Non-destructive Two-Dimensional Motion Measurement of Cardiomyocytes Based on Hough Transform

Cardiomyocytes, as one of the few biological cells capable of autonomous beating in vitro, have attracted more and more attention in the fields of biology and robotics. In order to better understand the internal control mechanism of cardiomyocytes as a driver, scholars at home and abroad have proposed many measurement methods for the motion parameters of cardiomyocytes in the past 10 years, and the most common one is two-dimensional measurement. However, existing 2D cardiomyocyte measurement methods are always limited by substrate materials or cannot maintain long-term nontoxic measurements. Here, we proposed in-plane beating measurements of cardiomyocytes based on the microsphere Hough transform under a bright field. Through off-line processing, accurate tracking of the cardiomyocyte beating cycle can be achieved. Due to the simplicity, non-toxicity, and efficacy of the proposed protocol, this method will enable more rapid and accurate detection of cardiomyocyte beating. After further optimizing the data acquisition and data processing methods, we believe that this method will provide a more efficient and useful idea for real-time cardiomyocyte motion measurement.