An imaging system for real-time monitoring of adherently grown cells

In this contribution a real-time imaging system for cell cultures, adherently grown in standard disposable multi-well plates is presented. The compact system is designed to be operated in a lab incubator. The imaging system consists of a custom made platform in which a CCD image sensor is aligned and fixed directly at the bottom of the well of interest; a LED light source is positioned above the cell sample. The image sensor has a resolution of 640 × 480 pixels. A mini lens mounted on top of the CCD sensor allows close-up focusing. The field of view on the focal plane measures 3.26 mm × 2.45 mm, which corresponds with an overall optical resolution of 5.1 μm × 5.1 μm. The system has been validated by visualizing spherical beads of known size. With the presented imaging system we have successfully monitored collective (wound healing assay) and individual cell migration, as well as epithelial cell proliferation.