Modeling and control of an invasive mechanical ventilation system using the active disturbances rejection control...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Control Systems Engineering
• Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• Severe COVID-19 cases necessitate advanced mechanical ventilation.
• Existing ventilators may face challenges with disturbances and uncertainties.
• A need exists for robust and cost-effective ventilator solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel invasive mechanical ventilator prototype for severe COVID-19 patients.
• To develop and validate a robust control strategy for the ventilator.
• To evaluate the prototype's performance against commercial equipment and PID controllers.

Main Methods:

• Development of a mathematical model incorporating variable structure, dead zone, disturbances, and uncertainties.
• Implementation of a global control strategy using Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) with robust state observers.
• Performance evaluation through numerical simulations and experimental testing.

Main Results:

• The proposed ventilator prototype demonstrated performance comparable to commercial systems.
• The ADRC-based control strategy showed robustness against external disturbances and parametric uncertainties.
• Experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy over traditional PID controllers.

Conclusions:

• The developed invasive mechanical ventilator prototype is effective and robust.
• The proposed control strategy enhances ventilator reliability and safety.
• This simple-structured ventilator offers a promising solution for critical care of COVID-19 patients.