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Engineer

Willem Kolff

Also Known As Pim Kolff
Biomedical Engineering

Dutch-American physician and medical researcher, regarded as a founding figure of biomedical engineering and artificial-organ medicine. He built the first working dialysis machine (an artificial kidney) in 1943, treating patients in occupied Netherlands with a device improvised from orange juice cans, auto parts and sausage casings. He later became head of the University of Utah's Division of Artificial Organs and Institute for Biomedical Engineering, where he led development of the artificial heart; the first permanent artificial heart was implanted in patient Barney Clark in 1982. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Birth Year
1911 1
Birth Date
1911-02-14 1
Death Year
2009 1
Death Date
2009-02-11 1
Nationality
Dutch 1
Naturalized United States citizen in 1955; carried out his major career work at the University of Utah.
Connections

Associated With

Biomedical Engineering, Fields

Built the first working dialysis machine.

In Field

Biomedical Engineering, Fields

Regarded as a founding figure of biomedical engineering; built the first working dialysis machine in 1943 and later led the University of Utah's Institute for Biomedical Engineering.

Source Willem Kolff (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors

Invented

Artificial Heart, Inventions

Part of the team, with William DeVries and Robert Jarvik, that developed the Jarvik-7, implanted as the first permanent artificial heart on December 1, 1982.

The Dialysis Machine, Inventions

Kolff built the first working rotating drum kidney in 1943 in Kampen, Netherlands, with engineer Hendrik Berk.

Source Kolff, Willem J. (Case Western Reserve Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)

Long-Form Articles

Fifteen patients who died before the artificial kidney worked, Articles
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Netherlands, nationality there.
Sources
1. Willem Kolff (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationEarly career, 1943 dialysis machine section
Quote, Early career, 1943 dialysis machine section
Kolff's first prototype dialyzer was developed in 1943, built from orange juice cans, used auto parts, and sausage casings.
View the Source
Frequently Asked Questions

What is Willem Kolff known for in medicine?

He pioneered hemodialysis and the artificial heart.

Kolff was a pioneer of hemodialysis, the artificial heart and the wider field of artificial organs. He made his major discoveries in dialysis for kidney failure during the Second World War, and emigrated from the Netherlands to the United States in 1950, becoming a US citizen in 1955.
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