Model Predictive Control Strategies for Optimized mHealth Interventions for Physical Activity.

Many individuals fail to engage in sufficient physical activity (PA), despite its well-known health benefits. This paper examines Model Predictive Control (MPC) as a means to deliver optimized, personalized behavioral interventions to improve PA, as reflected by the number of steps walked per day. Using a health behavior fluid analogy model representing Social Cognitive Theory, a series of diverse strategies are evaluated in simulated scenarios that provide insights into the most effective means for implementing MPC in PA behavioral interventions. The interplay of measurement, information, and decision is explored, with the results illustrating MPC's potential to deliver feasible, personalized, and user-friendly behavioral interventions, even under circumstances involving limited measurements. Our analysis demonstrates the effectiveness of sensibly formulated constrained MPC controllers for optimizing PA interventions, which is a preliminary though essential step to experimental evaluation of constrained MPC control strategies under real-life conditions.

[A decision framework for an adaptive behavioral intervention for physical activity using hybrid model predictive control: illustration with Just Walk]. / Un esquema de decisiones para intervenciones adaptativas comportamentales de actividad física basado en control predictivo por modelo híbrido: ilustración con Just Walk.

Physical inactivity is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Many current physical activity behavioral interventions have shown limited success addressing the problem from a long-term perspective that includes maintenance. This paper proposes the design of a decision algorithm for a mobile and wireless health (mHealth) adaptive intervention that is based on control engineering concepts. The design process relies on a behavioral dynamical model based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), with a controller formulation based on hybrid model predictive control (HMPC) being used to implement the decision scheme. The discrete and logical features of HMPC coincide naturally with the categorical nature of the intervention components and the logical decisions that are particular to an intervention for physical activity. The intervention incorporates an online controller reconfiguration mode that applies changes in the penalty weights to accomplish the transition between the behavioral initiation and maintenance training stages. Controller performance is illustrated using an ARX model estimated from system identification data of a representative participant for Just Walk, a physical activity intervention designed on the basis of control systems principles.