Closed-loop drug delivery for cardiac stress testing

A closed-loop algorithm was developed to control the infusion of a new catecholamine drug, arbutamine, for pharmacological stress testing of the heart. Drug infusion is calculated by the algorithm, based on an operator specified protocol and measurements of heart rate. The system has been tested in clinical trials on normal volunteers and patients. In this paper, an overview of the development of the closed-loop algorithm is present­ed.