Oscillation-Based Test applied to cell culture monitoring

A method for cell-culture real-time monitoring by means of Oscillation-Based Test (OBT) technique is proposed. The idea is inspired in previous works from the authors in the area of testing analogue integrated circuits and deals with solving some critical points in this kind of biological measurements. A simple topology based on a non-linear element in a feedback loop is employed for converting the Cell-Culture Under Test (CCUT) into a suitable “biological” oscillator. Then, the oscillator parameters (frequency, amplitude, phase, etc...) are used as empirical markers to carry out an appropriate interpretation in terms of cell size identification, cell counting, cell growth, etc. The Describing Function (DF) approach employed, for the involved mathematical calculations in the analysis of the “biological circuit”, predicting the frequency and amplitude of the oscillations. The precise values of oscillation parameters are closely related to the cell-electrode area overlap in the cell-culture.