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4 Black Innovators in Medicine

Z. Garnett

This Black History Month, we honor the contributions of black pioneers in the medical field. From medical treatments to inventions, their sacrifices have paved the way and made an impact that we are still benefitting from this very day. Here are 4 Black Innovators who had a profound impact in Medicine:


1.      Otis Boykin

 

Otis Boykin was an American inventor and engineer. Throughout the course of his career, Boykin held nearly 30 patents for electronic devices. He would go on to create a control unit which helped to improve the pacemaker, which nearly 3 million Americans rely on to help their hearts beat regularly.

 

2.      Dr. Charles Drew


Dr. Charles Drew was a surgeon and medical researcher. Affectionately known as “The Father of The Blood Bank,” he developed techniques to store blood plasma for transfusions, thus laying the foundation for establishing large-scale blood banks. In 1941, Dr. Drew served as a medical director for the Red Cross’ first National Blood Collection Program. Upon leaving the Red Cross, Dr. Drew worked to train Black surgeons at Howard University until his death in 1950.

 

3.      Dr. Daniel Hale Williams

 

In 1893, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams became the first physician to successfully perform open heart surgery. If this wasn’t groundbreaking enough, it was performed without x-rays, antibiotics, surgical prep work, or tools of modern surgery. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founded the Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses (now known as Provident Hospital of Cook County in Chicago).

 

4.      Dr. Patricia Bath

 

Dr. Patricia Bath was a groundbreaking Ophthalmologist, innovative research scientist, and advocate for Blindness prevention. She was the first black person to complete a residency in Ophthalmology. In addition, she was also the first black female physician to receive a medical invention patent after creating the Laserphaco Probe, a surgical tool that results in less painful and more precise treatment of cataracts.

 

 

 Were you aware of these Black innovators? Leave a comment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

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