A team of fourth-year Vanderbilt biomedical engineering students, Gabriella Glomp, Briana Bernicker, and Ysabel Gomez, is working on a senior design project aimed at improving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology. Their project, developed in collaboration with the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), focuses on making ECMO devices more portable and automated to enhance patient care, particularly in critical and emergency settings.
ECMO devices are life-support systems used for patients experiencing heart or lung failure due to trauma, infection, or post-surgical complications. They played a crucial role in ventilation support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional ECMO systems, however, are bulky and manually operated, making them difficult to transport and manage efficiently.
The Vanderbilt senior design team aims to address these challenges by automating oxygen delivery and carbon dioxide (CO₂) removal within the ECMO system. Their design includes an oxygen concentrator, a capnography device to measure exhaled CO₂, and an automated button presser controlled by a servo motor. The integration of these components allows for real-time adjustments in oxygen and CO₂ exchange, reducing the need for constant manual intervention by medical professionals.
Their advisors were Dr. Marc Moore, Associate Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Engineering, and Dr. Rei Ukita, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiac Surgery. Additional support came from the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, where the team leveraged resources such as the electrical makerspace, 3D printing, and high-performance computers for SolidWorks modeling.
The students working on this project were drawn to it through their prior research experiences and academic interests in biomedical engineering. Some team members, including Gabriella and Briana, had been involved with the lab since their freshman year and specifically requested to work on this project for their senior design experience. Others, like Ysabel, joined out of a growing passion for cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. Briana reflected on her path to engineering, saying, "I was never into taking things apart, but I always loved creating something, whether a gift for a friend or something crafty. Biomedical engineering just combined everything I loved: science, math, and creativity."
One of the key challenges faced by the team was integrating sensors with the system to automate adjustments in oxygen concentration. With guidance from experts in the makerspace at the Wond’ry, the students successfully incorporated sensor feedback into their system, allowing the oxygen concentrator to adjust gas exchange rates automatically. Another engineering challenge involved securely mounting the device onto the oxygen concentrator while maintaining accuracy in button pressing. The team explored innovative solutions such as plastic heat-shrink molding to stabilize the attachment.
"In the beginning of the semester, when we got the motors to respond to the CO₂ sensor, that was pretty exciting," said Briana.
The team recently showcased their work at a poster presentation held at Vanderbilt’s Featheringill Hall on April 21, 2025. Following this milestone, the team hopes to move into bench-top and ex-vivo testing, using bovine blood to evaluate the system’s efficacy in regulating gas exchange. If successful, the device could eventually transition to animal studies and, ultimately, clinical trials at VUMC.
For the students, this project represents more than just an academic requirement, it embodies their aspirations to innovate in the medical field. As Gabriella put it, "My motivation for being an engineer is to innovate in the medical space, and working on a project like this in my senior year is incredibly fulfilling. I hope to see it in clinical practice one day."
Ysabel added, "I’ve had family members on ventilation. One of them mentioned how awesome this project is. That personal connection really motivates me."
Their work is a testament to the power of biomedical engineering in shaping the future of healthcare, making life-saving interventions more efficient, accessible, and responsive to patient needs.