The Memo: Flux Robotics Brings Magnetic Precision to Vascular Navigation

Under the direction of Founder and CEO Christoff Heunis, PhD, Flux Robotics is developing a magnetic vascular navigation platform designed to give physicians more controlled steering of guidewire movement inside blood vessels. By replacing the traditional reliance on pushing and twisting wires from outside the body with magnetically guided tip steering, the company aims to make one of the most challenging steps in vascular intervention more predictable, repeatable, and accessible. As vascular disease burdens rise worldwide and specialist shortages intensify, Flux is pursuing a new approach to minimally invasive surgery that could help more physicians successfully treat more patients.

Origin Story

For Heunis, the inspiration behind Flux Robotics traces back to a deeply personal experience.

“When I was 20, studying mechatronic engineering in South Africa, my best friend Shaun called me,” he recalled. “I’ve known Shaun since I was five, and his mother was like family to me. She had suffered an MCA stroke and ended up in a wheelchair because treatment came too late.”

What shocked him most was learning how limited access to advanced vascular care could be.

“At the time, there were only around three surgeons on the entire continent who could perform the procedure she needed. That made no sense to me.”

The experience set Heunis on a path that would shape the rest of his career. He transitioned from mechatronics into biomedical engineering, pursued a PhD in surgical robotics at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, and focused his research on magnetic navigation systems for minimally invasive vascular procedures. Today, he has authored 27 peer-reviewed publications, accumulated more than 460 citations, and co-owns two patents related to magnetic vascular navigation.

More importantly, the experience crystallized the mission behind Flux.

“What excited me was realizing that many vascular procedures still depend on one very manual step: the surgeon’s ability to physically push and twist a tiny wire through fragile blood vessels,” Heunis said. “If only a few surgeons can perform a procedure well, then access is not truly solved.”

Founded in the Netherlands, with activities in Groningen and Enschede, Flux Robotics was built to make complex vascular navigation “more controlled, repeatable, and scalable, so more patients can benefit regardless of where they live or which specialist happens to be available.” 

The Current Landscape

In vascular interventions, one of the most difficult and consequential tasks is often the simplest sounding: crossing a blockage.

“The problem is control inside blood vessels,” said Heunis. “In many vascular procedures, the hardest step is crossing a blocked artery.”

Today, physicians typically navigate guidewires manually under fluoroscopic imaging, pushing, twisting, and exchanging devices while interpreting two-dimensional X-ray images in real time. While effective in many cases, the approach can become increasingly challenging in tortuous anatomy and difficult blockages, where guidewire movement may become less predictable.

If the guidewire fails to cross the blockage, the consequences can be significant.

“If the surgeon cannot cross the blockage, the procedure can fail,” Heunis explained. “In severe peripheral artery disease, that can mean amputation. In other vascular territories, it can mean longer procedures, more radiation, more device exchanges, or escalation to more invasive treatment.”

The need for improved navigation tools is growing. Peripheral artery disease affects more than 200 million people globally, and incidence continues to rise alongside aging populations and increasing rates of diabetes. At the same time, physician shortages threaten access to specialized care, creating a widening gap between patient demand and available expertise.

For Heunis, those trends reinforce the same access challenge that first inspired the company years ago.

This blog is originally published here: https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com/insights/the-memo-flux-robotics-brings-magnetic-precision-to-vascular-navigation

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