Artificial Pancreas: The Argentine Experience

REVIEW

  • Patricio Colmegna University of Virginia
  • Fabricio Garelli Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)
  • Emilia Fushimi Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)
  • Marcela Moscoso-Vázquez Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) - CONICET
  • Nicolás Rosales Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)
  • Demián García-Violini National University of Ireland Maynooth
  • Hernán De Battista Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)
  • Ricardo Sánchez-Peña Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) - CONICET
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52712/sciencereviews.v1i1.7

Abstract

The objective of this work is to present a brief review on the international Artificial Pancreas project. In addition, the local project that led to the first Latin American clinical trials with an Artificial Pancreas will be described. These trials were performed in Buenos Aires during 2016 and 2017. The last trial used an algorithm developed in Argentina and defined as the ARG (Automatic Regulation of Glucose). This procedure and its in silico and clinical results will also be presented in this paper.

Author Biographies

Patricio Colmegna, University of Virginia

Patricio Colmegna obtained an Engineering degree at the University of Quilmes (UNQ), in 2010, and a doctoral degree in Engineering at Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA), in 2014. His doctoral research focused on applying optimal, robust and switched control algorithms to an artificial pancreas (AP) that aimed to not only mitigate glucose excursions, but also reduce patient burden. In 2017, he was named Research Assistant at the National Research Council (CONICET), and was part of the team that performed the first clinical AP trial in Latin America. Dr. Colmegna joined the Center For Diabetes Technology, University of Virginia, in early 2018, and is currently working on the development of a next-generation simulation facility for diabetes. This effort involves the design of new and more computationally efficient platforms for multi-model, multi-disease modeling and simulation.

Fabricio Garelli, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)

Fabricio Garelli is currently Full Professor at the National University of La Plata (UNLP) and Official Member of the National Research Council (CONICET). He is the author of an awarded Ph.D. thesis, an IET book, and more than a hundred journal or conference papers. His research work focuses on constrained automatic control and estimation via sliding mode techniques, with application to industrial processes/bioprocesses, robotics and biomedical engineering (artificial pancreas).

Emilia Fushimi, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)

Emilia Fushimi was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1993. She obtained a B.S.E.E. degree at the National University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina, in 2016, where she is currently working towards her Ph.D. degree at the Laboratory of Industrial Electronics, Control and Instrumentation. She is also a Graduate Student Assistant at the Department of Electrical Engineering, UNLP. Her main research interests are focused on the artificial pancreas.

Marcela Moscoso-Vázquez, Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) - CONICET

Marcela Moscoso-Vázquez obtained a B.Sc. degree and a Master degree, both in Chemical Engineering, at the National University of Colombia, Medellín, in 2011 and 2014, respectively, supported by the Outstanding Graduate Student Scholarship. She also obtained a Doctoral degree in Engineering at Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA), Argentina, in 2019, supported by a CONICET doctoral scholarship. She is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at CONICET in Argentina, and is a Teaching Assistant at the Chemical Process Control course at ITBA. Her research interests include modeling and analysis of circadian rhythms, control-oriented modeling and identification for robust control of type 1 diabetes mellitus, and model-based control of chemical processes.

Nicolás Rosales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)

Nicolás Rosales was born in Trelew, Argentina, in 1990. He obtained a B.S.E.E. degree at the National University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina, in 2015, where he is currently working towards his Ph.D. degree at the Laboratory of Industrial Electronics, Control and Instrumentation (LEICI). His main research interests are in artificial pancreas systems. He specializes in both open- and closed-loop glucose control strategies.

Demián García-Violini, National University of Ireland Maynooth

Demián García-Violini obtained a B.Sc. degree in Automation and Control Engineering at the National University of Quilmes (UNQ), Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2010, and a doctoral degree in Engineering at Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA), in 2015. He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre of Ocean Energy Research, National University of Ireland Maynooth, and he is also working as a Teaching Assistant in Control Systems courses at UNQ. His research interests include modeling, identification, and robust control for diverse problems, such as control of wave energy converters, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and synchronization between different cerebral structures.

Hernán De Battista, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)

Hernán De Battista was born in La Plata, Argentina, in 1968. He obtained his M.Sc. in Engineering with highest honors in 1994, followed by a PhD in 2000, both at the National University of La Plata, Argentina. Currently, he is Full Professor at the School of Engineering, National University of La Plata, and Principal Researcher of the National Research Council (CONICET), Argentina. His main research interests are in non-linear control and its applications to renewable energies and biological systems. He has coauthored two books and 65 journal articles. He received the E. Galloni award from the Argentine Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences in 2002 and the S. Gershanik award from the Buenos Aires Academy of Engineering in 2006.

Ricardo Sánchez-Peña, Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) - CONICET

Ricardo S. Sánchez-Peña has an EE degree from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. Since 1977, he has worked at CITEFA, CNEA, CNIE and CONAE in Argentina. He has collaborated with NASA and the German and Brazilian space agencies. He has been a Professor at UBA and UPC (Spain) as an ICREA researcher. He has been visiting professor and researcher at various universities, as well as a consultant for companies in topics related to aerospace and energy applications in the USA and the EU. He has received awards from IEEE, NASA and ANCEFN. Presently he is Director of the Research & PhD Department, Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA), Investigador Superior of the National Research Council (CONICET), and he leads the Artificial Pancreas project in Argentina.

Published
2019-11-29
Issue
Vol 1 No 1: December 2019
Section
Articles