US Patent 5,919,186 granted for a laser apparatus for surgery of cataractous lenses, Bath's third patent in the Laserphaco series.
On July 6, 1999, Patricia Bath received her third patent, US Patent 5,919,186, titled 'Laser apparatus for surgery of cataractous lenses.' This continued the evolution of her Laserphaco technology, building on the foundational 1988 patent and the 1998 refinement.
This patent further optimized the laser apparatus design, incorporating improvements likely informed by years of clinical application and feedback from ophthalmic surgeons using earlier iterations of her device around the world. Each successive patent in Bath's portfolio reflects incremental innovation aimed at improving precision, safety, and accessibility of cataract surgery.
Bath's persistence in refining and patenting her inventions across more than a decade underscores the seriousness with which she approached her mission to combat preventable blindness globally. As a physician-inventor, she uniquely bridged clinical practice and engineering, a combination that was rare for any physician of her generation, and especially rare for a Black woman navigating both the medical establishment and the patent system, both of which had historically excluded people who looked like her from positions of authority and innovation.