HiCCE-128: An open hardware FMC module for High-Channel Count Electrophysiology

Electrophysiology has recently evolved into an interactive, high-throughput endeavor. Recording from dozens to hundreds of electrodes is today routine; novel means of manipulating the system in real time, through electrical stimulation, optogenetics or sensory manipulation are allowing us to decipher neural circuit function at an unparalleled rate. To contribute to the wide dissemination of such techniques, we present an open hardware project, High-Channel Count Electrophysiology (HiCCE), aiming to produce low-cost, high-channel count (≥128 channels) electrophysiology instrumentation capable of fast data acquisition rates, real-time processing and feedback capabilities. Our design is centered on an open standard, FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC), which permits a varied choice of FPGA carrier architectures suited to different laboratory experimental needs. The HiCCE-128, a low-cost highperformance 128-channel data acquisition board for small voltage signals, is being introduced. It is a FMC module that can be operated from any FPGA carrier conforming to the FMC/VITA57 standard. This specialized board with a low input referred noise of about 3 μV is capable of acquiring 128 channels simultaneously at 31.25 kS/s per channel with 16 effective bits of resolution. We present the global architecture and some preliminary measurement to illustrate its potential for electrophysiological and medical applications.

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