Abstract
We have established a novel measurement instrument to measure the chronotropy and the contractility of cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. We used a Fotonic SensorTM, a fiber optic displacement measurement instrument. The principle of the measurement is to detect changes in the distance between the probe and myocytes vertically extruded by the contraction. Our results indicate that the Fotonic Sensor TM is an appropriate instrument for evaluating the chronotropy and the contractility of cultured myocytes. Although cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocyte models have both merits and demerits, they are useful for elucidation of the pharmacological research and for development of drugs and therapies.
