BioCAM4096™ from 3Brain is the first commercially available large-scale high-resolution microelectrode array (MEA) platform integrating 4096 electrodes on an active sensor 2.7 mm x 2.7 mm. Based on patented CMOS technology, BioCAM4096™ enables real-time acquisition of extracellular electrophysiological signals from in-vitro electrogenic cultures and brain slices at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution.
The high spatial and temporal resolution of the BioCAM4096™ system makes it possible, for the first time, to see details in the activity patterns and propagations.
Traditional 64 Ch Standard MEA System 4096 Ch BioCAM System
100 msec of basel activity (slowed down 150 times) recorded
from dissociated hippocampal culture at 21 DIV
BioCAM4096™ is a complete system for high-resolution in-vitro electrophysiology. BioCAM4096™ integrates 4096 microelectrodes in an active area of 7 mm2. The BioCAM4096™ system is designed to be mounted in a microscope stage for combined electrophysiological recordings and imaging. The small platform is accessible from the front as well as from either side, facilitating the integration of the BioCAM4096™ system within custom experimental setups in the lab.
The BioCAM4096™ platform consists of:
1. APS MEA NeuroChips
2. BioCAM4096 Acquisition System
3. BrainWave Software
The APS™ MEA NeuroChip is a disposible CMOS-based sensor that integrates 4096 electrodes in a 2.7 mm x 2.7 mm area. The microelectrodes are 21 µm x 21 µm in size, and are separated by 21 µm. This high density configuration allows unprecedented recordings at the cellular level in a large network.
APS MEA NeuroChip Cultured Neurons on APS MEA NeuroChip
A high-speed data acquisition and multiplexing platform for the acquisition, processing, and storing of electrophysiological signals. The small form factor enables integration of the BioCAM4096™ system within standard microscope stages. The sampling rate is programmable, and varies depending on the number of electrodes selected within a region of interest (ROI) within the BrainWave™ Sofware. Maximum sampling rates range from 8 kHz on all 4096 electrodes, up to 90 kHz in ROIs of 64 electrodes.
An easy-to-use environment for setting up, processing, and analyzing electrophysiological experiments. The BrainWave™ software takes advantage of multi-core, 64-bit processing for ultra-fast procesing of large band-width data. Live visualization includes conventional raw data (voltage traces as a function of time) from selected channels as well as an innovative 'movie mode' for visualization of the activity on the 4096 electrodes over time.
BrainWave™ Software
Activity movie from cultured cortical neurons
Example of signals from single electrodes recorded from rat cultured cortical neurons
The BrainWave™ program includes a sophisticated spike event detector and well as first-order statistics such as firing rate, inter-spike interval histograms, and network interspike itervals. Data can be easliy exported to MATLAB® for custom analyis. In addition, custom MATLAB® analysis modules are possible as a service.
The BioCAM4096™ was developed by 3Brain, a spin-off company of the Centre Suisse d'Électronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) with associated technology developed at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genoa.
With 4096 electrodes within a 7 mm2 sensor, the BioCAM4096™ system delivers unprecidented resolution in extracellular recording. With low-density culturing techniques, the BioCAM4096™ system makes the recording of almost every single neuron in a in-vitro network a possibility. The high spatial and temporal resolution also makes it possible to monitor action potentials as they propogate along a axon fiber. Regions Of Interest (ROIs) may be selected within the BrainWave software to 'zoom in' on particular electrodes and acquire signals from those electrodes and higher temporal resolutions.
Features:
030206
| Gain |
400 |
| Noise |
26 µV RMS (multiplexed) |
| Sampling frequency when recording from all 4096 electrodes |
7.7 kHz |
| Sampling frequency when recording of ROIs of up to 64 electrodes |
90 kHz |
| Bandwidth |
1 Hz - 5 kHz |
| A/D resolution |
12 bit |
| Continuous data rate |
60 MB/s |
| Form factor |
190 x 160 x 40 mm |
| Integrated temperature controller |
APS-MEA NeuroChip
| # Electrodes |
4096 |
| Electrode size |
21 µm x 21 µm |
| Electrode separation |
21 µm |
| Sensor recording area |
2.7 mm x 2.7 mm |
| Input voltage range |
+/- 3.7 mV |
| Integrated temperature sensor | |
| Electrode material | Al-Si alloy |
| Continuous data rate |
60 MB/s |
| User-selected regions of interest (ROI) | Arbitrary subsets of channels selected in software |
BrainWave Software
| Pre-installed on computer (Windows 7, 64-bit) with acquisition hardware |
| User-selectable regions of interest (ROI) |
| Real-time activity image display |
| Conventional time-voltage data display on selectable subsets of channels |
| Offline spike detection and sorting |
| Data Export to Matlab |
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100 ms sequence of an Action Potential displayed in 3D.
Dissociated Cardiomyocytes are from rats.
15 seconds recording of spontaneous activity in an acute brain slice from rat.
Dissociated neuronal culture, spontaneous activity.
Dissociated neuronal culture, spontaneous activity.
Dissociated neuronal culture, evoked activity, stimulus applied with external electrode.
BioCAM BrainWave V1 ManualBioCAM Culture ProtocolBioCAM Data Sheet
Active pixel sensor array for high spatio-temporal resolution electrophysiological recordings from single cell to large scale neuronal networks
Experimental investigation on spontaneously active hippocampal cultures recorded by means of high-density MEAs: analysis of the spatial resolution effects
Large-scale, high-resolution data acquisition system for extracellular recording of electrophysiological activity
Tracking burst patterns in hippocampal cultures with high-density CMOS-MEAS