Electrode Array Systems

MC-Card Data Acquisition card

A key component is the PCI-based data acquisition card (MC_Card). This can handle up to 128 channels simultaneously, exceeding a transfer rate of 6 MHz. Every channel is sampled at an amazing rate of 50 kHz.

MC_Rack Software

MC_Rack is the only software on the market for multi-channel measurements which allows you to store either raw data, spike cut-outs, time stamps, spike rates, field potential amplitudes, or any combination of the above from up to 128 channels at a rate up to 50 kHz per channel.

MC_Rack's philosophy is such that the user can create, store, and recall Virtual Racks holding different instruments such as on-line oscilloscopes, spike detectors, data analyzers, and the like. Just create your own rack from a large array of software instruments and start measuring. You do not have to be a digital signal processing expert to use the system efficiently.

MEA1060 Amplifier

The heart of the system is the 60-channel stage-mounted amplifier. Two versions are available, for upright and inverted microscopes. The upright version permits simultaneous use of an intracellular or patch clamp electrode, while recording or stimulating with the multi-channel electrode array. Any electrode may be used for stimulation.

The new MEA amplifier with blanking circuit (MEA1060-BC) is a very valuable instrument if you use electrical stimulation for your experiments. You can use convenient software controls to select any electrode(s) on an MEA for stimulation, recording, or grounding. You can apply two different stimulus protocols to any selection of electrodes. A blanking signal (TTL pulse) transiently switches off the input stage of the amplifiers during the stimulus, thus avoiding stimulus artifacts. Amplifier saturation is effectively prevented and the recovery time is greatly reduced. It is also possible to record from stimulating electrodes shortly after stimulation.

Multi-Electrode Arrays

Multi-Electrode Arrays (MEA) are used to record extracellular electrical activity of excitable tissue simultaneously from as many as 60 sites. In most cases, single unit activity and slow field potentials are recorded in preparations such as single dissociated neurons, cultured heart muscle, organotypic brain slices, and acute biological samples.

• Planar MEA are mainly used for culturing single cells and/or organotypic slices but can be used for acute preparations as well, eg. the retina.
• The three-dimensional MEA (3D-MEA) is intended for use with acute slice preparations.
• MEAs are available in a number of standard layouts, and custom layouts are also possible.

Perfusion and temperature Control

The MEA temperature is regulated by a heating element and a temperature sensor incorporated in the MEA1060 amplifier. The fluid temperature is adjusted by the perfusion cannula PH01. The desired temperature can easily be programmed with the temperature controller TC01 / TC02.

The TC01 / TC02 uses a PID based technology. The set-point temperature is reached quickly within 30 s to 5 minutes, and can be set from ambient up to +50 C. The outputs are isolated from ground.

For advanced applications such as temperature response curves, the TC01/ TC02 can be remotely controlled via a serial port, and the actual temperature values can be saved as a text file for subsequent analysis.