International Woman's Day 2023

Posted by DS Medical on 8th Mar 2023

On this International Women’s Day we would like to highlight the work of some of healthcare and medical technologies most celebrated women.

Women have paid a massive part in the advancements of medicine and medical science, read on below to find out more about some of these exceptional women.

Betty Rozier and Lisa Vallino

Working as a nurse Lisa Vallino decided to create an improved way of performing intravenous injections, as the previous way had a high risk of the needle popping out the vein. Together with her mother, Betty Rozier, they developed a polyethylene site protector – that was smoother and softer, and could be taped easily to the patients arm, with a groove to accommodate the needle.

This device was safer, quicker and less expensive than other methods of IV site protection, and they have won many awards for their invention.

Letitia Geer

Before Letitia Geer, syringes had to be held with both hands. In 1899 Geer designed a one-handed syringe which helped revolutionize health care, making it easier for health care workers and for patients.

The syringe was a simple design and cheap to make, it could be operated with only one hand and both healthcare professionals and patients could use it.

Still to this day her initial designs have inspired modern day syringes.

Florence Nightingale

Nightingale was a British nurse, social reformer and statistician best known as the founder of modern nursing.

After working in some challenging conditions including a cholera outbreak, Nightingale made it her mission to improve hygiene practises, which helped to significantly lower the death rate at the institutions she worked at.

She then worked in a hospital in Constantinople (now Istanbul) as a nurse during the Crimean War, implementing sanitation standards and showing compassion to the injured. Her work reduced the hospital death rate by two thirds.

Nightingale also helped create a Royal Commission into the health of the army. Her ability to translate data into visual formats to show how sanitation was key in healthcare was revolutionary, and her efforts to reform healthcare greatly influenced the quality of care in the 19 ^th and 20^th centuries.

Helen Murray Free

Another pioneer in the diabetes world was Helen Murray Free, who was responsible for developing glucose dipsticks – self-testing diagnostic stripes used for monitoring glucose in urine.

Alongside her husband, Alfred, she also co-authored the book ‘Urinalysis in Laboratory Practice’, which is still a standard work in the field.

Free was a life long advocate of science education, particularly for girls and underprivileged children.

Patricia Era Bath

An ophthalmologist and laser scientist, Bath was an advocate for blindness prevention and treatment. She invented a devices and technique for cataract surgery known as laserphaco.

The device called the Laserphaco Probe, is a surgical tool that uses a laser to vaporise cataracts through a 1mm insertion into a patient’s eye. After the cataract has gone, the patient’s lens can be removed and a replacement lens inserted.

Bath’s innovative device employs a faster, more accurate, and minimally invasive technique, and is used in countries worldwide.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

A pioneering physician, political campaigner and suffragette, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain.

Female physicians were unheard of in 19th century Britain and Anderson came up against many challenges, including rule changes, to stop women becoming doctors.

Even though she had gained a medical degree from the University of Paris, the British Medical Register still refused to recognise her qualification.

However her determination and campaigning soon overturned the rules and in 1876 an act was passed permitting women to enter the medical profession.