napariTFM: An open-source tool for traction force microscopy and monolayer stress microscopy.

Area of Science:

• Cellular and Molecular Mechanics
• Biophysics
• Image Analysis Software

Background:

• Cellular force generation is crucial for biological processes like migration and division.
• Existing software for Traction Force Microscopy (TFM) and Monolayer Stress Microscopy (MSM) is fragmented and lacks user-friendliness.
• Quantitative analysis of cellular mechanics requires accessible and integrated tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop napariTFM, an open-source plugin for the napari image viewer, integrating TFM and MSM analysis.
• To provide an intuitive graphical user interface for complex cellular force quantification.
• To address the fragmentation and usability issues in current cellular mechanics software.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of TV-L1 optical flow for displacement analysis.
• Utilization of Fourier Transform Traction Cytometry (FTTC) for force reconstruction.
• Application of finite element methods for stress calculation in 2D microscopy data.

Main Results:

• napariTFM demonstrated high accuracy (correlation coefficients > 0.9) on synthetic datasets.
• The plugin supports both single-frame and time-series analysis with real-time parameter adjustment.
• Successful application in analyzing optogenetic contractility in cell doublet experiments.

Conclusions:

• napariTFM bridges the gap between algorithmic rigor and practical usability in cellular mechanics.
• It offers an accessible platform for researchers to quantitatively study cellular force generation and transmission.
• The plugin enhances the research community's toolkit for advanced cell mechanics analysis.