A Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Model-Based Tracking Framework to Regulate Heart Rhythm Dynamics

Arrhythmias are conditions characterized by a faster, slower, or irregular heart rhythm. Some of them may be harmless and brief, but others can lead to a sudden cardiac arrest. Thus, procedures that safely restore the normal heartbeat are a matter of interest. Experimental evidence shows that some arrhythmia may have an origin in chaotic dynamics; therefore, this paper describes a multivariable feedback control method to regulate heart rhythm-like dynamics in a master-slave framework. Since there is no consensus on the equations describing the cardiac dynamics, we use a phenomenological model that generates a variety of electrocardiogram-like signals and represent it in a Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy form. We provide control design conditions to achieve the tracking control for a nominal and an uncertain slave system. The results suggest that our closed-loop control scheme can get the heart rhythm dynamics from a non-desirable situation back to a normal behavior given by the reference system. Our approach reveals a proof of concept to suppress pathological behaviors in the heart dynamics that could lead to implementation in cardiac devices.