Navigation through blocked arteries with precision
ounder Christoff Heunis, CEO of Flux Robotics is tackling a critical challenge in vascular surgery: navigating thin wires through dangerously blocked peripheral arteries without causing damage. Current solutions often rely on manual force, which carries high risks — including perforation, bleeding, and even limb loss.
Flux Robotics introduces a radically different approach. By integrating magnetic control with peripheral guidewires, surgeons can now navigate wires through arteries with unmatched precision, significantly reducing complications and improving patient outcomes.
“Our technology gives surgeons full control inside the body, without having to rely solely on external force. With our magnetic system, we guide the wire safely through the blockage, then open it with a balloon. This all with minimal radiation and maximum precision,” says Christoff.
Academic roots
Flux Robotics’ innovation didn’t emerge in isolation. The company has deep academic roots – originally developed at the University of Twente, the technology is now being clinically validated in collaboration with University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), where Flux Robotics is based. The investment from Future Tech Ventures will support the expansion of Flux’s team and accelerate its preclinical roadmap. More importantly, it enables Flux Robotics to establish a dedicated presence in Groningen, with a new office and laboratory in the Innolab Chemistry & Engineering on Campus Groningen.
Scalable innovation with global relevance
Flux Robotics is the first company globally to develop a magnetic robotic system specifically designed to navigate and cross chronic total occlusions (CTOs) in peripheral arteries—an area where 1 in 4 procedures still fail with today’s tools. The simplicity and precision of the system make it especially promising for regions with fewer specialized surgeons.
“In one of our internal tests, a student — with no prior surgical experience — successfully navigated the wire through a simulated blockage faster than a surgeon with 10 years of practice. That’s the power of intuitive technology. It means we can bring life-saving treatment to places where specialists are scarce,” explains Christoff.
A shared vision for impact-driven innovation
For Future Tech Ventures, the investment in Flux Robotics aligns perfectly with the fund’s mission: to back visionary founders building scalable technology for a better world. “Flux Robotics has developed a potentially game-changing surgical technology with the power to shape the future of healthcare. Together with UMCG, they will further validate and refine this innovation in Groningen. We’re proud to be part of this adventure,” says Hilbrand van der Zee, Investment Manager at Future Tech Ventures.
Together with NextGen Ventures and backed by the Health~Holland PPP grant, this funding round ensures that Flux Robotics can continue its journey — from the lab to the operating room, and ultimately, to patients around the world.
“We have reviewed several solutions for peripheral artery disease (PAD) currently available on the market and have observed mostly incremental improvements. A completely blocked artery remains extremely difficult to treat. Christoff’s approach — using a magnetic robot — is bold and innovative. Encouraging initial evidence suggests that it works, and we have confidence that Christoff and his team will succeed in further developing the technology and eventually bringing the product to market.”
Source article: Future Tech Ventures
Picture from left to right: Wimold Peters, Christoff Heunis (CEO Flux Robotics), Hilbrand van der Zee (Investment Manager Future Tech Ventures), Michiel Richter (Systems & Control, Flux Robotics). Photographer: Jan Buwalda.
