Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2023
I had a great opportunity to showcase my research in the Steinmetz Lab at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2023 conference in D.C. this quarter. My poster focused on my work to create automation tools for electrophysiology experiments. I also demonstrated my software live at a demo session and at two exhibits with our partner companies (Sensapex and New Scale). It was an amazing experience to interact with leading researchers from around the world and to get feedback on my work. Many labs around the world are now eager to use my software in their own experiments. I will be collaborating with them over the winter quarter of 2023-2024 to help them set up my tools.
This conference represented my first real foray into scientific networking and experiencing how research is shared face-to-face, perfectly embodying my philosophy of learning by doing. Rather than just reading about academic conferences, I was actively participating as both scientist and exhibitor—since my project was fundamentally a product for surgical automation, I found myself playing dual roles that required entirely different skill sets. This experience pushed me far beyond the technical development work I’d been doing in the lab, forcing me to refine my communication skills and learn how researchers present their work through posters while simultaneously understanding how industry partners attract clients. The emphasis on soft skills was much higher than I’d anticipated, giving me practical experience in the networking and presentation abilities essential for my goal of industry research.
My Abstract
Achieving consistent targeting of multiple simultaneous probes during electrophysiology experiments is a challenging and time-consuming process. Even with a planned insertion trajectory, experimenters still have to go through a lengthy process of positioning and inserting each probe. Electrophysiology experiments are increasingly focused on brain-wide coverage, requiring three or more simultaneous probes motivating researchers to accelerate their processes to reduce the duration of the experiment and the corresponding stress levels of their subjects. To improve the efficiency and reproducibility of multi-probe electrophysiology experiments, we developed two frameworks: a communication platform to allow software control of hardware micro-manipulators and an automation platform to perform multiple synchronous probe insertions. Each existing manipulator platform has proprietary software for programmatic control, which are rarely cross-platform and often expose inconsistent interfaces. To standardize manipulator communication, we developed a Python server that acts as a generic cross-platform application programming interface (API). This platform ensures that client applications only need to interface with one API to be compatible with many different manipulator platforms connected across various computer operating systems. Building on top of this communication platform and an existing trajectory planning tool, Pinpoint, we next developed a system that automates the insertion process for multiple probes, saving time. The automation system provides three guarantees for researchers: first, that probes will reach their intended targets without manually-introduced errors in targeting; second, that experiments can be repeated exactly to improve reproducibility; and third, that movement speeds are limited to low levels for reduced tissue damage. Because our software drives multiple probes simultaneously, complex multi-probe insertions are more manageable. Taken together, these open-source tools for communicating with hardware manipulators and automating multi-probe insertions enable the next generation of reproducible, high-efficiency, brain-wide electrophysiology data collection.