VersaDrive-4 User Manual
Contents
1. cut the lengths If you are to do the cutting we will send a separate instruction manual We also will supply cut lengths of the chosen guide tubing at some additional cost Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 8 Ss lt o oO gt l Jo l Figure 1 2 Inserting the guide tubes into the shuttles There are two preliminary steps for this operation First when the shuttles are clipped from the manufacturing frame the cut attachment points will be jagged To ensure that these protrusions do not interfere with tetrode carrier movements they must be abraded away with the included emery board The same cloth should be used to slightly roughen 2 mm of the guide tube This is done to provide enough friction so that the tube does not slip out of the hole after insertion In constructing the carriers the starting materials are 4 identical shuttles and 4 identical guide tubes but the goal is to build two pairs of mirror symmetric tetrode carriers The reason for this pairing is very simple the members of each pair face each other across the midline of the VersaDrive as shown in Figure 2 7 and later figures To emphasize the fact that the products are not the same Figure 1 2 shows two guide tubes being inserted from above red arrows and two from below black arrows For both types the tubes should be pushed through so that 0 5 mm of the roughened ends wind up protruding Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construc2. Yes In later steps the carriers will be lowered to their bottom most position during insertion of the receptacles and finally raised back to its highest position for actual use Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 20 Figure 2 10 A tetrode carrier in the process of being raised by its drive screw into its upper position This elevated position bring the guide tube into the rounded rectangular window in the middle of the enclosure where it is easy to load with the tetrode Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 21 Figure 2 11 Implant ready for inserting the tetrodes into the guide tubes of the carriers The tetrodes are prepared according to instructions in a separate manual or according to procedures used in your laboratory Note the exposed tops of two tetrode guide tubes which are visible through the opening in the enclosure As mentioned in Figure 2 10 their position at the top of the enclosure makes it easier to load the tetrodes Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 22 Figure 2 12 Implant with one tetrode threaded through its guide tube To arrive at this state the twisted portion of the first tetrode is inserted into the top of a guide tube and pushed down until the free i e non twisted portions of the 4 tetrode wires are at the upper opening of the guide tube When this is done the twisted end of the tetrode will of course extend out
3. base Figures 2 1 2 2 to shield the moving parts of the implant and to provide part of the support for the tetrode drives The enclosure has two types of holes The first 8 hold the tetrode drive pins these holes line up with the holes in the base and similar holes in the cap see Figure 3 1 and Figure 3 2 The second set of 4 holes provides access to the heads of the drive screws The large rounded rectangle in the middle is for access to the drives during assembly Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 14 Drive screw Outer pin us E Uld 13uuU Shuttle gt I d C mo AA san SponaL Figure 2 4 Components of a drive Figure 2 4 shows the working parts of a single drive as ifthey were held in the correct supporting structure base enclosure cap During use when the screw turns the shuttle is pushed downward along the pins The rigidly coupled guide tube moves in the same way If a tetrode were mounted in the tube its tip would also move down into the brain With the 1 mm diameter screw one complete turn pushes the moveable parts down by 0 25 mm 250 um The maximum practical travel of the moveable parts from initial to bottom most position is 3 5 mm Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 15 Figure 2 5 Inserting one of the tetrode carriers into the appropriate exit hole in the implant base Note the orientation of the carrier shuttle requires that
4. dorsal hippocampus and implants that allow bilaterally symmetric placement of tetrodes into the anterior thalamic nuclei Different numbers of tetrodes are also possible for these more elaborate drives VersaDrives can be used for electrical brain stimulation and for liquid injections as well as recordings For instance injections can be made into a recorded structure without disturbing the activity of identified single cells A separate implant class allows infrared diffuse optical tomography enabling simultaneous measurements of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin in freely moving rats such measurements can be combined with EEG recordings with currently available models We also anticipate models that allow fiber optic bundles to be placed in brain areas previously modified to express channel rhodopsin opening up new ways to activate or suppress activity In short VersaDrives are versatile and new designs can be realized based on the requirements of individual investigators Nevertheless the job of constructing actual implants from the supplied components is quite simple This manual contains a detailed description of the process by which a basic model the 4 tetrode VersaDrive is assembled It is also the starting point for understanding how more elaborate types are put together If you are about to begin construction of a different model you will find not one but two lists pictures of the implant parts one so you can follow the steps for a 4
