Multichannel Systems MEA2100-System Manual - Manual (Page 5)

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1 Introduction
1.1 About this Manual
It is assumed that you already have a basic understanding of technical and software terms.
No special skills are required to read this manual.
If you are using the device for the first time, please read the Important Safety Advice before
installing the hardware and software, where you will find important information about the
installation and first steps.
The device and the software are part of an ongoing developmental process. Please understand
that the provided documentation is not always up to date. The latest information can be found
in the online help of the latest version of MC_Rack and in the Download and Documentation
section of the MCS web site: www.multichannelsystems.com
1.2 Welcome to the MEA2100-System
The MEA2100-System is the latest development in the MEA product family of Multi Channel
System MCS GmbH. The MEA2100-System is a compact and portable stand-alone system for
extracellular recordings from microelectrode arrays (MEAs) with integrated amplification, data
acquisition, online signal processing, integrated stimulus generator as well as temperature control.
The MEA2100-System consists of two main devices: The interface board with integrated signal
processor and the headstage equipped with amplifier, A / D converter and stimulus generator.
It is possible to connect one headstage only or two headstages to one interface board. If you
are dealing with two headstages, each headstage can be operated independently by opening
the data acquisition software MC_Rack for each headstage separately.
It is a highly flexible system, using a headstage that will fit on inverted and upright microscopes.
The MEA2100-System acquires data from up to 240 electrode channels, 120 channels per
headstage and a sampling frequency of 50 kHz per channel. Eight additional analog IN channels
are available, and a 16 bit digital IN / OUT channels. The digitized electrode data is transmitted
to the connected interface board via eSATAp cable. The connection between interface board and
computer uses a high speed USB connection. Thus, it is possible to use any computer as a data
acquisition computer, also a laptop.