Our Story
After participating in the Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge in 2022 and finishing its preparatory phase with seed funding, inSteps looked ahead, harbouring objectives for its future in the world of healthcare innovation.
Born from the University of Amsterdam, inSteps B.V. was founded in 2023 by Prof. Henk Marquering, Dr. Praneeta Konduri, Dr. Nerea Arrarte Terreros and Dr. Thomas Kerbusch. They hail from the Departments of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Biomedical Engineering & Physics at Amsterdam UMC-AMC.
Our Mission
Support device manufacturers (business-to-business services) in designing, testing, and launching new stroke treatment devices to provide acute ischemic stroke patients with better life-saving treatments.
Stroke is a major contributor to both death and disability in Europe. Thrombectomy, a crucial treatment for severe strokes caused by large vessel blockages, faces significant challenges in development and implementation. With a mere 10% success rate in introducing new stroke treatments, there’s a pressing need for faster, more efficient, and cost-effective solutions. inSteps introduces an advanced in-silico modelling platform designed for developing, testing, and evaluating endovascular devices. With this, they offer a solution to accelerate the adoption of life-saving treatments for millions of people affected by acute ischemic strokes, thereby addressing a critical healthcare need.
Our Team
Meet the dedicated team behind InSteps, a group of experts in biomedical engineering, AI, and stroke research. Our leadership combines scientific excellence with extensive experience in both academic and commercial sectors. Together, we are committed to advancing stroke treatment through innovative in-silico modeling and cutting-edge technology.
Praneeta Konduri
Chief Operating officer
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Praneeta Konduri, PhD, is a postdoctoral reseracher at the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam UMC, location UvA) and a premier expert on the use of AI for in-silico modeling of thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke.
After receiving her bachelor’s in engineering degree in Biomedical Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India, she completed her MSc in Biomedical Engineering, specializing in Medical Physics, from TU Delft. She pursued her PhD as part of the Horizon-2020 funded EU-consortium (INSIST) that forms the basis of this commercial endeavor. Her thesis also focused on image analysis for ischemic stroke patients during which she built a library of intracranial vessel geometries and an ischemic core atlas that can serve as input/validation for virtual stroke population models and in silico clinical stroke trials.
Nerea Arrarte
Chief Technology officer
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Nerea Arrarte, PhD, is a postdoctoral reseracher ath the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and Physics; Amsterdam UMC, location UvA and a premier expert on the use of AI for in-silico modeling of thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke.
She graduated with Excellence in Physics in 2016 at the University of the Basque Country, in Spain. In 2018 obtained a cum laude master’s degree in Physics at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In 2022, she finished her PhD on stroke research, performed at the Amsterdam University Medical Center and part of the Horizon 2020 in-silico trials of acute ischemic stroke treatment (INSIST) project. Her project focused on the quantification of blood flow and thrombus characteristics in stroke patients. She was a visiting PhD at Politecnico di Milano, where she worked on the in-silico thrombectomy models.
Currently, she is working as a postdoc at the Amsterdam University Medical Center on modeling atrial fibrillation patients and studying the effect of this heart condition on stroke.
Prof. Henk Marquering
Chief Scientific officer
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Henk Marquering, PhD, is a full-tenure Professor for Translation AI at the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and Physics and Dept. of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, location UvA.
As the internationally acclaimed expert and KOL on AI methodologies in the context of Acute Ischemic Stroke and treatment he has the ambition to bring solutions that are researched and developed in an academic environment to clinical practice. He has a background both in (large and SME) industry and academia during which he has brought multiple solutions successfully to the market. He is also co-founder of the highly successful Amsterdam UMC-spinoff Nicolab (www.nicolab.com) and the recently founded TrianecT (www.trianect.com).
Prof. Marquering's direct link to clinical practice and research facilities, broad network including regulators and deep understanding of thrombectomy device development is a paramount strenght of the InSteps team.
Thomas Kerbusch
Chief Executive officer
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Thomas Kerbusch, PhD, is an Associate Researcher/Guest Lecturer at the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam UMC, location UvA).
Thomas is a senior business leader, entrepreneur, and creative decision-maker with extensive experience in building and operating high growth service companies and high performing global teams in the life science industry.
He is also an experienced executive with in-depth understanding of cutting-edge drug and device development, technologies, and their regulatory acceptance and commercial application as well as scientist/KOL in Biosimulation with 25-year experience in drug development. He has over 15 successful regulatory approvals to his name and over 45 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Mahsa Mojtahedi
Machine Learning Research Scientist
Thijs Kuipers
Machine Learning Research Scientist
Janneke Cruts
Biomedical Engineer
Kenia López
Computational Scientist
Future Vision
With in-silico thrombectomy already successfully commercialized and offered as a business-to-business solution, and in continued collaboration with device developers, the next frontier for the company is the patient’s bedside; making in-silico-supported personalized bedside treatment a reality.
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Contact us to learn how our platform can help optimize your medical device development and clinical trial designs.