Upcoming WebCAST seminar entitled:

"The Role of Process Systems Engineering in the Quest for the Artificial 
Pancreas"

By
Professor Francis J. Doyle III
Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Chair in Process Control
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of California, Santa Barbara

Date: Monday, September 28, 2009, 1-3 pm (EST)
Dial-in from the comfort of your office to hear the presentation
Deadline to Register: September 20, 2009 (details at 
http://www.castdiv.org/WebCAST.htm)


Abstract

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by complete 
pancreatic beta-cell insufficiency. The only treatment is with 
subcutaneous or intravenous insulin injections, traditionally 
administered in an open-loop manner. Patients attempt to mimic normal 
physiology in order to prevent the complications of hyper- and 
hypoglycemia (elevated glucose levels, and low glucose levels, 
respectively). Even minor glucose elevations increase the risk of 
complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, and peripheral vascular disease).

In recent years, sensors and pumps have become available that show great 
promise for a closed-loop artificial pancreas -- however the crucial 
missing component is the algorithm to connect the devices. In order to 
normalize the glucose levels of insulin dependent, type 1 diabetic 
patients, the algorithms for the development of an artificial pancreatic 
islet need to exploit all the measured variables that the normal islet 
insulin secretion utilizes and quickly increase or decrease the insulin 
secretory.

Our group has been working on model-based control algorithms for pump 
control over the last 17 years; with clinical evaluations over the last 
7 years in collaboration with the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute. 
Our investigations have addressed the critical algorithmic elements of: 
model identification, disturbance estimation, model predictive 
controller design, event detection, monitoring & alarming, and 
optimization solution. In this talk, we present our most recent 
computational and clinical results in pursuit of the artificial beta 
cell. Our novel contributions include the model formulation, meal 
detection & estimation schemes, efficient programming formulation, and 
the use of insulin-on-board constraints to ensure safety.


Bio-Sketch: Professor Francis J. Doyle III
http://www.thedoylegroup.org

Dr. FRANCIS J. DOYLE III is the Associate Dean for Research in the 
College of Engineering at UC, Santa Barbara and he is the Associate 
Director of the Army Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies. He 
holds the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Chair in Process Control in the 
Department of Chemical Engineering, as well as appointments in the 
Electrical Engineering Department, and the Biomolecular Science and 
Engineering Program. He received his B.S.E. from Princeton (1985), 
C.P.G.S. from Cambridge (1986), and Ph.D. from Caltech (1991), all in 
Chemical Engineering. Prior to his appointment at UCSB, he has held 
faculty appointments at Purdue University and the University of 
Delaware, and held visiting positions at DuPont, Weyerhaeuser, and 
Stuttgart University. He is the recipient of several research awards 
(including the NSF National Young Investigator, ONR Young Investigator, 
Humboldt Research Fellowship) as well as teaching awards (including the 
Purdue Potter Award, and the ASEE Ray Fahien Award). He is currently the 
editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 
and holds Associate Editor positions with the Journal of Process 
Control, the SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems, and Royal 
Society’s Interface. In 2005, he was awarded the Computing in Chemical 
Engineering Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for 
his innovative work in systems biology. His research interests are in 
systems biology, network science, modeling and analysis of circadian 
rhythms, drug delivery for diabetes, model-based control, and control of 
particulate processes.


-- 
Mayuresh V. Kothare
R. L. McCann Professor
Chemical Process Modeling and Control Research Center
Department of Chemical Engineering
Lehigh University, D322 Iacocca Hall
111 Research Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015, U.S.A.
Tel: (610) 758 6654; Fax: (610) 758 5057
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.lehigh.edu/~mvk2