Process Control: Modeling, Design, and Simulation

M12.4. Blood Glucose Control in Diabetic Patients

The human body has many innate feedback-control loops. For example, blood glucose is regulated by the production of insulin by the pancreas. When food is consumed and broken down by the digestive system, the blood glucose level rises, stimulating insulin production. Cells use insulin to break down the glucose. People with diabetes have a reduced capability of producing insulin. Type I diabetes mellitus patients cannot produce any insulin and must administer insulin shots several times a day to help regulate their blood glucose level. A typical patient is then serving as a control system. Some actions are feedforward in nature, such as the administration of an insulin shot to coincide with meal ...