Analysis of Extracellular Potential Recordings by High-Density Micro-electrode Arrays of Pancreatic Islets

Pancreatic β-cells form highly connected networks within the islets of Langerhans ensuring an adequate insulin secretion. Extracellular potential recordings are frequently used to investigate these networks based on their electrical activity. High-density micro-electrode arrays provide an efficient digital technology to record simultaneous signals of multiple individual cells within these networks of pancreatic islets, where electrical peaks caused by glucose stimulation are a well established indicator for activity patterns or regions within an islet. In this short paper, we propose a simple yet effective method for the analysis of extracellular potential recordings of pancreatic islets. The preliminary results of our proposal indicate that activity patterns differ across cells and that our approach is fundamental for further cross-domain research.