Automated detection and analysis of Ca(2+) sparks in x-y image stacks using a thresholding algorithm implemented within the open-source image analysis platform ImageJ.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have used analysis of Ca(2+) sparks extensively to investigate both normal and pathological Ca(2+) regulation in cardiac myocytes. The great majority of these studies used line-scan confocal imaging. In part, this is because the development of open-source software for automatic detection of Ca(2+) sparks in line-scan images has greatly simplified data analysis. A disadvantage of line-scan imaging is that data are collected from a single row of pixels, representing only a small fraction of the cell, and in many instances x-y confocal imaging is preferable. However, the limited availability of software for Ca(2+) spark analysis in two-dimensional x-y image stacks presents an obstacle to its wider application. This study describes the development and characterization of softw

SUBMITTER: Steele EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3944640 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature