1. Black History Month Project Mrs. Athanasakos
Patricia E. Bath

2. Biographical Information
Born in Harlem, New York
Father: Rupert Bath, an educated and well- traveled merchant seaman
Mother: Gladys Bath, a homemaker and housecleaner
They taught her to focus on education and believe in her dreams and ideas

3. Education As a child, she loved books, travel, and science
In high school she excelled in biology.
At 16, she was chosen to attend a summer program offered by the National Science Foundation at Yeshiva University.
While working at Yeshiva, she developed a mathematical equation to predict cancer cell growth.

4. Education She finished high school in two and a half years.
Next, she studied chemistry and physics at Hunter College in N. Y. earning her bachelor’s degree in 1964
She attended medical school at Howard University in Washington, D.C and finished her M.D. in 1968

5. Education & Interests
1969 to She completed a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia University
She brought eye surgery services to Harlem Hospital to help poor African-Americans who were losing their sight
In 1973, she finished her medical training

6. Career “To protect, preserve, and restore the gift of sight”
Her main goal became …
“To protect, preserve, and restore the gift of sight”
for all persons regardless of race, age, or income

7. Career
1974 – Moved to Los Angles to teach at the University of California
1976 – Co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness
1981 – She developed the Laserphaco Probe to treat patients with cataracts

8. The Laserphaco Probe

9. Cataracts & Laserphaco Probe
Cataracts are cloudy areas that develop in the lens inside the eye
The patient’s vision becomes blurry
Cataracts eventually cause blindness

10. Cataracts & Laserphaco Probe
Cataracts were originally treated with harsh and risky surgery
Dr. Bath developed a new surgical procedure that uses a laser to vaporize cataracts with a tiny (1mm.) incision into the patient’s eye

11. Major Accomplishments
First African-American doctor to receive a patent for a medical device
She holds four U. S. patents and several international patents from Japan, Canada and some countries in Europe
The Laserphaco Probe has been used overseas since the year 2000

12. Dr. Patricia E. Bath

13. References Biographical Information
Cataract Information
Images