Automatic Glucose Control during Meals and Exercise in Type 1 Diabetes: Proof-of-Concept in Silico Tests Using a Switched LPV Approach

Abstract

Keeping the blood glucose levels within the safe range during meals and exercise still represents a major hurdle not only for patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), but also for Artificial Pancreas (AP) systems. One of the reasons a fully (autonomous) closed-loop solution has not been released onto the market yet is the slow action of current insulin analogs. To partially overcome this limitation, the authors have previously designed a switched control strategy equipped with an insulin-on-board (IOB) safety loop that mitigates meal-related glucose excursions without carbohydrate counting. In this letter, a similar strategy based on a Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) control law has been adapted to safely handle also exercise challenges with minimum user intervention. In silico results using the UVA/Padova simulator evidence that the proposed closed-loop scheme is feasible under moderate-intense exercise bouts by effectively and safely reducing the risk of hypoglycemia.