An optical multi-sensing system for detection of cardiovascular toxicity

A mini-microscope-based system for multisite detection of cardiovascular toxicity was developed. The mini-microscope consisted of an image sensor and lens module extracted from an inexpensive webcam. The flipped lens module enabled cells to be magnified and monitored during testing. The portability and compactness of this system enables short-term and potential long-term experimentation inside a conventional incubator. The toxicity test results demonstrated that the normalized beating rates of cardiac muscle cells selected from multiple regions increased over time when treated with 100 nM isoprenaline. The presented system could be a promising cost-effective cell-based testing tool for discovering and screening drugs. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.