What Is the Difference Between NeuraLynx Research and Clinical Product Lines?

NeuraLynx splits its catalog into two parallel product lines: Research and Clinical. The Research line covers neural recording and stimulation hardware plus acquisition, experiment-control, and analysis software for laboratory work — products like Digital Lynx +, Digital Lynx SX, FreeLynx, LabLynx Portable System, and the Research Software suite. The Clinical line covers the ATLAS neurophysiology system and Pegasus software for clinical use. If you are equipping a lab, you look at the Research line; if you are supporting a clinical recording workflow, you look at the Clinical line. The two lines share a common architecture and some component names, but the hardware, software, and accessories are organized separately.

Research line: what it includes

The Research side is built around data acquisition and analysis for neuroscience experiments.

Hardware

• Digital Lynx + — described as a high-performance, multichannel, low-noise system offering 1024 channels for recording and stimulation.
• Digital Lynx SX — a high-performance, expandable recording system with closed-loop processing.
• FreeLynx and LabLynx Portable System — additional recording system options.
• Supporting hardware categories: processing platform, camera kit, animal interfaces (EIBs, headstages, pre-amplifiers, microdrives, tether cables), N-Form multi-electrode array, video tracking, LEDs, cables, signal control, wireless accessories, the Imp 128 impedance tester, optogenetics (Saturn commutator), and test equipment.

Software

• Acquisition & experiment control
• Data analysis
• File converters & utilities
• Hardware control
• Video tracking
• Development drivers & firmware
• Python utilities and MATLAB-Netcom utilities

Clinical line: what it includes

The Clinical side is organized around the ATLAS system and its components.

Hardware

• ATLAS Neurophysiology System
• ATLAS Acquisition Amplifier
• ATLAS Combo Board
• ATLAS Workstation
• ATLAS Headboxes, Headstages, and Modular Headstages
• Accessories: ATLAS Stim Headbox, Signal Splitter Cable (Touchproof), Nihon Kohden Signal Splitter Cables, Analog Isolator, Tether Extension Cables (Male-to-Male), DIXI Adapter, Patient Event Marker, TTL Isolator, Tether Interconnect, and ATLAS Cart

Software

• Pegasus Software
• NetCom

Side-by-side comparison

How to choose

• Choose the Research line if your work is laboratory experimentation — you need experiment control, flexible channel counts, optogenetics or video-tracking integration, and analysis/utility software you can script against (Python, MATLAB-Netcom).
• Choose the Clinical line if your work is a clinical recording setup — you need the ATLAS system, Pegasus software, and clinical-specific accessories such as patient event markers, signal splitters, and isolators.
• Check component compatibility before mixing. Both lines use similar-sounding parts (headstages, tether cables, splitters), but they are listed under separate product trees. A component listed under ATLAS is not presented as a Research item, and vice versa.

What the available material does not cover

The source material does not state pricing, licensing terms, or whether any software is free or requires login. It also does not give a channel count for the ATLAS clinical system. Confirm those details directly with NeuraLynx before specifying a system.