Extracellular electrode model applied to the pancreatic beta cell

A planar array of metal microelectrodes has been fabricated to measure the electrical activity of pancreatic beta cells. These cells secrete insulin and exhibit periodic bursts of action potentials in response to glucose. The authors have developed a model, based on properties of both the cell and electrode array, to predict the extracellular signals generated by a beta cell. Simulations result in very small potentials that resemble the second derivative of the intracellular signal. The amplitude is significantly larger for a cell that is well scaled to an electrode or electrically coupled to other cells.<>