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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
Design and Assembly of an Ultra-light Motorized Microdrive for Chronic Neural Recordings in Small Animals
Published on: November 8, 2012
A remotely controlled lightweight MRI compatible ultrasonic actuator for micrometer positioning of electrodes during
Thorsten A Kern1, Hermke Rörup, Roland Werthschützky
1Institute for Electromechanical Design, Darmstadt University of Technology, Merckstrasse 25, Darmstadt, Germany. t.kern@emk.tu-darmstadt.de
Abstract:
The precise positioning of microelectrodes is essential for a reliable electrophysiological exploration of anatomical structures in the brain of laboratory animals, e.g., non-human primates in systemic brain research. Despite recent advances in micromechanics, the majority of small, chronically head mounted devices for advancing and retracting electrodes in freely moving animals reported in the literature are manually operated. In this article, we present a newly developed lightweight microfeed, based on an ultrasonic actuator for micrometer positioning of recording microelectrodes. It has been designed for compatibility with magnetic resonance imaging to allow non-invasive visualization of chronically implanted electrodes. The actuator combines a teleoperation via infrared control to minimize manipulation of animals during neuroethological studies. Its design is believed to add substantially to the well-being of experimental animals.
