Optimizing Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer Using Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes

We describe a finite-horizon partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) approach to optimize decisions about whether and when to perform biopsies for patients on active surveillance for prostate cancer. The objective is to minimize a weighted combination of two criteria, the number of biopsies to conduct over a patient’s lifetime and the delay in detecting … Read more

Dynamic string-averaging CQ-methods for the split feasibility problem with percentage violation constraints arising in radiation therapy treatment planning

We study a feasibility-seeking problem with percentage violation constraints. These are additional constraints, that are appended to an existing family of constraints, which single out certain subsets of the existing constraints and declare that up to a specified fraction of the number of constraints in each subset is allowed to be violated by up to … Read more

Optimization with learning-informed differential equation constraints and its applications

Inspired by applications in optimal control of semilinear elliptic partial differential equations and physics-integrated imaging, differential equation constrained optimization problems with constituents that are only accessible through data-driven techniques are studied. A particular focus is on the analysis and on numerical methods for problems with machine-learned components. For a rather general context, an error analysis … Read more

Robot Dance: a mathematical optimization platform for intervention against Covid-19 in a complex network

Robot Dance is a computational platform developed in response to the coronavirus outbreak, to support the decision making on public policies at a regional level. The tool is suitable for understanding and suggesting levels of intervention needed to contain the spread of diseases when the mobility of inhabitants through a regional network is a concern. … Read more

Combination Chemotherapy Optimization

Chemotherapy is one of the primary modalities of cancer treatment. Chemotherapy drug administration is a complex problem that often requires expensive clinical trials to evaluate potential regimens. One way to alleviate this burden and better inform future trials is to build reliable models for drug administration. Previous chemotherapy optimization models have mainly relied on optimal … Read more

Cycle-based formulations in Distance Geometry

The distance geometry problem asks to find a realization of a given simple edge-weighted graph in a Euclidean space of given dimension K, where the edges are realized as straight segments of lengths equal (or as close as possible) to the edge weights. The problem is often modelled as a mathematical programming formulation involving decision … Read more

A Personalized Switched Systems Approach for the Optimal Control of Ventricular Assist Devices based on Atrioventricular Plane Displacement

Objective: A promising treatment for congestive heart failure is the implementation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) that works as a mechanical pump. Modern LVADs work with adjustable constant rotor speed and provide therefore continuous blood flow; however, recently undertaken efforts try to mimic pulsatile blood flow by oscillating the pump speed. This work … Read more

Effectively managing diagnostic tests to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy

Urged by the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Italy, this study aims at helping to tackle the spread of the disease by resorting to operations research techniques. In particular, we propose a mathematical program to model the problem of establishing how many diagnostic tests the Italian regions must perform in order to maximize the overall … Read more

Dynamic string-averaging CQ-methods for the split feasibility problem with percentage violation constraints arising in radiation therapy treatment planning

In this paper we study a feasibility-seeking problem with percentage violation con- straints. These are additional constraints, that are appended to an existing family of constraints, which single out certain subsets of the existing constraints and declare that up to a speci ed fraction of the number of constraints in each subset is allowed to be … Read more

Superiorization vs. Accelerated Convex Optimization: The Superiorized/Regularized Least-Squares Case

In this paper we conduct a study of both superiorization and optimization approaches for the reconstruction problem of superiorized/regularized solutions to underdetermined systems of linear equations with nonnegativity variable bounds. Specifically, we study a (smoothed) total variation regularized least-squares problem with nonnegativity constraints. We consider two approaches: (a) a superiorization approach that, in contrast to … Read more