Physiological variations in people
with type 1 diabetes constantly
change the insulin requirements of patients which, if not compensated,
can lead to insulin overdose or insulin insufficiency causing hypoglycemia
and hyperglycemia episodes, respectively. Here, an offset-free zone
model predictive control (ZMPC) strategy with artificial variables
that automatically adjust its penalty parameters is developed by means
of new adaptation rules to reduce both types of episodes. The online
adaptive tuning is carried out according to the estimation of the
plant–model mismatch, the blood glucose value, and its rate
of change, producing an aggressive or conservative action depending
on the actual situation. In addition, the MPC formulation considers
the input of insulin as an impulse instead of a discrete one. The
developed method is evaluated in 30 virtual patients of the UVA/Padova
simulator and it is compared with an offset-free ZMPC without the
adaptation rule. A significant reduction of hypoglycemia episodes
is obtained and, for adults, adolescents, and children, a time in
normoglycemia range of 87.0%, 67.9%, and 66.1%, respectively, is achieved
in a simulation scenario without meal announcement, 30% of parameter
variations (simultaneously in several parameters), and sensor noise.
The proposed method shows the potential of using information about
the estimated mismatch for the MPC tuning rules to compensate the
physiological variations. This without requiring complex modifications
of the MPC formulation.