LifeTec Group BV is an SME based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands which develops research platforms that represent the appropriate environment to simulate the conditions in which medical devices and therapies can be assessed. These platforms are geared towards the specific needs and desires of researchers, academics, clinicians and medtech entrepreneurs, and bridge the gap between standard bench tests and clinical application and therefore are ideal for translational research and clinical training. LifeTec Group offers R&D services employing innovative technology, cutting-edge facilities and multidisciplinary expertise for assessment of medical devices and therapies. LifeTec Group engages in creative R&D serving clients to optimize their strategy in developing better healthcare solutions. Within different clinical domains, they develop and apply innovative test platforms for preclinical assessment of functional performance and efficacy. Focus areas include medical devices, biomaterials, regenerative medicine and pharma. LifeTec Group brings unique and in-depth knowledge to the consortium with regards to the development and optimization of bioreactors and ex vivo organ support systems for testing, with applications in industry, academia and the clinic. LifeTec Group has developed systems varying from simple to extremely complex, the most notable being the PhysioHeart isolated beating heart platform, which makes it an ideal and experienced partner to develop an integrated and customizable life support platform for extremely premature infants. LifeTec Group’s facilities and expertise with regard to the monitoring and maintenance of live organs enable valuable and practical insight into the design of the perinatal life support (PLS) system and its use as not only a simulation tool but also a future clinical device.
Marco Stijnen is an innovation driven senior bioengineer with over 15 years of experience in biomedical R&D. He has a background in computational and experimental modeling of the biophysiological system, development of bioreactor systems, ex-vivo research platforms and hybrid mock-loops. Marco has ample expertise in medical device development and assessment as well as regulatory guidelines, which he has successfully adopted to increase technology value in various medical domains. He is a co-founder of LifeTec Group. As Head of Innovation he has successfully contributed to many multidisciplinary MedTech innovation projects. Marco is also consultant medical device regulatory affairs. Marco obtained his PhD in BioMedical Technology from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2004.
Melanie Krüger is an R&D engineer at LifeTec Group for over 4 years and has participated in the Marie-Curie ITN project Biogel and is pursuing her PhD at the Utrecht University. She has a background in biochemical engineering and in the last years gained experience in developing and utilizing several bioreactor systems, biomaterials, working in vitro with cells and organoids, ex vivo with several of LifeTec’s platforms and tissues and developing the BioLiver platform. She is further driving the development and application of ex vivo platforms and leading several EU-granted R&D projects at LifeTec.