Chinese researcher Tu Youyou discovered the substance artemisinin while studying traditional Chinese medicine. The compound is now used in medicines to treat malaria.
The treatment is more effective against the parasite than older remedies such as quinine and has had a major impact in regions where malaria is widespread.
For the discovery, Tu Youyou received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015, according to The Nobel Prize.
Cancer treatment is also based on earlier discoveries. The physicist and chemist Marie Curie discovered the elements radium and polonium.
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Radium was later used in radiation therapy for cancer, which became highly significant for the development of modern cancer treatment.
Diagnostics and assessment
In healthcare, it is also important to be able to quickly assess patients’ conditions.
In 1952, the American physician Virginia Apgar developed a method to assess the health of newborn babies immediately after birth.
The method is called the Apgar score and is still used in hospitals to determine whether the baby needs assistance, for example with breathing.
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Genetic research has also changed the possibilities for detecting disease.
In 1990, the American geneticist Mary-Claire King found a link between the BRCA1 gene and an increased risk of breast cancer.
The discovery made it possible to develop genetic tests and preventive treatment for people at elevated risk, according to Netdoktor and the National Cancer Institute.
Solutions in everyday life
Some inventions were created to help patients in everyday life.
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In the 1950s, the Danish nurse Elise Sørensen began developing an ostomy bag after her sister had undergone ostomy surgery.
The bag could be attached to the abdomen and reduced problems with odor and leakage.
The invention later became the foundation for the company Coloplast, which today sells ostomy products in many countries, according to Læger Formidler and the Danish Biographical Encyclopedia of Women.
Another invention improved eye surgery. In 1986, the American physician Patricia Bath developed a laser for the treatment of cataracts.
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It makes it possible to operate through a very small incision in the eye and insert a new lens with greater precision, according to the Smithsonian Institution and the National Women’s History Museum.
Overall, these examples show that several of the methods and treatments used in healthcare today are based on discoveries made by women.
Sources: Netdoktor, The Nobel Prize, National Cancer Institute, Læger Formidler, Danish Biographical Encyclopedia of Women, Smithsonian Institution, and National Women’s History Museum.
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