A multichannel telemetry system for single unit neural recordings

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience methods 2004-02, Vol.133 (1), p.33-38
• Main Authors: Obeid, Iyad, Nicolelis, Miguel A.L, Wolf, Patrick D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Action Potentials - physiology; Analog-Digital Conversion; Animals; Electronics, Medical; Electrophysiology; Equipment Design; Haplorhini; Microelectrodes; Neural data acquisition; Neural telemetry; Neurons - physiology; Portable; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Single unit recording; Telemetry - instrumentation; Telemetry - methods; Wireless
• ISSN: 0165-0270; 1872-678X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2003.09.023

We present the design, testing, and evaluation of a 16 channel wearable telemetry system to facilitate multichannel single unit recordings from freely moving test subjects. Our design is comprised of (1) a 16-channel analog front end board to condition and sample signals derived from implanted neural electrodes, (2) a digital board for processing and buffering the digitized waveforms, and (3) an index-card sized 486 PC equipped with an IEEE 802.11b wireless ethernet card. Digitized data (up to 12 bits of resolution at 31.25 k samples/s per channel) is transferred to the PC and sent to a nearby host computer on a wireless local area network. Up to 12 of the 16 channels were transmitted simultaneously for sustained periods at a range of 9 m. The device measures 5.1 cm×8.1 cm×12.4 cm, weighs 235 g, and is powered from rechargeable lithium ion batteries with a lifespan of 45 min at maximum transmission power. The device was successfully used to record signals from awake, chronically implanted macaque and owl monkeys.