Koen Willekens
Papers
11
Total Citations
323
H-Index
7
About
Koen Willekens is a pioneering researcher in vitreoretinal surgery, specializing in robot-assisted interventions for retinal vein occlusion (RVO). His work centers on developing and validating robotic systems that enable surgeons to perform retinal vein cannulation—a procedure requiring sub-millimeter precision to inject clot-dissolving drugs into occluded veins. Willekens led the world’s first in-human robot-assisted retinal vein cannulation (2018, 122 citations), a landmark achievement demonstrating clinical feasibility. He also conducted foundational in vivo porcine studies (65 citations) and a Phase I clinical trial with ocriplasmin infusion (24 citations), establishing safety and procedural protocols. To overcome the extreme fragility of retinal vessels, Willekens co-developed a combined OCT distance and FBG force-sensing cannulation needle (41 and 26 citations), enabling real-time feedback for safer, more accurate cannulation. His work bridges engineering and ophthalmology, moving a promising treatment from concept toward clinical reality. With over 320 cumulative citations, Willekens’ contributions are shaping the future of microsurgical robotics, offering new hope for patients with vision-threatening retinal vascular disorders.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1In-Human Robot-Assisted Retinal Vein Cannulation, A World First122 citations · 2018
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9Robot-Assisted Subretinal Surgery: initial in-vivo animal validation3 citations · 2018
- 10