Measuring the Contractile Response of Isolated Tissue Using an Image Sensor
David Díaz-Martín,
José Gerardo Hernández-Jiménez,
Manuel Rodríguez-Valido,
Ricardo Borges
Affiliations
David Díaz-Martín
Industrial Engineering Department, School of Physics, La Laguna University, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, 38200 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
José Gerardo Hernández-Jiménez
Bioorganic University Institute "Antonio González", La Laguna University, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, 38200 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Manuel Rodríguez-Valido
Industrial Engineering Department, School of Physics, La Laguna University, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, 38200 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Ricardo Borges
Bioorganic University Institute "Antonio González", La Laguna University, Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez s/n, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, 38200 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Isometric or isotonic transducers have traditionally been used to study the contractile/relaxation effects of drugs on isolated tissues. However, these mechanical sensors are expensive and delicate, and they are associated with certain disadvantages when performing experiments in the laboratory. In this paper, a method that uses an image sensor to measure the contractile effect of drugs on blood vessel rings and other luminal organs is presented. The new method is based on an image-processing algorithm, and it provides a fast, easy and non-expensive way to analyze the effects of such drugs. In our tests, we have obtained dose-response curves from rat aorta rings that are equivalent to those achieved with classical mechanic sensors.
