Wireless Optoelectronic Fiber Photometry Headstage for Deep Brain Structures Monitoring

This paper presents an optoelectronic neuroscience platform for monitoring neural dynamics in intact deep brain structures. A wireless optoelectronic headstage incorporating all aspects of a conventional benchtop high-performance optical fiber photometry system is presented to detect fluorescence signal fluctuations in the brain of live animal models. The headstage includes a photosensor, a fiber optic-cannula, an excitation light source, a few passive optical components, a microcontroller, a LED driver, and a wireless transceiver. All components are enclosed within a compact and light weight 3D-printed plastic housing. The performance of the headstage was validated in-vitro with a mouse brain slice expressing GCaMP6, a genetically encoded fluorescence indicator. The proposed headstage presents a sensitivity of 50 fA over a bandwidth of 30 Hz with an excitation light power of 50 μW. The total power consumption of the headstage is approximately equal to 600 mW. The headstage prototype results in a lightweight ( 3.6 ≤, w/o battery) and compact device (22 × 8 × 17 mm ² ) which is mountable on the head of a small animal model.