Idan Steinberg

About

I’m an R&D executive and biomedical engineer with a background in medical imaging, acoustics, signal processing, and diagnostic medical device development.

My career began close to the underlying technology, developing algorithms, imaging systems, and instrumentation. Over time, it expanded into clinical translation, product development, and R&D leadership. Along the way, I’ve led multidisciplinary teams across engineering, physics, software, clinical research, manufacturing, and regulatory disciplines, helping advance technologies from early research through clinical validation and toward commercialization.

Even as my responsibilities have broadened, I’ve remained closely engaged with the technical work. I enjoy understanding the physics behind a system, figuring out why something is not working, and building the teams and development strategies needed to turn promising technology into something reliable, practical, and useful in the real world.

What I want to work on

One problem has become especially important to me: making molecular imaging much more widely accessible.

Many diseases involve biochemical and physiological changes before significant anatomical changes become apparent. Molecular imaging can reveal some of this information, but many current approaches depend on expensive equipment, specialized facilities, or dedicated infrastructure.

Ultrasound offers an interesting contrast. It is safe, relatively inexpensive, portable, and widely available, but conventional ultrasound primarily provides anatomical and mechanical information.

What if molecular imaging could become as accessible as ultrasound?

That is a problem I want to work on.

I believe thermoacoustic imaging offers one promising path toward that goal. My work at ENDRA strengthened my conviction that a practical, quantitative platform is possible.

Read more about why I believe in thermoacoustic imaging →

How I approach R&D

I’ve spent much of my career at the intersection of physics, engineering, and medicine, and that has shaped how I lead R&D.

The physics has to work. The system has to work. The clinical question has to matter. And ultimately, the technology has to become something that can be manufactured, validated, and used beyond the laboratory.

I enjoy working across those boundaries. Digging into difficult technical problems while building and leading multidisciplinary teams that translate promising technologies into medical products.

That systems view also shapes how I evaluate emerging technologies: technical capability is necessary, but the economics and adoption path have to mature with it. See how I apply that framework to thermoacoustics →

If you’re working on thermoacoustic imaging, molecular imaging, or another approach to making advanced medical imaging more accessible, I’d be very interested in hearing from you.