Figure 1

Conception and composition of a PC-controllable cell and tissue system. (a) Schematic image of a system composed of subsystems for feedback control. The system is composed of subsystems in charge of automaton of culture media exchange, electrical or biochemical stimulation, imaging, sampling and dispensing. (b) Photograph of PC and peripheral electronics outside an incubator. PC and a function generator were connected to equipment in an incubator via a terminal block on an exterior wall of the incubator. The terminal block with a power supply device was shown at the right-hand side of the photograph. (c) Photograph of fluidic systems, a microscope, and a camera in the incubator. A 10 cm dish for culture of cellular tissue was placed on a stage of the microscope and was equipped with fluidic systems of a pump and valves in the incubator. The equipment outside/inside the incubator were connected by the terminal block and tubing through the wall of the incubator.