In brief
Dr. David Paton, renowned for transforming a jet into a flying eye hospital, died at 94, inspiring medical education and care worldwide.
David Paton, a forward-thinking ophthalmologist and the mind behind Project Orbis, which adapted a United Airlines jet into a flying hospital, passed away on April 3 in Reno, Nevada, at the age of 94. His son, Townley, confirmed his death. Paton, son of a well-known New York eye surgeon, encountered the harsh realities of preventable blindness while teaching at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University during the 1970s. Feeling disheartened by the number of untreated conditions in remote areas, he wrote in his memoir, “Second Sight: Views from an Eye Doctor’s Odyssey” (2011), about the urgent need for more eye doctors and better training for those already practicing.Paton initially contemplated shipping medical equipment to distant regions like a traveling circus but realized the challenges that presented. He also considered slow-moving medical ships, reminiscent of Project Hope's humanitarian missions, before identifying aviation as the optimal solution. Inspired by the ambitions following the first moon landing, he conceptualized an aircraft that could serve as an operating room, educational space, and medical facility all in one. His legacy includes countless surgeries and improved eye care training across developing countries.
