Arno Fennema wins the Prof. Dr G.P. Vooijs Award 2026

Arno Fennema has won the Prof. Dr G.P. Vooijs Award 2026 for his innovative research into early predictors of weaning success in critically ill patients.

This prize is awarded annually to the most clinically relevant final-year research project within the Technical Medicine programmes at the University of Twente and the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus alliance. The prize was presented during the NVvTG conference held on 10 April 2026.

Arno received the prize for his graduation research, conducted in collaboration with UMC Utrecht and the University of Twente. In his study, he investigated the temporal evolution of arterial pulse pressure trajectories as an early predictor of weaning success in critically ill patients with severe heart failure who are treated with veno-arterial ECMO, a complex but life-saving technique.

The study, which is currently under review by a leading international scientific journal, demonstrates that a simple and continuously available signal, arterial pulse pressure, can serve as an early and reliable clinically useful parameter for the recovery of cardiac function during ECMO treatment. This finding is of great clinical value, as it supports clinicians in the timely and better-informed weaning of this intensive therapy.

What makes Arno’s work special is not only his substantial personal contribution, but also its direct impact on clinical practice. The insights he has developed are now actively applied in the daily assessment of ECMO patients in intensive care. Furthermore, his research has attracted the interest of an international medical device manufacturer, which is investigating how this parameter can be structurally integrated into medical equipment.

Arno’s work embodies the essence of Technical Medicine: combining technical depth with clinical insight to contribute directly to better patient care. His analytical skills, perseverance and focus on practical applicability make him a worthy winner of the Prof. Dr. G.P. Vooijs Award 2026.