Optimizing chemotherapy in an HIV model

Abstract

We examine an ordinary differential system modeling the interaction of the HIV virus and the immune system of the human body. The optimal control represents a percentage effect the chemotherapy has on the interaction of the CD4$^+$T cells with the virus. We maximize the benefit based on the T cell count and minimize the systemic cost based on the percentage of chemotherapy given. Existence of an optimal control is proven, and the optimal control is uniquely characterized in terms of the solution of the optimality system, which is the state system coupled with the adjoint system. In addition, numerical examples are given for illustration.