Practical implementation of optimal experimental design using the fractional-order Fricke–Morse bioimpedance model

This paper provides, for the first time, the application of the Optimal Experimental Design (OED) theory. Two algorithms for computing exact and approximate optimal designs have been adapted for the fractional-order Fricke–Morse circuit model (which is widely used to describe experimental bioimpedance data). Frequencies at which the impedance is measured are optimized, while reducing the measurement acquisition time and maximizing the information about the fractional-order electrical behaviour of the biological tissue. As a practical implementation of this methodology, for a sample of apple tissue, D-optimal approximate and exact designs are computed to obtain the best estimates of the parameters values according to a criteria. These designs were compared with the classical design commonly used by practitioners showing the efficiencies of the optimal designs. The application of OED theory to this type of problems opens up many possibilities for future research.