was born in 1946. After the Stedelijk Gymnasium B in Middelburg (1964) he received his medical education at the University of Amsterdam.

He is an obstetrician/gynaecologist for more than 30 years. In 1979 he joined the regional hospital in Zaandam where he soon became the head of the department. In this year he bought his first ultrasound-system and trained midwives and nurses to use it. In 1981 he wrote his PhD thesis on Antepartum Cardiotocogaphy.

In September 2000 he was invited to join the faculty of the department of  O&G at the VU University medical center in Amsterdam.

His main interests are office gynaecology, menopause and contraception and diagnostics and treatment of uterine fibroids. He is very active in patient education and is the webmaster of many professional websites. He is the president of the Dutch Menopause Society and the Chairman of SIM, the successor of the Society for the Internet in Medicine, which organises the yearly World Conference on the Internet in Medicine (MedNet) last year in St-Petersburg.

He is also the medical director of OBGYN.net, worlds most visited website on O&G, where he is a member of the OBGYN.net Ultrasound Editorial Advisory Board  since many years. 

He was the initiator of the International Course in 3D/4D Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, which now has its 5th version and where he is the director and co-chairman.