Mykola Amosov: engineer, surgeon, and world-class thinker

Abstract

Mykola Mykhailovych Amosov (1913–2002) was an outstanding Ukrainian surgeon, cardiac surgeon, world-class scientist and innovator. Born into a poor peasant family, he developed an early interest in both technology and medicine, ultimately obtaining degrees in engineering and medicine. During World War II, Amosov served as a leading surgeon in a front-line hospital, where he improved methods for treating gunshot wounds and established the basis for his PhD research. After the war, he worked in Bryansk and Kyiv, quickly becoming a leading specialist in thoracic surgery. Amosov founded the first department of thoracic surgery in Ukraine, introduced an artificial blood circulation device, performed pioneering heart operations, and developed innovative valve prostheses. As director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, he elevated the institution to a leading position in Europe. Concurrently, he headed the department of biocybernetics, contributed to the modeling of physiological and mental processes, and developed the first autonomous robots. Mykola Amosov died in 2002, leaving a substantial scientific and humanistic legacy.