Blackrock Microsystems MRI Compatible Electrophysiology Headstage

Blackrock Microsystems has released a small, light and MRI-compatible headstage for applications in the field of electrophysiology involving animals such as rodents, cats and primates.

The MRI Compatible Electrophysiology Headstage is a lightweight, 16-channel, single-unit, analog recording headstage for small animals that fits in the bore with the animal. It buffers and then transmits neural signals with high signal quality through a coaxial ribbon cable to a CerePlex A or front-end amplifier (FEA). The data is then acquired by either a CerePlex Direct or a neural signal processor (NSP).

The head stage will allow small animal researchers to directly correlate neural activity with haemodynamic changes detected on MRI for awake and responsive subjects. The shielded ribbon cable has good noise immunity.

The dimensions of the headstage are 10 x 20 x 2.3 mm and it weighs 0.5 g.