Before her invention, cataract surgery was effective but crude. Surgeons used a mechanical drill-like tool (a rotating burr) to grind away the cloudy lens. The procedure was loud, imprecise, and generated significant heat that could damage the delicate cornea.

She once said: "I was driven by the need to help. The need to care. The need to solve."

Hold a pen in your hand. Now imagine that pen firing a cool, precise laser beam. That was her vision. The Laserphaco Probe uses a laser to vaporize cataracts in milliseconds, then sucks out the remaining lens material through a tiny tube.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Bath before? Share this story—because history is full of heroes who don’t always make the front page.

Dr. Bath’s answer was .

She asked the obvious question: Why?