5. part of the base is the peg which is located above the trephine hole via which tetrodes enter the brain Top most of three structural implant parts the others are the base and the enclosure The cap helps to support the drives At the top of the middle ridge are holes properly space to form a standard Mill Max connector when filled with receptacles The working subassembly of an implant Each independently movable drive carries a tetrode into the brain A drive consists of a tetrode carrier a drive screw and two drive pins Drive components and their arrangement are depicted in Figure 2 4 Rails on which tetrode carriers move down pushing the tetrode into the brain Each drive has an inner drive pin and an outer drive pin so named for the positions they occupy in the shuttle Captive screw whose bottom inserts into a hole in a shuttle Turning the screw drives a tetrode carrier and therefore a tetrode into the brain The pitch of the 1 0 mm screws used in VersaDrives is 0 250 mm per turn Middle of three structural implant parts the others are the base and the cap The enclosure shields the moving parts of the drives from external forces The small hole at the bottom of the peg through which a tetrode leaves the drive and enters the brain A Polymicro Glass tube that guides a tetrode from its top above a shuttle into an exit hole at the bottom of the base Guide tubes may also be made of stainless steel hypodermic tu
6. the correct type of carrier Figure 1 2 1 3 is used The tetrode guide tube is shown here as straight but when the support rails are in place the tube will assume a curved shape that bends from the top of the shuttle to the exit hole Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 16 Figure 2 6 One tetrode drive partly assembled This condition is reached by pushing a rail insect pin into the appropriate outer rail hole in the base Since this is a press fit you must expect resistance Push the pin up until 5 0 mm protrudes from the base Next push the outer rail hole of the shuttle onto the pin tip With the pin fixed relative to the base push the shuttle of the tetrode carrier down until it is flush with the top of the base Next push the pin through both the base and shuttle until its tip is 15 mm above the top surface of the base the total protrusion should be 15 mm Now repeat the process outline just above for the other 3 tetrode carriers outer rail pins After these steps the implant should look as drawn in the next Figure Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 17 Figure 2 7 Implant with all 4 tetrode carriers in place oriented and partially supported by the outer rails At this point the implant is ready for the enclosure to be placed above the partly completed drives Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 18 Figure 2 8 Attach the enclosure
7. Manual 5 24 2013 Page 34 Figure 4 1 Drawing of a 4 tetrode VersaDrive ready to be implant on the head of a rat a mouse or another small animal The drive weighs 1 6 grams fully assembled and is easily carried by an animal as small as a mouse This model and ones with different exit hole arrangements see Figure 2 2 allow stable low noise recordings from one or more brain structures We hope that this manual made the job of putting together your first drive reasonably easy but if some of the steps are unclear please write to us and we will try to provide additional explanations Of course if there are errors or problems in the current manual we will make appropriate modifications in future versions Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 35 Hole Diameter 0 012 inch 0 300 mm Distance Between Holes 0 024 inch 0 600 mm Center to Center Figure 4 2 Drawing of the VersaDrive 4 standard exit hole pattern The tetrode holes have diameters of 0 012 in 0 300 mm with a spacing distance of 0 024 in 0 600 mm center to center Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 36 Glossary Base Cap Drive Drive Pins Drive Screw Enclosure Exit Hole Guide Tube Lower Stage Ridge Peg Receptacles Shuttle Tetrode Revision 2 3 5 24 2013 Bottom most of three structural implant parts the others are the enclosure and the cap The lowest
8. N Neuralynx High Density Electrophysiology TX Systems VersaDrive Construction Manual 4 Tetrode VersaDrive Neuralynx Inc 105 Commercial Drive Bozeman MT 59715 Phone 406 585 4542 Fax 866 585 1743 www Neuralynx com Revision 2 3 support Neuralynx com 5 24 2013 Contents BD DE 10 Glossary Introduction to VersaDrive Desians uns sun wie 3 Organization of the Manual ie aaa as 4 Document Revision Hoya seen 4 Parts list for 4 tetrode VeraDiwes ass ende 5 Description of the 4 tetrode VersaDrive cc ccc eee eee e nee ee ene ene tenes 6 Assembling the tetrode carriers nun ac 7 Figure 1 1 Tetrode carrier parts Figure 1 2 Inserting the tetrode guide tubes Figure 1 3 Arrangement of guide tubes and shuttles Figure 1 4 Gluing a guide tube to a shuttle Assembling the lower stage hau Wiese Re er 12 Figure 2 1 Top view of the base Figure 2 2 Bottom view of the base Figure 2 3 View of the enclosure Figure 2 4 Diagram of an entire tetrode drive Figure 2 5 Inserting a tetrode carrier into the base Figure 2 6 Adding a drive pin to the first tetrode carrier Figure 2 7 Placement of the 4 tetrode carriers Figure 2 8 Attaching the enclosure Figure 2 9 Inserting 1 of the drive screws Figure 2 10 Raising a carrier to facilitate tetrode loading Figure 2 11 Lower stage ready for tetrode loading Figure 2 12 After loading one tetrode Assembling the CONNECION 2 0 iseraececsscnoasaendephcwssssunderdo
