title: A direct-to-drive neural data acquisition system.
abstract: Driven by the increasing channel count of neural probes, there is much effort being directed to creating increasingly scalable electrophysiology data acquisition (DAQ) systems. However, all such systems still rely on personal computers for data storage, and thus are limited by the bandwidth and cost of the computers, especially as the scale of recording increases. Here we present a novel architecture in which a digital processor receives data from an analog-to-digital converter, and writes that data directly to hard drives, without the need for a personal computer to serve as an intermediary in the DAQ process. This minimalist architecture may support exceptionally high data throughput, without incurring costs to support unnecessary hardware and overhead associated with personal computers, thus facilitating scaling of electrophysiological recording in the future.
authors.affiliation: Synthetic Neurobiology Laboratory, Media Lab and McGovern Institute, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Justin P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Kinney
authors.affiliation: Synthetic Neurobiology Laboratory, Media Lab and McGovern Institute, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Bernstein
authors.affiliation: LeafLabs, LLC Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: LeafLabs, LLC Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.affiliation: LeafLabs, LLC Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Marti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bolivar
authors.affiliation: LeafLabs, LLC Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Newbold
authors.affiliation: Synthetic Neurobiology Laboratory, Media Lab and McGovern Institute, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jorg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scholvin
authors.affiliation: Center for BioDynamics, Department of Mathematics, Boston University Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moore-Kochlacs
authors.affiliation: Synthetic Neurobiology Laboratory, Media Lab and McGovern Institute, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Christian T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Wentz
authors.affiliation: Center for BioDynamics, Department of Mathematics, Boston University Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Kopell
authors.affiliation: Synthetic Neurobiology Laboratory, Media Lab and McGovern Institute, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Edward S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Boyden
mesh_terms: D000703:Analog-Digital Conversion; D000818:Animals; D003201:Computers; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D012984:Software; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology
keywords: FPGA; data acquisition; electrode array; neural recording; scalable