Multiple-objective criteria for optimal experimental design: application to ferrokinetics.

Optimal experimental design is used to predict the experimental conditions that will allow the "best" estimates of model parameters. A variety of criteria must be considered before an optimal design is chosen. Maximizing the determinant of the information matrix (D optimality), which tends to produce the most precise simultaneous estimates of all parameters, is commonly considered as the primary criterion. To complement this criterion, we present another whose effect is to reduce the interaction among the parameter estimates so that changes in any one parameter can be more distinct. This new criterion consists of maximizing the determinant of an appropriately scaled information matrix (M optimality). These criteria are applied jointly in a multiple-objective function. To illustrate the use of these concepts, we develop an optimal experimental design of blood sampling schedules using a detailed ferrokinetic model.