Multi-Probe manipulator system

Maximize your productivity and precision for acute in-vivo recording with automated silicon neural probe positioning for electrophysiology and optogenetics

Multi-Probe Manipulators for acute silicon neural probes

The Multi-Probe Micromanipulator System provides convenient, automated positioning of multiple acute silicon neural probes for acute in-vivo recording in anesthetized and awake head-fixed animals. It is the first micromanipulator optimized for use with our silicon neural probe microelectrodes.

Simple to set up and operate, the compact design allows for independent positioning of up to five acute silicon neural probes within a confined space, allowing ample clearance for a virtual task environment.

• Upright or inverted set-up - Fully engineered, modular apparatus space-optimized for upright or inverted experiments to suit your apparatus space requirements.
• Compact size - Independently position up to FIVE silicon neural probes in a confined space.
• Intuitive operation - 15 axes of automated motion controlled using a single PC application.
• Automated sub-micrometer probe adjustments - absolute position measurement and control.
• Gross manual & fine automated control - 3-axis automated stages (piezoelectric SQUIGGLE motors, position sensors and embedded closed-loop controllers) with 4-axis coarse control.
• Highly versatile - 15 mm travel with up to 200 grams payload at speeds up to 4 mm / s with 0.5 micron resolution!
• Direct integration with stereotaxic probe trajectories and Open Ephys GUI - plan and visualise your probe trjactories and easily register electrophysiological data to brain location in real-time.

Compact, easy-to-use micro-positioning system

A mounting ring allows five (or more) probe arm assemblies to be positioned around the target. The ring mounts to standard laboratory tables with imperial or metric hole patterns. Alternatively, the arms can be inverted by mounting them to an elevated platform to maximize space below the probes for animal interaction with a virtual task environment.

In addition to our acute silicon neural probes, you can also mount fiber optic cannulas and simultaneously position them with respect to your probes for experiments demanding combined electrophysiology and optogenetics too.

Each probe arm has four degrees of freedom for initial pre-adjustment, along with three axes of motion for automated positioning. The motorized positioners allow precise control of X-Y location and Z insertion depth, automatically and independently moving each probe to the optimum location in the brain. All five micropositioners – a total of 15 axes of automated motion – are controlled from a single PC screen using the fully-integrated motion control software included with the system. Optional joystick control or games-controller input is also available.