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This paper proposes an observer-controller configuration for the well-known Hovarka Glucose-Insulin dynamics. The aim is to control the blood glucose level without measuring the states in the Hovarka model. In order that nonlinear model predictive control is designed to control the blood glucose level by considering the random inertial glucose inputs under external insulin inputs. For the estimation, a Cubature Kalman filter is designed to estimate the states. Numerical computations are conducted under random glucose inputs from the meals where the applied observer-controller configuration provides blood glucose control without measuring the states. As a result, by using a single subcutaneous glucose measurement, the Hovarka glucose-insuling dynamics can be controlled for a possible portable device in future. © 2019 IEEE.

Interest in sensors and their applications is rapidly evolving, mainly driven by the huge demand of technologies whose ultimate purpose is to improve and enhance health and safety. Different electromagnetic technologies have been recently used and achieved good performances. Despite the plethora of literature, limitations are still present: limited response control, narrow bandwidth, and large dimensions. MetaSurfaces, artificial 2D materials with peculiar electromagnetic properties, can help to overcome such issues. In this paper, a generic tool to model, design, and manufacture MetaSurface sensors is developed. First, their properties are evaluated in terms of impedance and constitutive parameters. Then, they are linked to the structure physical dimensions. Finally, the proposed method is applied to realize devices for advanced sensing and medical diagnostic applications: glucose measurements, cancer stage detection, water content recognition, and blood oxygen level analysis. The proposed method paves a new way to realize sensors and control their properties at will. Most importantly, it has great potential to be used for many other practical applications, beyond sensing and diagnostics.

A modeling and design approach is proposed for nanoparticle-based electromagnetic devices. First, the structure properties were analytically studied using Maxwell’s equations. The method provides us a robust link between nanoparticles electromagnetic response (amplitude and phase) and their geometrical characteristics (shape, geometry, and dimensions). Secondly, new designs based on “metamaterial” concept are proposed, demonstrating great performances in terms of wide-angle range functionality and multi/wide behavior, compared to conventional devices working at the same frequencies. The approach offers potential applications to build-up new advanced platforms for sensing and medical diagnostics. Therefore, in the final part of the article, some practical examples are reported such as cancer detection, water content measurements, chemical analysis, glucose concentration measurements and blood diseases monitoring.

A closed-loop therapy for diabetic patients is proposed, by suitably exploiting a discrete Delay Differential Equation (DDE) model of the glucose-insulin system. To this aim, plasma glucose concentration is regulated by means of subcutaneous insulin administration, in order to track a desired glucose profile. The method of exact input/output feedback linearization and stabilization is used, in order to ensure the local convergence of the tracking error to zero. The use of a state observer for delay systems makes it so that the control law requires only glucose measurements, which are easily achievable according to the present technology. Even if exogenous insulin administration is standardly used for Type I diabetic patients (who do not have a pancreatic insulin release), the use of a DDE model allows to extend the proposed treatment also to Type II diabetes. Performed simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.