subject: Women Inventor [print this page] Doctor Patricia Bath, an African American doctor is the first among women inventors to ever receive a patent for medical invention. She invented a method for removing cataract using laser technique. She patented her invention "Cataract Laserphaco Probe" in 1988 which uses laser power to remove cataract from patient's eyes replacing the earlier method using a drill like device. She also has another invention to her credit which enabled people who were blind for a long period of time to be able to see again.
Miriam Benjamin, a teacher in Washington D.C was the second African American woman to receive a patent. Miriam Benjamin received a patent in 1888 for her invention she called Gong and Signal Chair'. It allowed customers in restaurants to call the waiter from where they were sitting. There is a button on the chair when pressed signals the waiters' station and also light up an indicator from where it was signaled. Her invention was even used in the United States House of Representatives.
While researching on monomolecular coatings Katherine Blodgett's made an amazing discovery in the form of a way to apply the coatings to glass and metal layer by layer. She had found that the thin films when layered to attain a certain thickness completely cancelled the reflection from the underneath surface, resulting in a totally transparent or invisible glass. She has patented the film as well as the process and both have been widely used in many devices such as microscopes, telescopes, camera, and projector lenses and also for limiting distortion in eye glasses. Katherine Blodgett carried on her research and also invented gauge for measuring the thickness of glass films. She was achieved many honors including Photographic Society of America Award and Francis P. Garvin Medal by American Chemical Society.
Bessie Blount, while working as a physical therapist with injured soldiers of World War saw the struggle by the amputees even to have food. This inspired her to invent a device which helps soldiers to feed on their own. She patented her device in 1951. She invented device which is electrically controlled to deliver food to the patient only mouthful at a time. She went on to find another device which can be worn around the neck of the patient. As she didn't receive enough support from United States Veteran's Administration or were able to market it herself, she gave up the rights to French Government in 1952.
Dianne Croteau along with her partners, Richard Brault and Jonathan Vinden invented Actar 911, a mannequin designed to teach CPR or Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation technique. She patented it in 1989. Virginia Apgar, an American doctor invented Apgar tests which was used to evaluate the new born baby's health. She had invented it in 1952 and even now the doctors are using Apgar scores to assess the health of the baby.
Josephine Cochran, a rich woman who conducted many dinner parties looking for a faster way to clean the dishes without breaking it invented the first ever practical dish washer back in 1886.She patented her design and also started producing them through a company which later became the home appliance company KitchenAid. Women inventors went a long way to fulfill goals and enable dreams to be set to reality.
