Optophysiology of cardiomyocytes: characterizing cellular motion with quantitative phase imaging

Biomed Opt Express. 2017 Sep 22;8(10):4652-4662. doi: 10.1364/BOE.8.004652. eCollection 2017 Oct 1.

Abstract

Quantitative phase imaging enables precise characterization of cellular shape and motion. Variation of cell volume in populations of cardiomyocytes can help distinguish their types, while changes in optical thickness during beating cycle identify contraction and relaxation periods and elucidate cell dynamics. Parameters such as characteristic cycle shape, beating frequency, duration and regularity can be used to classify stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes according to their health and, potentially, cell type. Unlike classical patch-clamp based electrophysiological characterization of cardiomyocytes, this interferometric approach enables rapid and non-destructive analysis of large populations of cells, with longitudinal follow-up, and applications to tissue regeneration, personalized medicine, and drug testing.

Keywords: (100.2960) Image analysis; (170.1530) Cell analysis; (180.3170) Interference microscopy.