Biocybernetics

By: Fragoon M. Ahmed, PhD

Introduction

 One of the objectives of Bioengineering is

to bring quantification to the biological
and biomedical sciences.
 A first step consists of breaking up a given
system into several interconnected functional
units, i.e., the block diagram, usually based
on previous qualitative information.
 The second step is the measurement of
physiological events.
Introduction
Cybernetics

 Cybernetics, deriving from the Greek word

for steersman (kybernetes),
 was first introduced by the mathematician
Wiener, as the science of communication
and control in the animal and the machine .
 :Definition by Norbert Wiener

Cybernetics is the science of communication and

.control in machines and living organisms

Cybernetics has close connections to biology and medicine

.Biocybernetics is the application of cybernetics to the biological science

Biocybernetics plays a major role in systems biology,

seeking to integrate different levels of information to
.understand how biological systems function
Cybernetics
 It grew out of Shannon's information theory, which was
designed to optimize the transmission of information through
communication channels, and the feedback concept used in
engineering control systems.
 In its present incarnation of "second-order cybernetics", its
emphasis is on how observers construct models of the systems
with which they interact (see complex systems to maintain,
adapt, and self-organize.
 Such circularity or self-reference makes it possible to make
precise, scientific models of purposeful activity, that is, behavior
that is oriented towards a goal or preferred condition.
Cybernetics

 Cybernetics proposes a revolution with

respect to the linear, mechanistic models of
traditional Newtonian science.
 In classical science, every process is
determined solely by its cause, that is, a
factor residing in the past.
 However, the behavior of living organisms is
typically teleonomic, that is, oriented towards
a future state, which does not exist as yet.
Biocybernetics

 Application of control theory and information

processing on the ideas and methods of
regulating biological systems.
Biocybernetics

 The 18th century, biologists have begun to

understand the important role of the regulation and
control of living organisms.
 1948, the United States well-known mathematician
N. Wiener was first introduced, as the science of
communication and control in the animal and the
machine .
 In the early stage of development of control theory
is based on common law, and biological systems
only as one of the main background.
Biocybernetics
INTRODUCTION

Physiology – the science of the functioning of

.living organisms and of their component parts
Types of physiological model 2
A quantitative physiological model is a •
mathematical representation that approximates
.the behavior of an actual physiological system
A qualitative physiological model describes the •
actual physiological system without the use of
.mathematics
INTRODUCTION

A model constructed from basic and natural laws then 

becomes a tool for explaining the underlying processes
that cause the experimental data and predicting the
.behavior of the system to other types of stimuli
Ultimately, modeling’s most important goals are the 
generation of new knowledge, prediction of
observations before they occur, and assistance in
.designing new experiments
 INTRODUCTION

The first step in developing a model involves observations from 

an experiment or a phenomenon that lead to a conjecture or a
.verbal description of the physiological system
The strength of the model is tested by obtaining data and testing 
.the model against the data
If the model performs adequately, the model is satisfactory, and a 
.solution is stated
If the model does not meet performance specifications, then the 
.model is updated and additional experiments are carried out
 INTRODUCTION

Usually some of the variables in the model are 

.observable and some are not
New experiments provide additional data that 
increase the understanding of the physiological
system by providing information about previously
.unobservable variables, which improves the model
The process of testing the model against the data 
.continues until a satisfactory solution is attained
Usually a statistical test is performed to test the 
.goodness of fit between the model and the data
Flow Chart for
physiological
modeling
INTRODUCTION

The introduction of the digital computer, 

programming languages, and simulation software
have caused a rapid change in the use of
.physiological models
Before digital computers, mathematical models of 
biomedical systems were either oversimplified or
involved a great deal of hand calculation as
described in the Hodgkin– Huxley investigations
.published in 1952
Deterministic and Stochastic Models

A deterministic model is one that has an exact •

solution that relates the independent variables of
the model to each other and to the dependent
variable. For a given set of initial conditions, a
deterministic model yields the same solution
.each and every time
A stochastic model involves random variables •
that are functions of time and include
probabilistic considerations. For a given set of
initial conditions, a stochastic model yields a
.different solution each and every time
 Solutions

A closed-form solution exists for models that 

can be solved by analytic techniques such as
solving a differential equation using the classical
.technique or by using Laplace transforms
:example
A numerical or simulation solution exists for 
.models that have no closed-form solution
:example
Inverse Solution