9. anasneddesaonatses 24 Figure 3 1 Top view of Cap Figure 3 2 Bottom view of Cap Figure 3 3 Inserting ground wires from below Figure 3 4 Securing ground wires with receptacles Figure 3 5 Insertion of wires of 1 tetrode into cap Figure 3 6 Top view of pin out for implant connector Figure 3 7 Attaching the cap to the lower stage Figure 3 8 Lowering a tetrode carrier to allow slack in the wires Figure 3 9 Stripping and connecting wires with receptacles Figure 3 10 Inserting the inner pins and clipping all pins Figure 3 11 Raising the tetrode carriers to their ready to go position The 4 tetrode Versa Drive sen eier 35 Figure 4 1 A finished 4 tetrode VersaDrive Figure 4 2 Standard exit hole pattern Revision 2 3 5 24 2013 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual Page 2 VersaDrive Overview VersaDrives are small animal implants useful in a wide range of neuroscientific work In their simplest embodiment VersaDrives are designed for tetrode recordings from a single brain structure or from two or more structures that fall on one line that extends from the skull surface into the depths of the brain Even this first type however has variants VersaDrives with 2 4 8 16 and 32 independently moveable tetrode drives are available In more complex cases the tetrode exit holes for VersaDrives are arranged to target brain structures whose locations are not co linear Examples include implants aimed at two portions of medial entorhinal cortex plus the
10. bing Subassembly that consists of the base enclosure outer drive pins and drive screws Part 2 is devoted to describing its construction Center portion of the cap that forms the electrical connector The bottom of the base The peg is a contoured cone that aims the tetrodes properly to enter the trephine hole in the rat s skull The exit hole are drilled through the peg Electrical contact pins trimmed of their tails When forced into a connector hole the receptacle strips a tetrode wire and secures the wire in place Moveable part that slides down drive pins by screw motion Each shuttle holds a guide tube inside of which sits a tetrode 4 wire probe used to record multiple individual neurons notably from the brains of freely moving rats and mice Tetrodes are not included with the purchase of a VersaDrive VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual Page 37 Tetrode Carrier Subassembly that consists of a shuttle and a guide tube Tetrode carriers are driven down inside the enclosure by screw motion pushing the tetrodes into the brain Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 38
11. ddle two receptacle holes of the cap Two gold colored receptacles are shown poised above the cap In Figure 3 4 the receptacles are about to be forced into the holes with the wires ready to be locked into place Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 26 Figure 3 5 Wiring the cap With the ground wires in place the next step is to send the wires from each tetrode through the selected holes in the cap Figure 3 5 shows how the wires from a single tetrode were put into 4 adjacent holes using very fine forceps To complete this step the wires from the other 3 tetrodes are placed in the correct holes in the cap Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 27 Figure 3 6 Pin connections for a 4 tetrode VersaDrive This is a top view of the cap ridge showing the 18 holes into which receptacles are press fit The 4 tetrodes are labeled 1 2 3 and 4 where each has the suffixes A B Cand D G1 and G2 are ground connections G1 is the panel ground G2 may be used as the recording reference In practice Gl and G2 are attached to the skull screws to which the implant is bonded with dental cement The pin connections shown in Figure 3 7 are appropriate for Neuralynx connector HS 18 millmax If you are using a different connector you must reorganize the pin out appropriately Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 28 IN Figure 3 7 Installing the cap With the
12. eginning the assembly process the user should look at the parts list on page 5 and become familiar with the overview presented on page 6 The figures that make up most of the manual are meant to be reasonably self explanatory so that the text for each step during construction is rather brief In our experience with how people learn to build the 4 tetrode implants you should not be surprised if you have problems with the first one or two Nevertheless the learning curve is not very steep and after some practice it should take less than 3 or 4 hours to make a single implant You will also find that the time per implant is reduced if you build several together Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 4 Plastic pieces Metal pieces Glass pieces Parts l st for 4 tetrode VersaDrives Base lt lt Receptacles 18 amp Drive pins zu Guide tubes I Guide Tubes not included 5D Z4ZU15 Enclosure Shuttles _ 4 Drives screws t i 4 Tetrodes 4 Tetrodes not included Emery board nail file for sanding parts rage d Description of the 4 tetrode VersaDrive The main components of the implant are the base the enclosure and the cap The base is the part mounted directly on the rat s head above the trephine hole that admits the tetrodes into the brain The tetrodes and possibly portions of the guide tubes depending on how long you decide the tubes sho
