Neuron Emulator Implementations for Patch-Clamp and Longitudinal Electrode Settings

This paper describes the implementation of two neuron emulator circuits. The first circuit provides the electrical properties of a neuron as seen from a single patch-clamp electrode with a defined action potential (AP) charge output and the second circuit offers multi-channel output with an adjustable phase delay that provides responses typically seen by a longitudinal electrode (e.g., peripheral nerve cuff or intraneural electrode) using a 3 x 4 cm(2) prototype board. The emulators are intended for testing electrophysiological equipment such as patch-clamp amplifiers and multi-channel devices. APs are generated with a voltage-dependent frequency controlled by a microcontroller. The reported measured results confirm the capability of performing voltage-clamp and rate-responsive current-clamp techniques and generating phase-delayed AP outputs, respectively.