Stochastic Version of EM Algorithm for Nonlinear Random Change-Point Models

Random effect change-point models are commonly used to infer individual-specific time of event that induces trend change of longitudinal data. Linear models are often employed before and after the change point. However, in applications such as HIV studies, a mechanistic nonlinear model can be derived for the process based on the underlying data-generation mechanisms and such nonlinear model may provide better ``predictions". In this article, we propose a random change-point model in which we model the longitudinal data by segmented nonlinear mixed effect models. Inference wise, we propose a maximum likelihood solution where we use the Stochastic Expectation-Maximization (StEM) algorithm coupled with independent multivariate rejection sampling through Gibbs’s sampler. We evaluate the method with simulations to gain insights.