A new software for detection of calcium sparks in cardiac myocytes

Abstract

Calcium sparks are the elementary events of calcium release in cardiac myocytes and other cells, such as skeletal muscle or neurons. Measurements of spark properties are integral for our understanding of how cardiac diseases and/or pharmacological treatment affect the heart. Given their small size and short duration, sparks are typically imaged using the line-scan mode of confocal or multi-photon microscope. This yields a large amount of data which typically need to be processed automatically to save time and minimize the risk of researcher bias and/or mistake.