An idea is not a finished deviceSourced
The 1988 patent followed years of development
Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath conceived a laser device for cataract surgery in 1981. Following research including work in Berlin, the device was completed in 1986 and patented in the United States in 1988. The date attached to a patent does not capture all the development that preceded it.
The invention had a timeline before it had a patent date.
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Patricia Bath · Wikimedia contributors
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Reviewed: 2026-10-05