Observer dynamics in switching control: application to neuromuscular blockade

The effect of the choice of observer dynamics in switching control is illustrated through an application to neuromuscular blockade of patients undergoing surgery. The neuromuscular blockade model is subject to a high level of uncertainty due both to inter-patient variability as well as time variations. In order to achieve good results adaptation using switching control is used. The paper studies the effect of the selection of the observer dynamics in order to make the controller robust. A comparison with controller localization is made. It is shown that both methods allow to control a wide range of patient models, the inclusion of an observer has the advantage, with respect to localization, of not restricting the bank of models/controllers, thereby keeping the adaptation potential.