An eye surgeon, Kelman was at his dentist’s office getting his teeth cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner when he got the idea to use a similar device to treat cataracts. Previously, a cataract operation was a painful procedure that required a 10-day hospital stay.
Kelman’s new technique, which he introduced in the 1960s, not only made cataract surgery an outpatient procedure, but it was also more successful. Neurosurgeons later adapted Kelman’s technique, called phaco-emulsification, to remove tumors from children. Dr. Kelman received the National Medal of Technology from President George H.W. Bush in 1992, was named “Ophthalmologist of the Century” by the International Congress on Cataract and Refractive Surgery in 1994, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2004. He died June 1 from lung cancer. He was 74.