Design and implementation of a closed-loop blood glucose control system in patients with type 1 diabetes

In the work presented in this dissertation, open-loop and closed-loop control strategies that were aimed at resolving major glucose control problems in the postprandial period were developed. A new model-based control algorithm for postprandial glucose regulation in open-loop, which is based on set-inversion technology, was developed. It automatically and efficiently coordinates the values of basal-bolus insulin to achieve certain predefined control objectives. The algorithm was designed to enable integration into existing smart insulin pumps. Closed-loop control strategies based on sliding mode techniques and insulin-on-board constraints were implemented to reduce the risk of late hypoglycaemic events and to obtain safer controller performance without increasing the period of hyperglycaemia. Extensive evaluation and validation of the control robustness was performed in a comprehensive virtual environment that was specifically designed and implemented to facilitate realistic simulations. A practical methodology to “virtualise” a cohort of real Type 1 diabetic patients was also developed