Real time monitoring of cell division, mitosis, at the single cell level, has value for many biomedical applications; such as developing optimal cancer treatments that target the cell division process. The goal of this theoretical study is to explore the feasibility of using Micro Electrical Impedance Tomography (MEIT) for real time monitoring of mitosis in a single cell, through imaging. MEIT employs a micro (single cell) scale electrode cage with electrodes placed around the cell. The electrodes deliver subsensory current and the consequential voltages on the electrodes are measured. An inverse image reconstruction algorithm uses the electric data from the electrodes to generate a map of electrical conductivity distribution in the chamber, which is the image. EIT is a well-known medical imaging technology that is simple to use but lacks good resolution. Therefore, it is not a-priori obvious that EIT has sufficient resolution to monitor single cell mitosis. To accomplish the goal of this study we have developed a mathematical model of MEIT of single cell mitosis, in which an in silico experiment provided the data for the MEIT image reconstruction. This theoretical study shows that MEIT can detect the outlines of the dividing cell during the various stages of mitosis (metaphase, anaphase and telophase) and, therefore, has potential as a technology for real time monitoring of single cell mitosis.

中文翻译：

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微电阻抗层析成像实时监测单细胞有丝分裂的理论研究。

在单个细胞水平上实时监测细胞分裂，有丝分裂对于许多生物医学应用具有价值。例如开发针对细胞分裂过程的最佳癌症治疗方法。这项理论研究的目的是探索使用微电阻断层扫描（MEIT）通过成像实时监测单个细胞中有丝分裂的可行性。MEIT使用微型（单池）规模的电极笼，电极围绕池放置。电极传递亚感觉电流，并测量电极上的相应电压。逆图像重建算法使用来自电极的电数据来生成腔室内的电导率分布图，即图像。EIT是一种众所周知的医学成像技术，使用简单但缺乏良好的分辨率。因此，EIT具有足够的分辨率来监控单细胞有丝分裂并不是先验的。为了实现本研究的目的，我们开发了单细胞有丝分裂的MEIT数学模型，其中计算机模拟实验为MEIT图像重建提供了数据。这项理论研究表明，MEIT可以在有丝分裂的各个阶段（中期，后期和末期）检测到分裂细胞的轮廓，因此，它有潜力作为一种实时监测单细胞有丝分裂的技术。为了实现本研究的目的，我们开发了单细胞有丝分裂的MEIT数学模型，其中计算机模拟实验为MEIT图像重建提供了数据。这项理论研究表明，MEIT可以在有丝分裂的各个阶段（中期，后期和末期）检测到分裂细胞的轮廓，因此，它有潜力作为一种实时监测单细胞有丝分裂的技术。为实现本研究的目的，我们开发了单细胞有丝分裂的MEIT数学模型，其中计算机模拟实验为MEIT图像重建提供了数据。这项理论研究表明，MEIT可以在有丝分裂的各个阶段（中期，后期和末期）检测到分裂细胞的轮廓，因此，它有潜力作为一种实时监测单细胞有丝分裂的技术。