Motion magnification analysis of microscopy videos of biological cells.

Abstract

It is well recognized that isolated cardiac muscle cells beat in a periodic manner. Recently, evidence indicates that other, non-muscle cells, also perform periodic motions that are either imperceptible under conventional lab microscope lens or practically not easily amenable for analysis of oscillation amplitude, frequency, phase of movement and its direction. Here, we create a real-time video analysis tool to visually magnify and explore sub-micron rhythmic movements performed by biological cells and the induced movements in their surroundings. Using this tool, we suggest that fibroblast cells perform small fluctuating movements with a dominant frequency that is dependent on their surrounding substrate and its stiffness.