The main purpose of this work is to provide an extensive, simulation-based comparison of robustness of PID and MPC algorithms in control of blood glucose levels in patients with type 1 diabetes and thus answer the question of their safety. Cohort testing, with 1000 simulated, randomized patients allowed to analyze specific control quality indicators, such as number of hypoglycemic events, and length of hypo- and hyperglycemia periods. Results show that both algorithms provide a reasonable safety level, taking into account natural changes of patients’ physiological parameters. At the same time, we point out drawbacks of each solution, as well as general problems arising in close-loop control of blood glucose level.

The primary objective of this paper is the custom design of an effective, yet relatively easyto- implement, predictive control algorithm to maintain normoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes. The proposed patient-tailorable empirical model featuring the separated feedback dynamics to model the effect of insulin administration and carbohydrate intake was proven to be suitable for the synthesis of a high-performance predictive control algorithm for artificial pancreas.Within the introduced linear model predictive control law, the constraints were applied to the manipulated variable in order to reflect the technical limitations of insulin pumps and the typical nonnegative nature of the insulin administration. Similarly, inequalities constraints for the controlled variable were also assumed while anticipating suppression of hypoglycemia states during the automated insulin treatment. However, the problem of control infeasibility has emerged, especially if one uses too tight constraints of the manipulated and the controlled variable concurrently. To this end, exploiting the Farkas lemma, it was possible to formulate the helper linear programming problem based on the solution of which this infeasibility could be identified and the optimality of the control could be restored by adapting the constraints. This adaptation of constraints is asymmetrical, thus one can force to fully avoid hypoglycemia at the expense of mild hyperglycemia. Finally, a series of comprehensive in-silico experiments were carried out to validate the presented control algorithm and the proposed improvements. These simulations also addressed the control robustness in terms of the intersubject variability and the meal announcements uncertainty.