13. in hole D Tetrode tube hole xe Outer pin hole e x nn Figure 1 1 Components of the tetrode carrier The tetrode carrier consists of a shuttle and a guide tube The shuttle is a plastic piece with 4 predrilled holes The smallest hole accepts the guide tube that will later house the length of the tetrode The tube serves to guide the tetrode into one of the exit holes at the bottom of the implant base Two other holes will be filled with the drive pins that support the tetrode carrier and allow it to move down when the drive screw is turned The drive screw will be turned into the final hole when the tetrode carrier is already in the base and at its lowest possible position When the screw is initially turned in it taps creates a thread in the drive hole and raises the tetrode carrier to its highest possible position Later on in use the screw is turned in the opposite direction lowering the carrier and therefore the tetrode into the brain The guide tube is either a length of 34 gauge 0 184 mm outer diameter stainless steel tubing or an equal length of 0 1XX mm diameter polymicro glass tubing The length of the tubing depends on the brain target For example if the tetrodes are to record from the dorsal hippocampus the guide should be 13 15 mm long The decision about which material to use should have been made at purchase time In some cases we will supply enough of whichever tubing type you selected and it will be up to you to
14. may cut the wire without any need for trimming Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 31 Figure 3 10 Finishing the drives Push the inner drive pins into the holes in the caps and continue pushing until the tips go through the shuttles and the correct holes in the base With the pins situated as drawn in Figure 3 10 they should be cut to make them flush with the plastic surfaces of the base and the cap the result of clipping the pins is drawn in Figure 3 11 Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 32 Figure 3 11 Last steps As described above it is necessary to re raise the drives back to their uppermost position from which they will be lowered into the brain Figure 3 11 shows one of the drives on its way back up Of course re raising must be done for the other drives as well The final task not shown explicitly is to trim the tetrodes to the length you will require to reach the brain structure of interest for your purposes In the completed drive drawn in the last diagram Figure 4 1 the tetrodes have been clipped to a scaled length that is about correct for an initial position above the CAl layer of the dorsal hippocampus assuming use of the stereotaxic system of Paxinosdri and Watson 6 Edition 2005 Elsevier Academic Press Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 33 Part 4 A complete 4 tetrode VersaDrive Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction
15. of the exit hole at the bottom of the peg Next use super glue cyanoacrylate to bond the tetrode into the guide tube opening This completes the mounting of the first tetrode The same steps are repeated for the other 3 tetrodes This completes construction of the lower stage Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 23 Part 3 Assembling the Connector Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 24 Receptacle holes Outer pin hole Inner pin hole Drive screw holes Figure 3 1 Inner pin Outer pin hole hole Receptacle holes Drive screw holes Screw cap retainer Figure 3 2 Top Figure 3 1 and bottom Figure 3 2 views of the implant cap The 18 holes in the center ridge will form the electrical connector when the 2 ground wires and 16 tetrode wires are in the holes and the receptacles are forced in to secure the wires In the top view two drive screw holes and two pin hole pairs are seen in front of the ridge in the bottom view all the holes are visible Note the retainer around each screw hole with the cap in place the screw head is pressed against the smaller hole in the enclosure so the screw can turn but not move up or down Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 25 Figure 3 3 Figure 3 4 Installing ground wires In Figure 3 3 two ground wires with the insulation stripped from their ends are inserted from the bottom into the mi
16. tetrode implant and one for your specific implant In the second case we have also provided diagrams for steps in our judgment differ in important ways from similar steps for the 4 tetrode drive In any case if more help is needed please write to support neuralynx com and we will work with you to solve the problem Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 3 Organization of the manual The purpose of this manual is to help you assemble and load 4 tetrode VersaDrives The manual is divided into 5 sections It starts with a parts list with pictures and names of the drive components Next you will see how to put together tetrode carriers which are the subassemblies that hold the recording tetrodes and allow them to be moved gradually into the brain In the third section the carriers are installed in the lower stage of the VersaDrive The lower stage is composed of the base the enclosure 4 of 8 drive pins that hold the shuttle carriers in place and 4 drive screws When this installation is complete the tetrodes can be loaded into their carriers Fourth the tetrode wires are threaded through the cap the receptacles electrical connector contacts are pushed into the cap and the cap is attached to the lower stage with the first set of pins and a second pin set so that the entire implant is locked together Finally the pins and tetrodes are trimmed and the implant is stored for use during surgery In preparation for b
