Modeling Type One Diabetes with a Linear Response Function Based Model

Type one diabetes occurs when the pancreas stops producing glucosereducing insulin. Regular injections of exogenous insulin are required for survival but the amount is difficult to determine to maintain optimal blood glucose levels. The goal of this research is to create a new blood glucose model that can predict future blood glucose levels in response to carbohydrate and insulin stimuli. We use a linear combination of kernel functions and use least squares to find the response functions. This simple model is able to fit the existing data as well as sophisticated biologically based models and has some predictive value. Future research could add biological knowledge and variable kernel functions to this model.