Tag: 3D Print

PriED: An Open Source 3-D Printed Modular Micro-Drive System for Acute Neurophysiology

August 1, 2018

In a 2014 PLoS ONE article, Shaun R. Patel and colleagues share their design for PriED, an easy to assemble modular micro-drive system for acute primate neurophysiology.

Electrode micro-drives are a great tool that allow for independent positioning of multiple electrodes in primate neurophysiology, however, commercially available micro-drives are often expensive. Printed Electronic Device (PriED) is designed to advance existing micro-drive technology while staying inexpensive and requiring minimal skill and effort to assemble. The device combines 3D printed parts and affordable, commercially available steel and brass components which can then be controlled manually, or automatically with the addition of an optional motor. Using 3D printing technology researchers have the flexibility to be able to modify part designs and create custom solutions to specific recording needs. A public repository of drive designs has been made available where researchers can download PriED components to print for assembly. Additionally, researchers can upload modified designs with annotations for others to use. PriED is an innovative, inexpensive, and user friendly micro-drive solution for flexible multi-site cortical and subcortical recordings in non-human primates.

Read more here!

Or check out the repository here!

Syringe Pump – Pearce Research Group

In their 2014 paper “Open-Source Syringe Pump Library,” Bas Wijnen, Emily Hunt, Gerald Anzalone, and Joshua Pearce detail an open-source syringe pump apparatus developed in their lab, as well as, validate the performance of the device. The authors write, “This syringe pump was designed using freely available open-source computer aided design (CAD) software and manufactured using an open-source RepRap 3-D printer and readily available parts. The design, bill of materials and assembly instructions are globally available to anyone wishing to use them on the Open-source syringe pump Approdepia page… The cost of the entire system, including the controller and web-based control interface, is on the order of 5% or less than one would expect to pay for a commercial syringe pump having similar performance. The design should suit the needs of a given research activity requiring a syringe pump including carefully controlled dosing of reagents, pharmaceuticals, and delivery of viscous 3-D printer media among other applications.”

Pearce Research group also provides an Open Source Lab page dedicated to low-cost, open-source lab hardware.

Wijnen, Bas; Hunt, Emily; Anzalone, Gerald; Pearce, Joshua (2014). Open-Source Syringe Pump Library. PLoS ONE, 9(9), e107216.