17. tetrode wires running through the connector holes in the cap position the cap over the 4 drive pins protruding from the lower stage the correct rail holes in the cap should line up with the tips of the drive pins Push the cap down until it touches the drive screw holes Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 29 Figure 3 8 Slackening the tetrode wires This step requires a bit of explanation If the tetrode wires were captured in their holes when the tetrode carriers were in their upper most position as they would be without this step turning the drive screws would quickly break the wires It is therefore necessary to put slack into the wires so they remain intact while the tetrodes are driven into the brain So to provide slack hold the cap in place and turn each drive screw until its tetrode carrier is at the bottom position The process of lowering the tetrode carriers is indicated by the red arrow above the yellow shuttle on its way down Note that this extends one of the tetrodes below the others Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 30 Figure 3 9 Completing the connector Push a trimmed receptacle into each tetrode wire hole The insertion of a receptacle strips the insulation from the wire establishes the electrical contact and captures the wire in the hole Now if necessary trim the wires as close to the tops of the receptacles as possible Note that receptacle insertion
18. tion Manual 5 24 2013 Page 9 art Figure 1 3 Diagram of the nearly finished tetrode carriers with a short length 0 5 mm of each guide tube extending beyond the shuttle surface opposite to the side from which it was inserted Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 10 Ne Figure 1 4 Gluing the guide tube to the shuttle to complete a tetrode carrier We recommend 5 minute epoxy Super glue cyanoacrylate should not be used Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 11 Part 2 Assembling the lower stage Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 12 Inner pin holes Outer pin holes Figure 2 1 Exit holes Inner pin holes Outer pin holes Figure 2 2 Two views of the implant base Figure 2 1 shows the base in the orientation for assembly The upside down picture in Figure 2 2 shows the peg that is set above the trephine hole in the animal s skull and the exit holes for the guide tubes and tetrodes Visible in both views are 8 holes for the pins that hold the implant together and act as supports for the tetrode drives The 8 holes are organized into 4 pairs consisting of an inner hole and an outer hole each pair is part of a single drive Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 13 Inner pin holes Outer pin holes Drive screw holes Figure 2 3 View of the implant enclosure This piece will sit above the
19. to the base by pushing the tips of the outer rail pins through the correct holes in the enclosure The enclosure is drawn with a cutout to reveal the partly finished drives The bottom edge of the enclosure will surround the outside edge of the base The press fit between the enclosure and the base is one of the strengthening features of the implant Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 19 Figure 2 9 Building a drive Insert one of the supplied 1 mm by 5 mm machine screws into drive screw hole in the enclosure and turn down until its tip enters the drive screw hole in the shuttle of a tetrode carrier To get the proper alignment for threading it may be necessary to adjust the position of the tetrode carrier shuttle by manipulating the outer drive pin If you continue to press on the screwdriver while turning the screw will tap a thread in the shuttle hole Additional turning will cause the tetrode carrier to rise inside the enclosure Continue to turn until the top of the shuttle is just flush against the undersurface of the enclosure s top Now repeat screw insertion for each of the other 3 drives This step accomplishes two things First it brings the guide tube tops to just below the top of the enclosure making it convenient to load the tetrodes into the tubes Second it puts the tetrode carriers into what would be the correct starting positions to lower the tetrodes into the brain What would be
20. uld be extend through small exit holes in the bottom of the base and can be gradually lowered into the brain by turning the drive screws The enclosure surrounds and protects all working parts of the implant and provides much of the structural strength of the completed device The cap also strengthens the implant but its main functions are to provide access to the drive screws and to form the connector by which electrical contacts are made between the tetrodes and grounds and the outside world The drives in a VersaDrive are independently moveable Each drive consists of a shuttle a guide tube 2 drive pins a drive screw and a tetrode In use the shuttle rides down the drive pins as it is pushed by the drive screw The pins ensure that the shuttle and guide tube move down and are not twisted by the screw motion The drive pins serve a second equally important purpose namely to clamp together the main components Thus key parts of the drives are also key structural components An assembled VersaDrive is shown in Figure 4 1 A single drive suspended by invisible support structures is shown in Figure 2 4 You might look at these diagrams to get a notion of how the essential aspects of a VersaDrive are arranged and how a drive actually works Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 6 Part 1 Assembling the tetrode carriers Revision 2 3 VersaDrive 4 Construction Manual 5 24 2013 Page 7 Drive screw hole Er Inner p
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search