Optimal control applications in biomedical engineering—a survey

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Abstract
The concept of a biological system operating in an optimal manner is intriguing. When this system (e.g. a human) is in a disease state, how can one administer appropriate optimal therapeutic treatment so that it can resume functioning with, hopefully, its original undiseased attributes? Biomedical engineering has a significant role to play in this area. This article illustrates some of the current attempts at improving therapy and the biomedical understanding of a normal or a disease state by using methods of optimal control theory such as the Pontryagin minimum principle, dynamic programming, and the calculus of variations.