Vitestro: A team on a mission to redefine diagnostic blood collection
We’re a Netherlands-based medical robotics company combining engineering with clinical expertise. Together with hospitals and labs, we’re launching Aletta®, the one and only Autonomous Robotic Phlebotomy Device™.
We transform patient care globally by setting the new standard for safe, reliable, and efficient diagnostic blood collection.
Engineered by experts
We are a multidisciplinary team united by one purpose: to transform diagnostic blood collection with autonomous technology.
Vitestro brings seasoned engineers, clinicians, and industry experts together. This multidisciplinary team develops and improves Aletta®, ensuring our technology meets the needs of patients and healthcare professionals.
Created with healthcare experts
We work closely with hospitals and labs so Aletta meets the needs of phlebotomy departments.
Aletta is developed in collaboration with clinical partners and informed by insights from trials and real practice. This approach helps ensure quality, ease of use, and a positive experience for patients and healthcare professionals.
The founding story of Vitestro
The idea for Vitestro began when Toon Overbeeke and Brian Joseph shared their frustrations about the experience with blood draws from their loved ones. In Toon’s case, a friend’s father was difficult to puncture due to chemotherapy. Brian faced long wait times and logistical errors when one of his children needed regular blood tests.
These personal experiences started a discussion about the opportunity to improve blood collection. The founders saw an opportunity to create autonomous technology that offers accurate, convenient blood collection while improving the patient experience. In 2017, they took the leap and founded Vitestro.
Since then, Vitestro has grown into a team of nearly 100 employees. In August 2024, Aletta® received CE mark approval, a major step toward making autonomous blood collection accessible to everyone.
Our Leadership Team
Toon Overbeeke is the co-founder and CEO of Vitestro. When observing challenges in blood drawing, Toon directly realized that this procedure could be transformed with technology. He teamed up with Brian and together they founded Vitestro in 2017.
Brian Joseph is co-founder of Vitestro and focuses on product management, after building commercial activities. Previously, he co-founded open-source software company Zarafa and served as its CEO until the company was acquired by Amazon in 2013.
Bob brings over 30 years of leadership experience in the medical technology and diagnostic sectors. Bob leads the global pre-launch market development, commercial strategy, and execution, driving the adoption of Vitestro’s technology across the European and U.S. healthcare market.
Andy is a former partner of Sonder Capital. After working closely with our team as an investor and board member, Andy has decided to step away from his previous role to fully immerse himself in helping us drive Vitestro’s vision forward.
Dewi Hamwijk is Head of People, Culture & Legal at Vitestro, responsible for HR. She started her career at Allen & Overy and worked for Donahue & Partners LLP in New York City. Then she became COO of a startup company, The Social Handshake, before joining Vitestro in 2022.
Jasmine Beukema is Head of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs (QA/RA) at Vitestro, responsible for MDR and FDA clearance. With over 15 years of experience in QA/RA, Jasmine set up several quality management systems from scratch.
Luuk Giesen is CMO of Vitestro, responsible for clinical strategy and clinical affairs. He completed his MD degree at the University of Amsterdam-AMC and worked as a physician in internal medicine. Luuk joined Vitestro as one of its first employees in 2018.
Jim Lelivelt is CFO at Vitestro, responsible for finance and fundraising. He brings over 15 years of experience, having started his career in London in investment banking at HSBC and in private equity, before moving into consulting at McKinsey & Company. Jim joined Vitestro in 2021.
Bas Nieuwenhuis is the VP of Engineering of Vitestro. Bas brings over 25+ years of experience in product development, including leadership roles at Movacolor and at BD Kiestra, where he led the R&D team in scaling and innovating a portfolio of medical devices and software.
Our board
Fred Moll
Non-executive board member
Dr. Fred Moll is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Sonder Capital and is widely regarded as the "father of robotic surgery," due to his visionary role in co-founding industry leaders such as Intuitive Surgical and Auris Health. As a serial entrepreneur, Fred has successfully led multiple MedTech companies through significant acquisitions and public offerings. His unparalleled experience in medical robotics provides Vitestro with the strategic insight necessary to advance and scale autonomous diagnostic phlebotomy worldwide.
Sjaak Deckers
Non-executive board member
Sjaak Deckers serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Vitestro. He is a seasoned MedTech leader with a distinguished track record of guiding medtech companies from development to successful exit, including his tenure as co-Founder and CEO of Sapiens, Onward Medical and Microsure. At Microsure, he and his team developed a unique micro-surgical robotics platform. He currently serves as a strategic advisor and board chairman to several healthcare innovators, with a focus on advanced robotic and cardio-vascular solutions. Sjaak’s ability to navigate complex R&D and regulatory landscapes and operational challenges is instrumental in advancing Vitestro’s mission to bring autonomous blood drawing into routine clinical practice.
Jeroen Hegge
Non-executive board member
Jeroen Hegge is a Senior Partner at Bain and Company, where he leads the firm’s Consumer Goods Practice across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. An aerospace engineer by training, Jeroen brings over two decades of expertise in global strategy, growth, mergers and acquisitions, and innovation to the board. He has been an integral advisor to Vitestro since 2018, applying his deep commercial knowledge to help the company transition from a bold technological concept to a scalable international enterprise. His strategic rigor and commercial insight continue to support Vitestro’s long term growth and market.
Dave Hickey
Non-executive board member
Dave Hickey joined Vitestro’s board following a distinguished career as Executive Vice President and President of BD’s Life Sciences segment. With over 30 years of leadership at BD and Siemens Healthineers, Dave has a proven track record of scaling global diagnostic companies and innovative solutions and leading complex, high impact medical programs. His deep expertise in the diagnostic industry combined with leading global commercialization strategies is instrumental as Vitestro accelerates its expansion and continues to innovate within the healthcare technology sector.
Eliane Schutte
Non-executive board member
Eliane Schutte is CEO of Xeltis, where she has strengthened the company’s strategy across vascular applications, led major financing and strategic licensing activity (over €110 million), and advanced the organization into pivotal trials in preparation for market approvals and go-to-market. She joined Xeltis in 2015 as Chief Development Officer, leading clinical, product development and regulatory strategy. Eliane brings 25+ years of global product development and regulatory leadership in medtech and biotech, with prior roles including VP Global Product Development at The Medicines Company, CDO at Profibrix, and VP Regulatory Affairs at IsoTis Orthobiologics (IPO; later acquired). Earlier in her career she held quality engineering roles at Medtronic.
Toon Overbeeke is the co-founder and CEO of Vitestro. When observing challenges in blood drawing, Toon directly realized that this procedure could be transformed with technology. He teamed up with Brian and together they founded Vitestro in 2017.
Our vision & mission
Vision
Autonomous vascular access as the global standard of care, available to all patients.
Mission
We pioneer and commercialize autonomous robotic phlebotomy by combining multimodal imaging and artificial intelligence, with the ambition to make Aletta the default method for diagnostic blood collection worldwide.
Some of our open positions
Position
Contract
Start date
As our Quality Engineer, you play a key role in strengthening the quality foundation of our product development environment. You work closely with systems, software, and mechanical engineers to ensure quality processes are effective, practical, and aligned with the needs of a regulated medical device organization.
We are looking for a system verification engineer with a passion for ensuring the safety, reliability, and performance of robotic systems.
We are looking for a Data Engineer in the Application Team at Vitestro, you will play a critical role in enabling us to make data-driven decisions and gain deep insights into the performance of our devices.
News about Vitestro and Aletta®
Let's get in touch
Do you have questions or want to learn more about Aletta®? Our team is ready to help you explore how Aletta can support your laboratory and improve patient care.