Model Predictive Control of Drug Infusion System for Mean Arterial Pressure Regulation of Critical Care Patients

Patients recovering in critical care units are continuously monitored for their hemodynamic states and accordingly given proper medication. The widely monitored hemodynamic variable is the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), which is regulated by infusion of vasoactive drugs like Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP). Presently, physicians check the patients’ MAP at regular intervals. This task is time-consuming and if automated, allows the physicians to attend to other critical parameters, which cannot be measured. Automation of the drug infusion based on the MAP would lead to continuous regulation of the hemodynamic variable enabling speedier recovery. This study attempts to automate the regulation of the drug infusion system using a model predictive controller. The controller’s performance was tested for three types of patient models. The controller tracks the set point changes and maintains the mean arterial pressure within the required values.