VasoTracker, a Low-Cost and Open Source Pressure Myograph System for Vascular Physiology

Lawton, Penelope F.; Lee, Matthew D.; Saunter, Christopher D.; Girkin, John M.; McCarron, John G.; Wilson, Calum

doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.00099

VasoTracker, a Low-Cost and Open Source Pressure Myograph System for Vascular Physiology

Lawton, Penelope F.; Lee, Matthew D.; Saunter, Christopher D.; Girkin, John M.; McCarron, John G.; Wilson, Calum

Authors

Dr Penny Lawton p.f.lawton@durham.ac.uk
Academic Visitor

Matthew D. Lee

Christopher D. Saunter

Professor John Girkin j.m.girkin@durham.ac.uk
Professor

John G. McCarron

Calum Wilson

Abstract

Pressure myography, one of the most commonly used techniques in vascular research, measures the diameter of isolated, pressurized arteries to assess the functional activity of smooth muscle and endothelial cells. Despite the widespread adoption of this technique for assessing vascular function, there are only a small number of commercial systems and these are expensive. Here, we introduce a complete, open source pressure myograph system and analysis software, VasoTracker, that can be set-up for approximately 10% of the cost of commercial alternatives. We report on the development of VasoTracker and demonstrate its ability to assess various components of vascular reactivity. A unique feature of the VasoTracker platform is the publicly accessible website (http://www.vasotracker.com/) that documents how to assemble and use this affordable, adaptable, and expandable pressure myograph.

Citation

Lawton, P. F., Lee, M. D., Saunter, C. D., Girkin, J. M., McCarron, J. G., & Wilson, C. (2019). VasoTracker, a Low-Cost and Open Source Pressure Myograph System for Vascular Physiology. Frontiers in Physiology, 10, Article 99. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00099

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jan 28, 2019
Online Publication Date	Feb 21, 2019
Publication Date	Feb 21, 2019
Deposit Date	Feb 21, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Feb 21, 2019
Journal	Frontiers in Physiology
Electronic ISSN	1664-042X
Publisher	Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	10
Article Number	99
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00099
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1307579

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2019 Lawton, Lee, Saunter, Girkin, McCarron and Wilson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.