (激光) to remove them, but the technology did not exist at that time. She spent almost five years researching and developing the technique and equipment. Because of that, Bath earned a medical patent in 1988. Her technique of using lasers to remove cataracts has improved and restored the vision of millions of patients around the world.
