A CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME SIMULTANEOUS TEMPORAL MEASUREMENTS OF METACHRONAL WAVE PERIOD AND CILIARY BEAT FREQUENCY

摘要

The present invention relates to a method and system that enables continuous real-time analysis of both ciliary beat frequency and metachronal wave frequency from a single spot (107) in excised native ciliated epithelial tissues as well as in primary and subsequent epithelial cultures. Such method and system utilizes the concept of time-scale wavelet analysis and Hilbert Transformation (112) for backscattered light derived from a confocal (conjugate) spot on the moving cilia. This light contains inherent high and low frequency components corresponding to CBF and MWF.