Moving-Horizon State Initializer for Artificial Pancreas Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current state estimators for artificial pancreas systems face challenges with sensor recalibrations, asynchronous data handling, and plant-model mismatches, leading to suboptimal insulin delivery and potential overdelivery or offset errors.

Innovation Solution

A moving-horizon optimization strategy that fits a continuous-time function to CGM data, accommodating sensor recalibrations by including discontinuities and handling asynchronous data sampling, while ignoring recalibration discontinuities during sampling, to construct a model state without relying on a specific model, thus mitigating plant-model mismatches.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If a recursive state estimator is used to initialize MPC predictions, then the implementation is straightforward, but sensor recalibrations cause lively dynamics leading to meaningless predictions and potential overdelivery

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of implementationVSAvoidprediction accuracy after recalibration
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies a dynamic approach by using a moving-horizon state initializer that adapts to changing conditions. Instead of a fixed recursive estimator, the system continuously updates the initial state estimates by optimizing over a moving horizon of recent data, allowing it to adapt to recalibrations without causing lively dynamics. The initializer adjusts its window and parameters based on current system conditions, maintaining reliability after recalibration events.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of manufacture

If a fixed sample-period state estimator is used, then implementation is simple, but asynchronous CGM data causes over-estimation of rate of change and veering off CGM trajectory

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of implementationVSAvoidstate estimation accuracy with asynchronous data
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a dynamic moving-horizon approach that adapts to asynchronous data arrival. The optimizer dynamically adjusts the horizon window and re-optimizes state estimates based on the actual timing of CGM measurements. This allows the system to handle variable sample periods and asynchronous data without over-estimating rates of change, keeping predictions on the CGM trajectory.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from the actual CGM measurement times and values to continuously refine state estimates. The moving-horizon optimizer incorporates feedback about data arrival times and uses this information to adjust its estimation, preventing veering off the trajectory that occurs with fixed-sample-period estimators.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of manufacture

If model-based recursive state estimators are used, then implementation is straightforward, but plant-model mismatch prevents offset-free estimates even in steady-state

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of implementationVSAvoidsteady-state estimation accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a moving-horizon copy of the recent system behavior and optimizes state estimates to match this copied behavior rather than relying on the potentially mismatched model. By copying and optimizing over recent actual system responses, the system achieves offset-free estimates without depending on perfect model accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP3177344B1Moving-horizon state-initializer for control applications
Publication Date: 2023.06.28 RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA
  • EP3177344B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3177344B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3177344B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

A state-estimator for the estimation or initialization of the state of a discrete-time state-space dynamical model based on sensor measurements of the model output, comprising fitting a continuous-time function to acquired sensor measurement data-points of each model output, and subsequently sampling the continuous time function at exactly the sample-period of the state-space dynamic model for which the state is being estimated or initialized, in order to construct a model state via a synthesized output trajectory.