Engineers often design and build systems to 

.a predetermined specification
In contrast, biomedical engineers involved 
with physiological modeling do not
build the physiological system, but only 
observe the behavior of the system—the
input and output of the system—and then
.characterize it with a model
The goal of physiological modeling is not to design
a system, but to identify the components (or
.parameters) of the system

where εi is the error between the data xi and the model prediction x ^ i
Cardiovascular System
 The heart is a series hydraulic system with a powerful
chamber, the left ventricle LV ejecting a spurt of blood (stroke
volume) in each contraction (in the order of 80 mL/beat at
about 70 beats/min or slightly above 1 beat/s) through the
aortic valve into the aorta — main arterial output — to the
systemic circulation.
 The latter is a highly complex network, extended deeply into
every tissue and presenting a finite, measurable and variable
hindrance to the blood flow.
 Physiologists call it periheral resistance, Rp, and, quite often,
they even calculate a handy numerical value making use of
Poiseuille’s Law (which is the hydraulic analog of Ohm’s Law of
electricity).
Cardiovascular System
 After exchange (gases, nutrients and metabolites) in the capillaries (which are
part of the peripheral resistance), the return pathway is via the venous system
back to the heart, entering it through the vena cava (a large distensible vein)
into a small contractile chamber called the right atrium, RA.
 Blood goes from here to the right ventricle traversing the tricuspid valve (which
connects the RA with the RV) and, from the latter chamber (also contractile but
less powerful than its left side companion) proceeds through the pulmonary
valve into the pulmonary artery.
 Thereafter, there is a shorter branching to the lungs, filling all its capillaries
and, thus, permitting another exchange (this time it is only a gas exchange:
oxygen is taken up and carbon dioxide is downloaded).
 From them, little venules converge into larger and larger veins as they
approach the four pulmonary veins, which dump its oxygenated content into the
left atrium, LA, another small and contractile chamber.
 The final step to complete the circuit is from the LA via the mitral valve back
into the LV, already set to start all over again.
The customers
 The arteries, starting with the main outflow (the
aorta), branch off into smaller ducts supplying blood
to the different vascular beds.
 These regional subsystems vascularize the tissues
that, in the end, are the “customers” or the final
users of the blood contents.
 Each bed, by and large, has a relatively well defined
main inflow, as for example the kidneys, with one
unmistakable renal artery per kidney (one to the right
and the other to the left), or the ventricles
themselves, with the right and left coronary arteries .
 Figure 2.3 depicts the principal users: the coronary circulation,
the brain, skeletal muscle, bone, the gastrointestinal and
hepatic especially coupled systems, the kidneys, the skin, and
other tissues.
 Out of the total flow expelled by the left ventricle, the figure
indicates the respective approximate percentages derived to
each regional section.
 However, depending on the physiological condition
(say,exercise, rest, postprandial or preprandial state, shock)
these values may change significantly. Some regions (as the
brain and the heart) are favored in emergency conditions as
compared to other lower hierarchical beds (as, for example, the
skin and the guts).
Variables of the Cardiovascular
System (CVS)

 Blood volume (Vb)

 It is measured in units of length to the 3rd power, as for
example in cubic centimeter (cm3 = mL) or in liters (L).
 It is a physical almost intuitive concept closely related to mass
and density (the latter is defined as mass per unit volume;
recall that the density of blood is 1.055 g/cm3, that is, it is
slightly higher than that of water).
 Volume quantifies how much space a given material occupies.
In the normal adult, Vb is in the order of 5 to 6 L.
 Blood flow (Fb)

 It is measured in units of volume per unit time (say, in mL/s or in L/min), has to
be guaranteed through every single piece of tissue.
 Sometimes, this concept is referred to as perfusion. The total resting outflow,
either from the left or from the right ventricle, has an average value of about 5
to 6 L/min (or about 100 mL/s).
 It is also called cardiac output, CO.
 However, each bed takes only a portion of this total value. If one considers the
pulsating action of the heart, since each ventricle ejects during each contraction
the so called stroke volume, SV — about 70 to 80 mL/beat — at a frequency of
70/min, it leads to 4.9–5.6 L/min, which is roughly the figure given above.
 Ischemia (ischein, to supress, and haima, blood, from Greek) is the word to
describe the condition characterized by a diminished perfusion.
 If it happens in the brain or in the ventricles, it may end up in serious cerebral or
cardiac injury. It may take place also in any tissue, as for example in the gut.
Blood pressure (Pb)

 It is measured in mmHg or in Pa, at any place all over the circulatory

system. It is also essential and is a clear physical concept, defined as
force per unit area (1 Pa = 1 Newton/m2; 1 kPa = 1,000 Pa; 1 hPa =
100Pa).
 Thus, as a rule of thumb, to pass from mmHg to hPa multiply by 4/3,
and vice-versa, to go from hPa to mmHg, obviously multiply by 3/4.
 Maintenance of a head pressure is what keeps the blood moving.
Except for friction losses, arterial blood pressure at the entrance of any
bed is the same. Its mean value is somewhat lower than 100 mmHg
 Application of Poiseuille’s Law leads to the definition of a fourth (and
this time compound) variable, the already mentioned peripheral
resistance,Rp.
 However, if applied to a specific region, the concept of regional
resistance, Rr , can also be defined.