A miniature robot for autonomous single neuron recordings

This paper describes a novel miniature robot that can autonomously position recording electrodes inside cortical tissue to isolate and maintain optimal extracellular action potential recordings. The system consists of a novel motorized miniature recording microdrive and a control algorithm. The microdrive was designed for semi-chronic operation and can independently position four electrodes with micron precision over a 5mm range using small (3mm diameter) piezoelectric linear actuators. The autonomous positioning algorithm is designed to detect, align and cluster action potentials, and then command the microdrive to optimize and maintain the neural signal. This system is shown to be capable of autonomous operation in monkey cortex

A Miniature Robot for Isolating and Tracking Neurons in Extracellular Cortical Recordings

This paper presents a miniature robot device and control algorithm that can autonomously position electrodes in cortical tissue for isolation and tracking of extracellular signals of individual neurons. Autonomous electrode positioning can significantly enhance the efficiency and quality of acute electrophysiolgical experiments aimed at basic understanding of the nervous system. Future miniaturized systems of this sort could also overcome some of the inherent difficulties in estabilishing long-lasting neural interfaces that are needed for practical realization of neural prostheses. The paper describes the robot's design and summarizes the overall structure of the control system that governs the electrode positioning process. We present a new sequential clustering algorithm that is key to improving our system's performance, and which may have other applications in robotics. Experimental results in macaque cortex demonstrate the validity of our approach

An Algorithm for Autonomous Isolation of Neurons in Extracellular Recordings

This paper describes novel multi-electrode systems that can autonomously position recording electrodes inside cortical tissue so as to isolate and then maintain optimal extracellular signal recording quality without human intervention. Autonomous microdrives can be used to improve the quality and efficiency of acute recordings that are needed for basic research in neurophysiology. They also offer the potential to increase the longevity and quality of chronic recordings and will serve as the front end of neuroprosthetic systems that aid the handicapped. We first describe the autonomous positioning algorithm, and its implementation as a finite state machine. We have deployed the algorithm on both conventional acute recording micro-drives and a novel miniature robot microdrive. Experimental results in monkey cortex are presented