EndoSurge wins 3rd place in Science2Start competition

Max Planck Start-up develops MRI-compatible catheter system to treat cardiovascular disease

Stuttgart – EndoSurge, a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, won third place in the Science2Start competition for its MRI-compatible catheter system to treat cardiovascular disease. The award ceremony was held as part of the BioRegio STERN Management GmbH summer reception on 17 July 2025. In the Tübingen-Reutlingen Technology Park, scientists were honored for ideas that a panel of experts judged to have special economic potential.

EndoSurge shares third place with University of Tübingen Start-up “Helios2D” – a method for the mass spectrometric analysis of living cells without harming them. First place was awarded to a team from the University Hospital Tübingen and the University of Tübingen for “dxOmics” – an AI-driven software solution for genome diagnostics for cancer and genetic disorders. Second place went to a team from NMI Reutlingen for its “PoreForge” project, which involves developing technologies for single-molecule sensing using solid-state nanopores.

EndoSurge is a culmination of several years of collaboration by a team of scientists who are supported by Max Planck Innovation and the MAX!mize Incubator for Max Planck Start-ups.

“We are thrilled to have been recognized with the 2025 Science2Start award by BioRegio STERN Management GmbH!” says Martin Phelan, scientist-turned-CEO of EndoSurge, who created the startup together with Siddhant Kadwe, and Lisa Stuch.

In Germany, approximately 100,000 catheter ablations are performed each year, for instance to treat abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Typically, a surgeon inserts the catheter into the patient’s vein and controls its position via x-ray or ultrasound. When x-ray is used, both patient and surgeon, who stands close, are exposed to radiation. Such is not the case, however, if the catheter is controlled and monitored by an MRI, where the surgeon can work directly or remotely through teleoperation.

The EndoSurge team developed a fully MRI-compatible catheter system consisting of a robotically-controlled handle and teleoperation module. The system uses the strong static magnetic field not only for precise real-time imaging (this is what an MRI is usually used for), but also to actively control the magnetic catheter tip. Additionally, an algorithm continuously learns from the real-time MRI image data and the force sensor data the catheter provides, so each process varies in accordance to the patient’s anatomy.

A short video visualizes the idea and shows how harmful radiation is avoided, benefiting both patients and medical professionals necessary for an intervention. Last but not least, what makes EndoSurge’s idea stand out is that, thanks to the teleoperation interface, a highly specialized surgeon is available anywhere in the world – even in regions with limited medical care. EndoSurge aims to change the paradigm for intervention and extend a surgeon’s capability to improve patient outcomes.