Kurt Amplatz

Dr. Kurt Amplatz (born February 25, 1924) is an Austrian radiologist and medical device inventor. He is best known for the invention of the Amplatzer Septal Occluder as well as the Amplatzer Cribriform Occluder, which is used for closing atrial septal defect, a common congenital heart defect found in infants. These devices are inserted by percutaneous catheter placement, thus avoiding open heart surgery. In 1958, he performed one of the first percutaneous catheterizations of the heart.

Amplatz spent most of his 40-year career in Radiology as the Chairman of Interventional Radiology at the University of Minnesota.

He is the idol of legendary clinical cardiologist and "simple country doctor", Andrew C. Eisenhauer.