Measurement of the Magnetic and Electrical Activity of Individual Cells In Vitro

Abstract

This report describes the development of both incoherent and coherent fiber optic sensors for monitoring the electrical activity of cells and tissue. The incoherent sensors use an optical fiber to deliver laser light to a cell membrane that is stained with a voltage-sensitive dye. The change in resulting fluorescence allows the electrical activity of the cell to be monitored. The coherent fiber sensor uses an external element, either a cell or some other material that has induced birefringence, as an extrinsic sensing element. The fiber is a means for delivering coherent light to this element. Birefringence- induced phase changes are detected in a heterodyne interferometric scheme. This report also describes the development work to date on NanoSQUID, a very small scale, superconducting quantum interference device that will allow spatially- resolved measurements of the magnetic activity of cells and tissue. Fiber optic sensors, SQUID magnetometers, Voltage-sensitive dyes, Cellular electrical activity, RA 3.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 26, 1993
Accession Number
ADA264517

Entities

People

  • Christopher C. Davis

Organizations

  • University of Maryland

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Analyzers
  • Cells
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Health Services
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Magnetometers
  • Measurement
  • Membrane Potentials
  • Modulation
  • Modulators
  • Optical Detection
  • Optical Detectors
  • Optics
  • Remote Sensing
  • Two Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Breast cancer cell signaling and growth regulation.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Sensor Fusion and Tracking Systems.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Quantum Computing