C-Stretch

Interested in studing the effects of mechanical conditioning and electrical pacing on developing tissue? IonOptix culture pacing systems can now be equipped with our patented* C-Stretch, allowing simultaneous electrical and mechanical stimulation of stem cell-derived myocytes in culture. Normal cardiac tissue develops from immature cells grown under mechanical load and electrical activity. Grow your cells under physiologic conditions with our C-Stretch, the first commercial system to offer both electromechanical cues simultaneously!

The C-Stretch has been designed to work in combination with our next generation culture stimulator, the C-Pace EM, a multi-channel stimulator designed for chronic excitation of bulk quantities of cultured cells in incubators. As with the original C-Pace EP, the EM model provides all the various EP features such as constant variation in frequency, insertion of periodic off beats, and programmable frequency changes.

  • IonOptix C-Stretch
  • C-Stretch

Likewise, it can also accept TTL triggering and provide a TTL output for use in collected experimental data. The main change in the EM model is an enhanced high voltage bank (HVB) card that permits driving a greater number of electrodes. In particular, the enhanced HVB can drive the new C-Stretch Excitation-Contraction Module that permits physical stretch in addition to electrical stimulation.

Selected System Features

  • Digital adjustment of:
    • frequency (0 to 10 Hz)
    • pulse duration (0.4 to 24 msec)
    • voltage (max ±40 V)
  • Maximum stretch – 20%, with 0.1% resolution
  • Trapezoidal waveform with adjustable
    • expand
    • hold
    • contract phases
  • C-Pace Navigator software, allows the user to operate the both the C-Dish and C-Stretch with a user-friendly interface controlling all output banks simultaneously:
    • Simple adjustments of both stretch and electrical parameters for each channel
    • Pre-defined basic protocols for simple pacing procedures
    • Ability to customize specific protocols to mimic exercise routines or pathogenic conditions
    • Arrhythmia Protocols – Insert offbeat pulses at fixed intervals
    • Exercise Protocols– Run multiple pulse trains with individually programmable frequency and duration
    • Irregular Pacing– Random variation of specified frequency within definable percentage window and guaranteed average effective rate

*Patent no. 9617507 “Apparatus and method for culturing cells and tissue”

Note: This product is intended for research purposes only. It is not certified for clinical applications (including diagnostic purposes). Use of this product in uncertified applications is in violation of FDA regulations.

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