Multi Channel Suite

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Overview

Multi Channel Suite is a complete software solution for reliable acquisition and analysis of electrophysiological data.

Consisting of three tools, it features:

Online real-time recording, graphing, and analysis of extracellular activity of excitable cells for in vivo and in vitro applications (Multi Channel Experimenter)
Offline analysis of the recorded data (Multi Channel Analyzer).
Data export for analysis in Matlab, Neuroexplorer, Spike2 or Python (Multi Channel DataManager).

With daily lab work in mind, the program is set up like an instrument rack on a workbench, allowing you to combine virtual instruments (e.g. recorder, filter, event detector, spike detector, stimulus generator or signal-triggered TTL pulse) in any way you want. The experimental set-up is very flexible and intuitive. All you have to do is choose the instruments by drag’n’drop and connect them, the way you want. Changes to the set-up are always possible.

Data is easily exported into HDF5 format, which is compatible with analysis tools like Matlab or Python. Or you can analyze the recorded data in the Multi Channel Analyzer. This tool also offers the import of video data, which can be connected to the recorded data by time stamps.

The Multi Channel Suite is an easy-to-use, flexible, yet powerful tool for online and offline data analysis.

Description

Multi Channel Experimenter: The powerful online tool

The Multi Channel Experimenter facilitates data acquisition and online analysis.

Currently, it supports all MEA2100-Systems as well as the Wireless-Systems. We are working on adding our other systems as well.

The interface offers all available instruments and you can simply drag-and-drop and combine them to build your experiment. Thereby, you can record the raw data, filtered data, digital events, and detected spikes. Moreover, the program allows you to define the settings of the stimulus generator.

Switch easily between connected hardware

The Multi Channel Experimenter displays all connected MCS hardware and it is very easy to switch between the different devices. You can also open the software multiple times and select a different hardware device in each instance, thereby recording from several systems at the same time but completely independently from each other.

Settings of the Stimulator in the Multi Channel Experimenter

Stimulation of cell cultures or tissue has never been easier. Most of the recording systems from Multi Channel Systems have an integrated stimulator, which is recognized by the software. You can then select any electrode on the MEA for stimulation. Defining the stimulus patterns is quick and easy. You can either use the pre-set patterns (sine wave, ramp, rectangular) or upload a biological signal to be used as stimulation pattern.

The optical or electrical stimulation patterns for the Wireless-System are also defined from within the same software tool.

Multi Channel Analyzer: The reliable tool for offline analysis

In-depth analysis of recorded data is an essential step in the experiment, which should be made as easy as possible. The intuitive interface of the Multi Channel Analyzer facilitates the thorough analysis of data previously recorded with the Multi Channel Experimenter. It provides the same easy-to-use drag and drop interface like the Multi Channel Experimenter.

Synchronized video input

The Multi Channel Analyzer supports synchronized video input. This is an advantageous feature when doing behavioral research with freely moving animals. The video data and electrophysiological recordings are displayed in parallel and you can easily skip through the data from one event to the next.

Multi Channel Analyzer: Custom plug-in’s

If the provided instruments (spike sorter, various filters, etc) are not enough, you can also program your own custom plug-in. With instructions from Multi Channel Systems and basic programming skills, you can progam an analysis tool that excatly fits your needs.

Multi Channel DataManager: Versatile tool for data convertion

The Multi Channel DataManager facilitates the data export for analysis with third-party programs. It supports all files generated with MCS software (Multi Channel Experimenter, MC_Rack and Multiwell-Screen).

The program then exports the data into:

HDF5 format for anaylsis in Matlab, Python and other applications
.nex format for analysis in Neuroexplorer
.ced format for analysis in Spike 2 format

Independent of the file format, the export is done quickly and a data compression is included.

Open source software repository on GitHub

MCS GitHub repository Interested in developing your custom software solutions to interact with MCS products? Check out our GitHub repository with free and open source code samples!

Get started on how to record data from MEA systems or deliver electrical stimulation with our C#, Python and Matlab examples. Build data analysis pipelines for your recorded data on top of our Matlab and Python toolboxes for MCS HDF5 files.

We'll keep on extending these repositories with more code samples and documentation, so let us know about any bugs you're finding or questions you're having about the code.

Until then, feel free to explore the code base, build on it and happy hacking!

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