Imaging Cytochrome Oxidation in Hypothermically Stored Rat Kidneys

Dawn A. Rorvik, Jeff J. Kelly, ^*David H. Burns, and Clyde H. Barlow

Barlow Scientific, Inc., 6307 Tamoshan Drive NW, Olympia, Washington 98502 USA
The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington 98505 USA
^*University of Washington, Center for Bioengineering, Seattle, Washington 98195 USA

D.A. Rorvik, J.J. Kelly, ^*D.H. Burns and C.H. Barlow  (1989)  Imaging cytochrome oxidation in hypothermically stored rat kidneys. IEEE/EMBS 11:622-623. A major concern in kidney transplant surgery is organ viability at the time of the operation. Using spectroscopic analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidation-reduction states, respiratory integrity of hypothermically stored kidneys can be determined. A time-sharing fiberoptic spectrophotometer and a video-reflectance spectrometer have been constructed to trace the reflectance changes of cytochrome c and cytochrome aa₃ in the kidney cortex.