Analyzing Developing Brain-On-Chip Cultures with the CALIMA Calcium Imaging Tool.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Bioengineering
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Brain-on-chip (BoC) models replicate the brain's microenvironment for studying neural (patho)physiology and drug responses.
• Advances in BoC technology involve microfabrication and computer-steered feedback to control neuronal activity.
• Calcium imaging (CI) is a common technique for visualizing neuronal activity in these models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce CALIMA 2.0, an updated software for analyzing calcium imaging data from BoC cultures.
• To evaluate CALIMA 2.0's capability in analyzing large CI datasets and identifying network formation.
• To assess the processing speed of CALIMA 2.0 for real-time data analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized three previously published datasets of calcium imaging data from BoC cultures.
• Applied CALIMA 2.0 software to detect and analyze fluorescent signals.
• Correlated cellular activity to identify network formation and assess culture maturity.
• Measured the processing speed of CALIMA 2.0 for various data acquisition rates.

Main Results:

• CALIMA 2.0 successfully analyzed large CI datasets, interpreting cellular activity in BoC cultures.
• The software demonstrated its utility in studying the activity and maturity of BoC models.
• Processing speed analysis confirmed CALIMA 2.0 can handle data acquisition rates up to 5 Hz in real-time on standard hardware.

Conclusions:

• CALIMA 2.0 is an effective tool for analyzing calcium imaging data in brain-on-chip research.
• The software facilitates the study of neural network formation and brain cell activity.
• CALIMA 2.0 offers efficient real-time data processing, supporting advanced neuroscience research.