Willem Kolff

Working in Holland during the second world war, Kolff invented a dialysis machine from sausage casing and tomato cans. His work was based upon pioneering experiments by Able, Rowntree and Turner at John's Hopkins who demonstarted that dialysis might clear low molecular weight subsubstances that accumulate in the blood in renal failure.

In 1982 Kolff maintained a patient in cardiac failure with an artificial heart in Salt Lake city. [DVA$^+$84]