Program Chair, Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program
Associate Professor and Pre-Medical Advisor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Laboratory for Neuroengineering
Georgia Institute of Technology

Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Time: 11AM-12PM
Location: Klaus 1116W

"Hybrid Experiments: Linking Real-Time Simulations to In Vitro Electrophysiology Experiments"

Abstract: Abstract: For over a decade now, electrophysiologists have been developing novel experimental methods that link real-time computer simulations with online electrophysiology experiments. This method, often called the "dynamic clamp", is possible due to the nature of transmembrane current flow in and out of an excitable cell. It allows one to measure the membrane potential in real-time, use that measurement as input to update a set of differential equations modeling a simulated ion channel's gating characteristics, and artificially inject that current back into the cell. I will review the general types of scientific experiments that are enabled by this technique and some of the technical challenges underlying its implementation. Finally, I hope to stimulate a discussion on whether recent advances in other measurement techniques (imaging, NMR for metabolomics) might enable analogous methods to be developed for metabolomics applications.
Additional Information:
Faculty Homepage
Butera Group at the Laboratory for Neuroengineering