PhotometryBox

In a recent bioRxiv preprint, Scott Owen and Anatol Kreitzer share PhotometryBox, an open-source solution for electronic control of fiber-based fluorescence measurements.

Fluorescence measurements from deep-brain structures through optical fibers (fiber photometry) represent a versatile, powerful, and rapidly growing neuroscience technique. A typical fiber photometry system consists of three
parts: (1) an implant with an optical fiber that is cemented to the skull, (2) optical components for generation of fluorescence excitation light and detection of emission light, and (3) electronic components for controlling light sources and acquiring signals. Excellent technical solutions are available for implants and optical components; however, currently available electronic control systems are not optimized for these experiments. The most commonly used electronic components are either over-engineered or unnecessarily inflexible. To address these issues, Owen et al have developed an open-source, low-cost solution for the electronic components. This system is based on a programmable microcontroller (MBED LPC1768) and can be assembled in ~1 hour (less than a day for an inexperienced user with limited soldering experience). The total estimated cost is about $650, less than one tenth the price of the most commonly used commercially available systems.
The design, development and implementation of this project is described in a manuscript now available on bioRxiv, while details regarding parts, construction and use are available on Hackaday.

 This research tool was created by your colleagues. Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator, cite the article in which the tool was described, and include an RRID in the Materials and Methods of your future publications.  RRID:SCR_021571