MICA: High speed, high resolution imaging of excitable cell networks

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The heart and brain function through the fast propagation of electrical impulses. Heart arrhythmias and epileptic seizures are the results of massive electrical surges in these organs, but all cardiac and neurological dysfunction results ultimately from alterations in the patterns of biological electrical activity. Visualising activity in cardiac and neuronal tissue is a fundamental challenge for biomedicine, as each brief electrical signal propagates rapidly over large distances. For example, a single heartbeat involves choreographed waves of electrical activity pervading every cell in the organ. During the same time period, electrical signals in the nervous system can be used to detect the light reflected from an incoming cricket ball, calculate its trajectory, and send the motor commands to make the catch. Our proposal brings together two new techniques in optical engineering that will enable us to capture these rapid events in electrically excitable tissues.This proposal will create a high speed imaging facility, which will enable the wider application of these cutting-edge approaches to studying cardiac and neurological disease.