Chapter 1, Problem 22P

Contol of HIV/AIDS. As of 2012. the number of people living worldwide with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/ AIDS) was estimated at 35 million. with 23 million new infections per year and 1.6 million deaths due to the disease {UNAIDS, 2013). Currently there is no known cure for the disease, and HIV cannot be completely ehminated in an infected individual. Drug combinations can be used to maintain the virus numbers at low levels, which helps prevent AIDS from developing. A common treatment for HIV is the administration of two types of drugs: reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs). The amount in which each of these drugs is administered is varied according to the amount of HIV viruses in the body (Craig, 2004). Draw a block diagram of a feedback system designed to control the amount of HIV viruses in an infected person. The plant input variables are the amount of RTIs and PIs dispensed. Show blocks representing the controller, the system under control, and the transducers. Label the corresponding variables at the input and output of every block.